100 years ago in Spokane: 1,000 girls attend tea party at Crescent department store

From our archives, 100 years ago

More than 1,000 little girls, most carrying dolls in their arms, descended on the Crescent department store to attend a “doll’s tea party.”

The children were brought by their parents, but no parents were allowed inside the party room, which was in the toy department of the store.

The room was filled with miniature tables and chairs. The children sat in groups of four and were served tea and cakes. The dolls sat in the girls’ laps. Each girl left with a souvenir cup and saucer.

The little girls had all been sent invitations entitling admittance to “one girl who didn’t think she was too big to carry a doll.” The times were staggered so that about 200 girls arrived every half-hour.

The store manager said the party was “in the nature of a formal opening for the doll department.”

From the crime beat: Two brothers were arrested for trying to skip out of their room rent in Colfax. They were being escorted to court in Pullman via train, when they tried to skip out again. They jumped out of a window of the moving train.

The conductor stopped the train, backed it up, and the officer easily overtook them. The brothers were still shackled together.