100 years ago in North Idaho: Plane with Coeur d’Alene Press publisher aboard crashes

The Curtiss “Seagull” hydroplane (float plane) on Lake Coeur d’Alene was caught by a sudden gust of wind as it swooped in for landing on the lake.

The wind forced it toward the shore where its left wing struck Mrs. Ida L. Wood, described as an elderly woman, who was standing watching the swimmers. The wing hit her in the back of the head and she was thrown to the ground.

The plane then landed on a log, which tore a hole about one foot in diameter in its hull. The pilot and his two passengers, the publisher of the Coeur d’Alene Press and the president of the Coeur d’Alene Regatta Association, were “badly jarred” but otherwise unhurt.

Mrs. Wood suffered significant bruises on her head and face, although no further details were available about her condition.

The plane had to be dismantled and carried by barge to a boat repair shop where its owners hoped to have it back in working order within five days.

From the baseball beat: The baseball season was well underway, and the Spokane Indians were struggling. They were in fifth place in the six-team league, and they had endured a particularly difficult game versus Vancouver at Natatorium Park the day before.

The Indians were “shy” on pitchers following the busy Fourth of July weekend, so the manager tried out “three budding hurlers” – normally position players – on the mound. It did not work out well.

“In each case, the embryo flinger fizzled,” wrote a sportswriter. The manager finally had to call in a real pitcher to finish out the contest. The Indians lost, 15-6.