Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

Theodore Roosevelt was wounded by a would-be assassin’s bullet in Milwaukee – and Spokane newsboys hit the jackpot.

“Lusty-lunged newsboys” sold thousands of copies of The Spokesman-Review’s “extra” edition, which related the early details of the assassination attempt.

“From suburban homes, from motion picture theaters, from play on the streets, forsaking supper and school books, the ‘newsies’ gathered into the outer circulation office, drawn apparently by no greater force than the instinct that is the news merchant’s,” said an S-R news story.

The newsboys charged off into the night, “with bundles of papers almost too large for their juvenile shoulders,” crying the big news of the evening.

The bullet struck Roosevelt in the chest but was slowed by the manuscript of a speech he was carrying in his pocket. He immediately wired his wife to say the bullet did not hit anything vital, although he did have to spend more than a week in a hospital, putting a serious damper on his campaign to regain the White House.

Some of the boys, apparently, charged 10 cents for the extra edition – the normal rate for a week of home delivery.

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1860: Grace Bedell, 11, of Westfield, N.Y., wrote a letter to presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln, suggesting he could improve his appearance by growing a beard. … 1951: The classic sitcom “I Love Lucy” premiered on CBS.