Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

Wilson Sullivan, an Indian “of advanced age,” walked to Spokane from Walker Prairie, near Springdale, in order to buy some Thanksgiving dinner provisions.

It was his first visit to Spokane in 26 years. His shopping errands took him longer than expected and when he walked out of the store, the sun was down and he could see nothing but the garish glow of city lights.

This bewildered Sullivan. So he went to the police station to ask a simple question: In which direction had the sun set?

The sergeant in charge offered to give him a bed to spend the night. Sullivan replied that he didn’t want to spend the night, he just wanted someone to tell him which direction the sun had set.

Finally, the sergeant pointed west. Sullivan said that was all he needed, because once away from the electric lights, he could “trace the rest of the route by the stars.”

However, the sergeant successfully talked Sullivan into taking a northwest-bound streetcar, to speed his journey to the city’s outskirts.

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1789: This was a day of thanksgiving set aside by President George Washington to observe the adoption of the Constitution of the United States.