The Slice: A history quiz for our newbies

FOR SOME PEOPLE who move to this area, it takes years and years to stop feeling like a newcomer. For others, the transition happens fast, almost like flipping a switch. There really aren’t any actual guidelines. Well, until now.

If you remember at least half of the following people, places and milestones, you have The Slice’s permission to stop feeling like a newcomer.

1. The time the press truck viewing platform fell apart near the Bloomsday starting line, spilling reporters onto the street just as the race began. 2. When “Strictly Ballroom” played for weeks and weeks at the Magic Lantern. 3. Partners restaurant. 4. Spokane Grand Prix. 5. Festival of Four Cultures. 6. Monsters of Rock at Albi. 7. Randy and Deb. 8. Spokane City Councilman Chris Anderson. 9. Dexter Amend. 10. Spokane Chronicle. 11. Spokane Chiefs championship season. 12. Ice Storm. 13. Fire Storm. 14. Dan Fitzgerald. 15. When the Speaker of the House was from Spokane.

16. The Crescent. 17. Statehood centennial. 18. Washington Water Power. 19. Old National Bank. 20. AAA baseball. 21. B-52s. 22. Racing at Playfair. 23. Geraghty vs. Crosby. 24. “Circle of Friends.” 25. When the waste-to-energy plant was still just a proposal. 26. S-R recipe for “Honey-fried children.” 27. Terry Novak. 28. When the STA Plaza was still just a plan. 29. When Auntie’s was on Riverside. 30. Calgary Steakhouse. 31. Lyons cinema. 32. Tom Matthews. 33. Beth Ann Carr. 34. Gatsby’s. 35. The Inlander’s S-R parody. 36. Frank Bartel. 37. The Davenport’s dormancy. 38. Christopher Aponte. 39. Beth Sellars. 40. Sam’s Pit.

41. Bill Wassmuth. 42. Ruby Ridge. 43. Alan Chertok. 44. “Benny & Joon.” 45. Cathy Free. 46. Thai Cafe on Sprague. 47. The drive to name the Spokane Valley “Chief Joseph.” 48. When GU basketball was in the Big Sky Conference. 49. Ursula Hegi. 50. When there was a produce stand where Luna sits today. 51. When you had to pay a toll to cross the Maple Street Bridge. 52. Rick Miller. 53. Mars Hotel. 54. Kit King. 55. MONAC. 56. Carl Maxey.

•Same last name/different attitude: A friend toying with naming his Hoopfest team after one salacious aspect of the mayoral controversy had to admit that his taste for biting satire hasn’t rubbed off on his young daughter yet.

Her team will be called the Frisky Kittens.

•I can’t prove this: And I know that, in many contexts, today’s athletes are arguably superior to yesterday’s.

But if I had to bet, I’d wager that baby boomers played a better brand of Wiffle ball than today’s kids.

•Warm-up questions: Are we just one generation away from the extinction of the concept of “throwing like a girl”? Can you remember the name of the speaker at your high school graduation?

•Today’s Slice question: If a competition were held to determine what person who has moved away from here hated Spokane the most, who would win?