Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

The Doukhobor religious sect was threatening an alarming form of protest in Nelson, B.C.: a naked march through the streets.

The 6,000-member sect was threatening to “take off their clothing and show themselves on the streets of British Columbia.”

This Russian religious community was upset about a plan by the provincial government to enforce the law requiring the registration of births and deaths.

The Doukhobors were also opposed to compulsory schooling and military service.

Their unusual form of protest would soon became a Doukhobor trademark. They would stage many nude protests over the next several decades in British Columbia.

From the education beat: Spokane’s grade school teachers continued their campaign for higher pay by releasing figures that showed they were paid far less than the city’s high school teachers. Most were paid about $850 a year, while most high school teachers were paid between $1,300 and $1,400 a year.

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1876: Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for his telephone.

1926: The first successful trans-Atlantic radio-telephone conversations took place between New York and London.