Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

Spokane’s Italian community staged a festive Columbus Day celebration at St. Aloysius Parish Hall. 

The program included music, humorous readings, a motion picture and dramatic selections. Father Roccati “urged his countrymen in America to emulate the bravery, constancy and faith of the great discoverer.”

From the war beat: A Spokane German named John K. Antonowitsch found himself in a fix. He had been in the U.S. for 12 years and was a naturalized citizen. Yet he still owned an estate in Germany worth $100,000. The Kaiser’s government was threatening to confiscate it from him unless he returned to Germany and joined the German army.

He had been in the German army 18 years earlier and had no desire to return. However, he did not want to lose what amounted to a massive fortune.

So he was in Seattle, preparing to return to Germany and join the hostilities, leaving his wife and children at their home on Mallon Avenue.

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1492: (According to the Old Style calendar), Christopher Columbus arrived with his expedition in the present-day Bahamas.

1870: Gen. Robert E. Lee died in Lexington, Virginia, at age 63.