Jim Kershner’s This day in history

From our archives, 50 years ago

Presidential candidate John F. Kennedy visited Spokane in 1960 on a quick campaign stop that included an open-car parade through downtown.

Kennedy was whisked in a convertible from the airport to the Lincoln statue downtown, near Main Avenue and Monroe Street, where thousands gathered to hear a speech peppered with issues designed to appeal to Eastern Washington voters. He talked about farm policy, defense spending and mining issues.

JFK was accompanied in the convertible by Gov. Albert Rosellini and Sen. Henry “Scoop” Jackson during the parade. The Spokane Daily Chronicle reported that about “250 people, mostly youthful, rollicked alongside the senator’s car as it moved at the pace of a fast walk.” Some were scattering confetti.

The Spokesman-Review reported that “one woman wanted to see him badly enough to leave a beauty salon with her hair partially up in pincurls.”

After the speech and a quick meeting with Democratic Party officials, Kennedy was whisked back to the airport for the next stop, Seattle. It was his third visit to Spokane in 1960.

Also on this day

(From the Associated Press)

1901: President William McKinley was shot and mortally wounded by anarchist Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, N.Y. (McKinley died eight days later; he was succeeded by Vice President Theodore Roosevelt. Czolgosz was executed in Oct. 1901.)