Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

The grizzly bear and cub at the Manito Park Zoo didn’t come cheap.

An itemized bill to the parks board showed that the two bears ate more than $54 worth of meat during the month – a shockingly high amount at the time – along with about $16 worth of bread.

The parks board was also billed about $45 by Yellowstone Park officials for the cost of capturing, crating, feeding and transporting the bears to Spokane.

From the City Hall beat: About 1,500 citizens attended the “housewarming” of Spokane’s new City Hall. People toured “every nook and cranny, from the ‘dark’ room in the jail to the vault occupied by the weights and measures department.”

Potted palms from the Manito Park greenhouse decorated the offices. A seven-piece orchestra played.

This open-house celebration came to a cheerful finale when the floor of the council chambers was cleared for dancing. People danced until 10:30 p.m.

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1960: Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy defeated Vice President Richard M. Nixon for the presidency.

1980: Scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., announced that the U.S. space probe Voyager 1 had discovered a 15th moon orbiting the planet Saturn.