Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

The third annual Play Festival at Manito Park drew 1,200 kids in what was described as a combination of “basket picnic, play hour, formal games and athletic contests.”

And then there were the “story hour phantasies,” in which the playground supervisor recited fairy tales and the children acted them out. For girls, the stories included “Red Riding Hood,” “Mother Goose” and “May Day Phantasy,” featuring Dorothy Bresnahan as the young May Queen.

For the boys, the stories took the form of pantomimes and “exceedingly funny burlesques.” One was called “Dr. Killum,” in which the boys staged a sham prize fight, which resulted in a knockout and the need for the services of the doctor. Another one was called “The Better Baby Contest,” in which two “big and stout boys” were “nursed by a couple of midgets,” apparently meaning smaller boys. Another was called “Clown Band.”

From the feline beat: A delegation from the Women’s Club appeared before the City Council to urge a cat license law. They said that “stray cats do much damage” and are “subsisting upon the birds of the neighborhood.” They said that one Spokane man found 15 pairs of robin legs in his orchard, evidence of cat depredations.

They said the license would raise money for “killing strays humanely.”