Jim Kershner’s This day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

Spokane’s sanitary inspector and health officer inspected every restaurant in Spokane and the results were not pretty for Spokane’s “noodle cafes.”

Eleven places scored lower than 50 percent out of 100, many of them Japanese restaurants. One place, called the Fikusui in Front Alley, scored a 35. The ratings were based on sanitary accommodations, equipment and methods. Any place scoring below 50 percent had to clean up or close.

The highest-rated restaurant was Mrs. Wiley’s Dining Room at the Sillman Hotel, which scored a 90.

Not all noodle cafes scored poorly. Empire Noodle scored an 80, which put it in the top quarter.

Japanese restaurants were exceptionally popular in Spokane in 1911. The inspection listed 20 Japanese restaurants downtown.

From the nutrition beat: An elderly, reclusive Rosalia man named Bernard “Kill” Kelley lived almost entirely on peanuts, which he believed were both “healthful and economical.”

“He has lived on the goobers for years, buying them in town a bushel at a time,” said the paper. “His calculations appear to be correct, for he was strong and sturdy up to his last days.”

This was in his obituary.

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1907: The foundation stone was laid for the Washington National Cathedral.