Jim Kershner’s This day in history » On the Web: spokesman.com/topics/local-history

From our archives, 100 years ago

The residents of Loon Lake were boiling mad over a series of Halloween pranks that went “far beyond the definition of sport of any kind,” according to the paper’s Loon Lake correspondent.

In one case, the pranksters broke into the livery barn of a local merchant, released the delivery horses from their stalls, rode them three miles into the woods and left them tied to trees.

The same pranksters removed the nuts and bolts on the delivery wagon, causing the “wagon to be useless” until new hardware could be custom-made.

Meanwhile, someone took two buggy wheels and hung them over the telephone wires near Loon Lake’s central telephone office. It knocked out the town’s telephone service for the entire day.

And someone poured 15 gallons of water into the gas tank of an engine used to power a wood saw, putting the engine out of commission.

“The better class of citizens are most pronounced in their condemnation of the numerous outrages and all state that they will do everything in their power to assist in bringing the guilty parties to justice,” said the correspondent.

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1889: North Dakota and South Dakota became the 39th and 40th states.