Jim Kershner’s This day in history » On the Web: spokesman.com/topics/local-history
From our archives,
100 years ago
With the nation’s Independence Day quickly approaching, area communities were gearing up for a variety of July Fourth celebrations. Amid all the parades, however, were a number of “firecracker” bans.
In Wallace, for example, the police chief issued a “rigid order” against fireworks over the holiday weekend. He even pledged to bring in a dozen “special officers” to make sure “not a firecracker will be exploded, pin-wheel, rocket or roman candle seen in Wallace.”
The town’s boys, the newspaper reported, vigorously protested the decision, but police Chief Miller would not budge.
Cheney officials also banned “any explosives” on the Fourth of July, citing a concern over the town’s inadequate water supply.
The city of Spokane, meanwhile, strictly prohibited setting off fireworks in the business district. And Chief of Police John T. Sullivan said anyone lighting fireworks before the morning of July Fourth would be arrested. To help enforce the rules, every officer on the city’s police force would put in an extra four hours of duty on the holiday.
Also on this date
(From the Associated Press)