Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

Spokane police were puzzling over a corpse, a pistol and a mystery.

The body of A.G. Hendrixson was found sprawled in the brush near Milan, east of Deer Park. He had one gunshot wound in the leg and another in the right temple. He clutched a revolver.

Residents reported hearing two shots in quick succession.

“The gun held in the hand would indicate suicide, if it were not for the puzzling feature that the relatives say the man never carried a revolver,” said a deputy. There were also signs of struggle.

In fact, his relatives were convinced he was attacked and murdered. They said his watch and his money were missing from his body. Apparently, their theory was that someone murdered him and planted the gun in his hand.

Officers continued to investigate.

From the lawyer beat: Former prosecuting attorney George Crandell suffered a scalp wound while plunging down a water slide at the Spokane Bar Association picnic at Liberty Lake.

A doctor at the scene pronounced the wound not serious. However, “unsympathetic colleagues” flocked around Crandell and jocularly accused him of a “conspiracy to frame up a damage suit.”

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1969: The Woodstock Music and Art Fair opened in upstate New York.