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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

John Benton, 9, was arrested for “nearly throwing several Washington Water Power interurban trains down the cliffs at Garden Springs.”

The boy had piled rocks and old railroad ties on the track, and nearly caused a serious accident.

Instead of sending young John to reform school, Judge W.A. Huneke turned him over to the WWP’s company agent for a series of lessons about safety and the dangers of his youthful “experiments.”

From the accident beat: Police learned that Lester H. Snyder, 55, found injured by a Peaceful Valley roadside, was not robbed.

His cash and watch were still in his pockets. Snyder, however, regained consciousness and told police that he had been assaulted by an unknown man.

Nevertheless, police were now working on a different theory. They learned that he had left the bank where he worked as a teller at 10 p.m. and was denied admission to the Kronenberg Saloon near midnight. He was found battered on the roadside at 7 a.m. the next morning.

Police now thought he “fell off Riverside Avenue and rolled into Peaceful Valley.”

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1843: “A Christmas Carol,” by Charles Dickens, was first published in England.