Jim Kershner’s This day in history
From our archives,
100 years ago
A shocking apparition in the woods suddenly appeared in front of a rancher and a young woman who were out for a pleasant ride three miles north of Hillyard.
A form, like a ghostly scarecrow, suddenly swung out in their path. They were too frightened to investigate – they rode away as fast as they could. But the man became curious and went back two days later.
What he found was almost more frightening than a ghost. It was the body of a man who had hung himself from a tree and remained undiscovered for many months. The body was described as nearly “mummified.”
Police said the man, a Norwegian, had been despondent in his new country. He was unable to master English and find a job.
From the Wobbly file: Members of the Wobblies (Industrial Workers of the World) gave a series of triumphant speeches at Front and Stevens streets.
This marked a significant victory for the Wobblies. The city had earlier banned street-corner speaking, sparking Spokane’s Free Speech Fight of 1909, which made national news. Under pressure, the city changed the law – which allowed the Wobblies finally to “revel chin-deep in oratory.”
Also on this date
(Associated Press)
1919: The New York Daily News was first published.