100 years ago in Spokane: Sympathy for France overflows at Bastille Day

Between 8,000 and 10,000 people celebrated Bastille Day on July 14, 1918, at Spokane’s Natatorium Park.

The band shell was draped with French and American flags and a 35-piece band played patriotic tunes.

Mrs. Edith Kressler Inman, dressed as Joan of Arc, draped a French flag over her shoulders to immense applause. Mrs. G.C. Appleton sang the French national anthem, as the throng joined in. John DeWitt recited a poem that he wrote, titled, “Viva La France.”

Professor Charles d’Urbal, a native of France, mounted the platform with the French tricolor and “marched back and forth as the band played the ‘Marseillaise.’ ”

Sympathy for France was at an all-time high in the U.S. because it was the primary battleground against the German army.

In fact, the Spokane Ad Club, which staged the event, made a recommendation to the city planning commission to rename one of Spokane’s principal streets, “Avenue La France.”

They suggested renaming either Mission Avenue, Northwest Boulevard or Southeast Boulevard. Apparently, the “Avenue La France” idea was never acted upon since these streets retain those names today.