From our archive,

100 years ago

Albert Smith, 12, of Wallace, had a perfectly reasonable explanation for why he and his two pals, 11 and 10, ran away from that Silver Valley town.

“We got tired of sticking around that old town and I guess we wanted to see something before we get old and die,” Albert said. “We sold junk and got enough money to buy tickets for all of us, and rode to Spokane in the train.”

Unfortunately, they picked a rough time to hit the streets of Spokane. The temperature approached zero and the three boys had nowhere to sleep. They went back to the Spokane depot and appealed to the superintendent to sleep there for the night.

The superintendent questioned them closely, and they concocted a story about how their parents had sent them to Spokane to “deliver a message to the manager of the Hazelwood Dairy” and they had missed their train back to Wallace.

Meanwhile, their anxious families had reported them missing and police were on the lookout.

The superintendent told police that three boys were sleeping in the depot.

Officers took them to the station and the boys finally admitted their identities.

But, as Albert maintained, “we never done anything wrong.”

Albert also conceded that “it’s pretty cold now, and I guess we’ll go back home.”