100 years ago today in Spokane: Ice harvesters having good year at area lakes

The ice harvest was going strong in the Inland Northwest.

In this prerefrigerator era, ice was big business, and cold weather in the region meant that there was plenty of it. About 200,000 tons of ice were being cut from local lakes, including Sprague Lake and Loon Lake.

The Hazelwood Co., one of the big ice concerns, said the ice this season was “of exceptionally good quality.” It planned on shipping about 2,500 rail car loads of ice.

From the flu beat: The flu epidemic continued to wane, but plenty of people were still suffering.

The city’s Social Service Bureau asked for donations of mattresses, because “in some instances an entire family is sick and there are not enough beds in the home for all.”

Meanwhile, health officials announced plans to close the city’s emergency flu hospital on Jan. 15.

From the crime beat: Barney O’Brien, 69, went door to door in a Spokane neighborhood asking for work or cash.

He apparently wasn’t polite about it, because several people called police to report his manner was offensive.

Police took him into the station and discovered he was wearing three complete suits of clothing. Concealed in the folds were $21 in cash and a bank book indicating deposits of $261 – along with bread and two onions.

Police also found a quilt, stolen from a nearby residence. He was booked for larceny.