Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

It was a most unusual Fourth of July celebration in Spokane: No one was burned, maimed or killed.

The chief of police said it was remarkable, but “everybody behaved themselves, generally speaking, and everybody seemed careful about explosives.”

There were 10,000 revelers at Natatorium Park, but there “was not the slightest disorder,” said the chief. The “rowdy element always present at a big celebration was never allowed to become obnoxious.”

From the projectile beat: However, there was one big Fourth of July mystery. Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Burton thought they heard something fall onto their house on the afternoon of the holiday. They went upstairs and found wood and plaster on the floor and a three-inch hole in their roof. Their first thought was that “someone had thrown a giant cracker.”

But upon investigation, they found what had made the hole: a 10-ounce rock about three inches wide.

Because of the looks of the rock – one side appeared to have been melted – some people theorized that it might be a meteor. Or it could be a chunk of slag blown into the air by a July Fourth explosion. 

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1865: William Booth founded the Salvation Army in London.