Jim Kershner’s This day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

The Rev. Cora Kincannon Smith, a Spokane “spiritualistic medium,” was having trouble getting her spirits to cooperate during a “test” (séance) at the Upper Pacific Hall.

“I’ve never had so much trouble in communicating with the spirits in my life,” declared the reverend. “Something seems to be wrong.”

She looked around the room and said, “Oh, I have it. You are wearing your hats and I must say, some of the creations women wear nowadays are enough to scare them away. You please will remove them.”

Every woman in the hall removed her hat “without reluctance or hesitation.”

“The reading proceeded with great success,” said the paper.

From the medical beat: Spokane was entering “pneumonia season” and the city’s health officer dispensed advice on how to keep children from contracting that disease, as well as the equally serious diseases of diphtheria and scarlet fever.

“Give your children plenty of air,” said the city’s top doctor. “See that their rooms are well-ventilated.”

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1977: Thirty-nine people were killed when the Kelly Barnes Dam burst, sending a wall of water through Toccoa Falls College in Georgia.