Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

The Great War in Europe claimed another casualty – on a farm in Idaho.

John Henry Seims, a German immigrant living north of Nezperce, Idaho, had “become demented two months ago from worry over the European war, having two brothers in the German army.” He was taken to Portland and confined to a sanitarium.

He returned home after a number of weeks, but he apparently was not feeling better. At 2 a.m. on the day he returned, he arose from his bed and walked to the woodshed in his nightshirt.

His family found him there a few minutes later. He had committed suicide by hanging himself.

From the Columbia River beat: Government engineers were at work on a project for dredging the Columbia River between Lincoln and Kettle Falls.

Their goal was to open the river to “unobstructed navigation by light draft steamers” from Wenatchee to Kettle Falls. This would greatly improve the transportation options for the “farm and orchard products of the Columbia River valley.” The engineers planned to remove 64,000 cubic yards of rock in 30 locations on the river.

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1941: The Empire of Japan launched a pre-emptive air raid on the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as well as targets in Malaya, Hong Kong, Guam, the Philippines and Wake Island; the United States declared war against Japan the next day.