From our archives, 100 years ago

Dutch Jake Goetz, Spokane’s saloon-casino-hotel magnate, was having a blast high atop his Coeur d’Alene Hotel.

He was firing off his cannon – from its perch on the “hurricane deck” of the hotel – dozens of times to celebrate a particularly festive week in Spokane.

On one day alone, he fired his cannon 84 times, in a series of four 21-gun salutes, to commemorate the trains that were arriving at the new Union Depot. He was also planning to shoot off a 21-gun salute for the formal opening of the Davenport Hotel.

The newspaper speculated that he might be causing a local gunpowder shortage. But Goetz told reporters his only regret was that “there were no more celebrations in immediate prospect.”

From the fair beat: The weather was playing havoc with the Interstate Fair. Heavy, cold rains muddied the fairgrounds and kept the crowds away.

The motorcycle races were canceled. Most of the other events were held as scheduled, but the crowds retreated to places where hot coffee was available. The race horses and Wild West performers in the turfed infield “found it a good deal of a quagmire.”

The Spokesman-Review called the weather a “wet blanket.”  

Some of the upcoming attractions: A carnival that included a “congress of freaks” and a funhouse named “Ish-Ka-Bibble.”