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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Jim Kershner’s This day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

Shocking news came out of North Idaho: Five avalanches roared through the mining towns of Mace, Burke and Carbonate Hill, killing 23 people and sweeping 30 houses into oblivion.

One Mace woman said she was awakened by the roar of the avalanche and sat up in bed. The next thing she knew, she was thrown across the room with the bed frame on top of her. Rescuers said the bed frame saved her life; the rest of her family of four perished.

Five hundred men worked desperately with picks and shovels to dig out other survivors, but the chances were growing slimmer by the hour. Most of the slides took place late on Feb. 27, 1910.

This was the latest blow from an exceptionally cruel winter. The Cascade Range and the Idaho ranges were buried under yards of snow. At lower elevations, unrelenting rain and snowmelt caused devastating floods in Colfax and Pullman.

“Many families had narrow escapes,” reported The Spokesman-Review.

Outside the region

1932: Charles A. Lindbergh Jr., the 20-month-old son of Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was kidnapped from the family home near Hopewell, N.J. (Remains identified as those of the child were found the following May.) … 1961: President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps. … 2003: Suspected 9/11 mastermind Khelid Shaikh Mohammed was captured by Pakistani and CIA agents.