Jim Kershner’s This day in history

From our archives, 75 years ago

Spokane and Coeur d’Alene received a bright, glittery Christmas present in 1935: A “silver thaw” or freezing rain.

This was not exactly a welcome gift for the city’s bus drivers and motorists. Buses were delayed all over Spokane. The highways near Wolf Lodge on Lake Coeur d’Alene were covered with an icy coating and nearly impassable.

Two miners coming off shift at the Bunker Hill mine in Kellogg were injured when they were hit by a skidding truck.

From the Christmas tip file: Spokane’s hotel bellmen, waitresses and porters were bemoaning the sad state of Christmas tipping in 1935.

They said that “throws” – slang for tips – ain’t what they used to be.

One bellman complained: “25-cent throws used to be common. Now, a man will ask for change.”

By the way, one bellman said that he and his compatriots objected to being called “bellhops.”

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1776: Gen. George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River for a surprise attack against Hessian forces at Trenton, N.J. … 1990: The World Wide Web was born in Switzerland as computer scientists Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau created the first hyperlinked webpage.