100 years ago in Spokane: County paving truck runs over boy

From our archives, 100 years ago

The driver of a county auto paving truck saw three boys run from the curb as if to jump on the back of his trailer. This was a common prank, since the truck moved only a few miles per hour.

“I yelled at them, and they all stopped,” said the driver.

At least, he thought they had. The driver’s attention was diverted forward because of approaching traffic.

About a block later, he felt a thump. William Fueston, 8, had apparently jumped on the coupling pole to take a ride — but then he fell off, according witnesses.

The driver stopped when he heard witnesses scream, but it was too late. The boy’s head was crushed, and he died at the scene. Witnesses said the driver was blameless.

From the vaudeville beat: An unlikely form of entertainment – championship walking – was booked into the Pantages Theater.

George Brown, the world champion race-walker, had a vaudeville act that included “a walking race on the stage.”

Brown could walk a mile in six minutes and 44 seconds, and he once walked 100 miles in under 15 hours.