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

Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

The mysterious case of the disappearing Spokane mining man, Maurice H. Hare, finally was solved. He was in Los Angeles, under doctor’s care for a nervous breakdown.

Hare had disappeared without a trace a month earlier. Neither his family nor his business partners at the Idaho Placer Mining office had any clue as to where he could be.

In a letter his family received nearly a month to the day after his disappearance, he said that he had suffered a serious nervous condition, similar to aphasia or amnesia, apparently brought on by overwork.

He apparently had suffered two previous attacks, which he had hidden from his family. This time, under severe mental strain in negotiating the transfer of mining property, he decided to leave for California when he felt a third attack coming on.

He said he planned to return to Spokane “just as soon as his nerves would let him.”

From the explosion beat: One man was dead and another severely burned in an explosion at an East Sprague Avenue fireworks factory.

The Washington Fireworks Co. was wracked by three explosions, one after another. The blasts blew out 20 feet of brick wall and part of the roof of the factory. Then the building burst into flames. 

Joseph Morrow, 40, probably was blinded by one of the explosions and was unable to find his way out of the burning building. His body was found not far from the front window. 

The plant manager, M.H. Squires, was seriously burned in an attempt to rescue Morrow. Another employee, Miss Belle Norris, severely injured her arm when she fell from the building while escaping.