100 years ago in Spokane: Santa surprised local orphans with 700 gifts and a trip from the sky

Santa Claus arrived – from the sky! – to surprise the children of the Hutton Settlement orphanage.

The children were in the assembly room watching a movie when the engine of an airplane was heard overhead.

L.W. Hutton, the founder of the orphanage, called for the children to run outside. The plane circled and landed right on the Hutton grounds.

“The moment that the children saw who was the passenger, they rushed upon him, feeling the big fur coat,” reported The Spokesman-Review. “A helmet replaced the usual cap worn by Santa Claus, and he wore leather leggings, but the white beard was long and the face was as red as the frost of the air, helped by some rouge, could make it.”

Hutton had arranged this Christmas surprise with the Symons-Russell Aviation Co. Santa was portrayed by Walter L. Lees, one of the company’s fliers. Not even the other officers of the orphanage knew what Hutton had planned.

After the excited children greeted Santa, everyone marched inside, where Santa presided over the distribution of 700 gifts, which were already under the tree. Santa also distributed two crates of oranges and several boxes of apples.

From the labor beat: The hotel maids of the Spokane Hotel received a special Christmas present – thanks to the State Supreme Court – at their annual holiday luncheon.

They received $1,500, divided amongst them, as back pay due to a recent court ruling upholding the minimum wage law for women.

The women also received other gifts from management.

Several other hotels also made Christmas the occasion for distributing back-pay cash.