Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

Here’s the tally of Fourth of July casualties in Spokane in 1912 (before the “safe and sane” days):

• An attorney burned his right hand when a firecracker exploded before he could drop it.

• A flaming skyrocket fell on the roof of a home and started a fire, but the fire was extinguished before it reached the interior of the home.

• Another flaming skyrocket went down a skylight and into an air shaft in a commercial building and caught some boxes on fire. The fire was extinguished before it did much damage.

• A policeman was struck in the face by an exploding skyrocket and “lost his mustache.”

• A “homemade cannon” exploded and a piece of shrapnel struck the forehead of Mark Owen. He was badly injured but would recover.

The paper was pleased to report that Owen’s injury was the only serious one, which meant that by the standards of the time, this had been a relatively mayhem-free Fourth.

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1962: Independence took effect in Algeria; the same day, civilians of European descent, mostly French, came under attack by extremists in the port city of Oran (reports of the death toll vary from about 100 to the thousands).