50 years ago in Expo history: In a not-so-fair game, the big event was expected to draw con artists to the Lilac City

Officers issued a warning to 350 Spokane merchants: Expo ’74 tourists would be accompanied by Expo con artists.

Spokane detective Harold Tucker of the bunco squad said, “If some stranger wants to talk about your money, you better forget about it, because he’s out to get your money.”

He also warned of pickpockets, who “usually work in threes and fives, and will be working the Expo grounds, elevators, corners and bus depots.” He said they distract the victim by “spraying glue on his clothing, burning him with a cigarette or spitting on him.”

Duke Livingstone, former agent and current security chief for the Bon Marche, described what happened during Seattle’s World’s Fair. Prostitutes solicited in stores, burglars ransacked cars and hotel rooms, and con artists worked COD (cash on delivery) scams.

He also warned merchants about apprehending a foreigner, unless absolutely sure.

“We don’t want Henry Kissinger moving to Spokane to settle an international problem,” he said.

From 100 years ago: Someone hurled a bomb onto the front porch of the William McGillivray home on East 17th Avenue, damaging the porch and shattering the entire front of the house. No one was injured.

Police were investigating a shocking connection to an earlier incident, in which someone blasted a dam on Meadow Lake near Medical Lake.

E.F. Graves had just won a court decision, which stipulated that the Meadow Lake dam be repaired and maintained. Graves, as it turned out, had previously lived in the McGillivray home and still had an ownership stake in it.

Police suspected the bombing may have been retribution aimed at Graves.