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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

Two Washington Water Power meter installers got a hissing, slithering surprise in the basement of the old Club Cafe on Howard Street.

They found six rattlesnakes and a king cobra, “entwined in a wriggling mass” in a corner.

The meter installers skedaddled and refused, understandably, to return. 

However, several other WWP employees took up the challenge. They went down in the basement armed with flashlights, baseball bats and a gas pipe. They lured the snakes into an adjacent room and cudgeled them to death. A few small ones, however, disappeared under the board flooring.

The snakes were apparently left behind by previous occupants who had “conducted a freak museum” on the premises.

From the shoplifting beat: Miss A.B. Brown was attempting to support her aged parents. So she became a professional, and amazingly prolific, shoplifter.

When she was finally nabbed, police found more than 200 silver knives and forks in her home, along with dozens of other items.

She said that she researched all of the best shoplifting methods and put them into practice before being caught.

“I have a mania for daring enterprises,” she admitted.