Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

A Spokane man announced a new marble-quarrying enterprise near Northport, Washington. 

W.R. Rathbun said there is “no better marble in the world than in these quarries.” He said he had already secured a contract to supply marble for a $2.5 million hotel in Minneapolis.

He said the new quarry would employ 60 expert marble cutters and other laborers. In fact, he said the enterprise would be so big that it would require the building of a new town. A Spokane engineer was already surveying the site of the prospective town.

A railroad spur would also be built to the quarries.

From the war beat: A banker in Antwerp, Belgium, wrote a letter to his Spokane son describing the conditions in that city as the European war heated up.

He said Germany offered Belgium “huge sums of money” to allow their troops unhampered passage. When Belgium refused, the Germans turned on them.

“The very mention of anything or anybody from Germany makes the people here fighting mad,” said the banker. “German names over hotels and other places of business have been torn down and replaced by Belgian names. Even the labels on bottles of German-made beer are torn off.”