100 years ago in Spokane: The city dry squad busted a rowdy dance party full of cake and booze

The dance party on North Post Street was supposed to be a “simple neighborhood affair,” but at 3 a.m., it took a more exciting turn.

“Gee, it’s a police raid,” raucously whispered one young flapper. “We got out just in time.”

Several others were not so fortunate. One man, attempting to make a getaway, was overpowered by the police dry squad. Officers confiscated the bottle of booze in his hand and booked him for liquor possession.

A number of other men were found inside, drunk.

“Girls from 16 to 45, with their ‘cakies,’ were draped around the room, and they took the entrance of the police calmly, continuing their gum chewing or chatter,” The Spokesman-Review wrote.

“Cakies” was a reference to cakes, because, according to the party’s invitation, ladies were asked to bring a cake. The paper reported that some of the young fellows arrived with a bottle on their hip, in lieu of a cake.

Police were summoned by a tip from one of the neighbors, who had not been invited. The paper surmised that the neighbor complained “either through injured pride or the impossibility of sleep.”

From the accident beat: Chaos ensued outside the Casino Theater when a man driving a stolen car lost control and skidded into two parked cars.

The crowd standing outside the theater at 9 p.m. narrowly escaped injury when one of the parked cars was shoved up onto the sidewalk.

The driver of the stolen car jumped out and ran, pursued by the owner of one of the parked cars. The miscreant vanished after a few blocks.