100 years ago in Spokane: Teen suffers serious burns from firecrackers

Clayton Whalen, 13, made a classic firecracker mistake.

He lit a firecracker and mistakenly thought it was a dud. So he picked it up and put it in his shirt pocket – with the rest of his firecrackers.

The “dud” exploded and set off the entire pack, setting his shirt on fire. In a panic, he tore his shirt off, but not before suffering burns on his left side, back, arm and hands.

A passing motorist stopped when he saw the boy in trouble. He raced the boy to the emergency hospital, where he was treated for serious burns.

From the holiday beat: The schedule for the upcoming Coeur d’Alene Regatta included competitions in just about every water sport imaginable, including canoe races, log-rolling, diving contests and motorboat races.

“The Best Way and The Best Place to Celebrate the ‘Fourth’ is at the Coeur d’Alene Regatta,” announced an ad – although it was to be held on July 5 in 1920, because the Fourth fell on a Sunday. Tickets were only $1, and 12,000 seats were available, with an “excellent view from every seat.”

The schedule was packed with races nearly every minute. There were swimming races for men and women, ranging from 50 yards to 440 yards. There were racing shell contests and canoe sprints. A 50-foot-high diving exhibition was to be performed by Mr. L.K. Miller.

The Idaho Cup would be awarded to the winner of a 2-mile motorboat race, and the Spokane Cup would be awarded to the winner of a 3-mile motorboat race. The Delyea Brothers would perform a log-rolling exhibition.

Not all the entertainment would be on the water. Overhead, pilots from the U.S. Aircraft Corp. would perform aerial acrobatics and “aerial combat” (simulated, we can only hope).

The finale would consist of an “aquaplaning contest and surf board riding exhibition.”