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

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

From our archives, 100 years ago

The daughter of an Oakesdale, Wash., farmer waited until her father was out threshing – and then she eloped with a 28-year-old farmhand.

She had secretly packed her bags the night before and passed them through her window to her paramour. The next morning she pretended to go to school as usual but instead met the farmhand on the way. They sped off to Coeur d’Alene to get married.

When the father found out, he hit the roof. He “apparently does not hold his new son-in-law in very high regard,” said the paper, possibly because his daughter was not yet 18.

From the dope beat: A 22-year-old Gonzaga College graduate went crazy on a downtown street corner after injecting too much morphine into his arm.

He became convinced that he had punctured an artery in his arm, so he “tied his necktie around the injured member” like a tourniquet. His screams attracted police, who tried to undo the necktie, but the man fought like a wildcat.

Turned out, the man had not punctured an artery at all. But his arm was all black-and-blue due to the tourniquet. He was given a bed at the police station overnight.

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1919: The American Legion received a national charter from Congress.