100 years ago in Spokane: Made-in-Spokane biplane takes flight

Spokane’s Northwest Aircraft Co. made a trial flight of its first airplane at the Parkwater Aviation Field.

Lt. C.E. Pangborn, the organization’s pilot, took the plane up on a short flight and planned to make another in the evening. The Northwest Aircraft Co. was hoping to create an aircraft industry in Spokane.

From the Mystery Girl beat: Lillian Davis, dubbed “the Mystery Girl” by the papers, was going on trial for stealing clothes and jewelry from local shops.

She was called the Mystery Girl because she claimed to be the daughter of a wealthy Alaska tycoon and a student at both the University of Washington and Stanford University.

However, authorities could not locate any relatives and eventually a public defender was appointed to represent her in court.

From the apple beat: Spokane was still a major apple-growing region in 1919, but an unusual late-May frost damaged many of the orchards.

Orchardists in the Spokane Valley reported losses of “alarming proportions.” Vegetables also were damaged. The Arcadia Orchards near Deer Park reported that half of its apple crop was lost.

A Spokane Valley farmer said it was the latest and most severe frost in his 20 years as a farmer.