This day in history: Police said bank robbery may have been first in Spokane by a woman; Hillyard Lutheran Church burned

From 1974: A daring bank robber – described as a young blond woman – absconded with about $1,000 from the American Commercial Bank in downtown Spokane.

She handed a note to a teller that read, “This is a bank robbery. Do it quickly.”

The woman then grabbed a “fistful of dollars” from the teller and fled on foot.

“A bank official chased the woman out of the bank but lost sight of her after she met a male companion on the skywalk near Main and Wall,” The Spokesman-Review wrote.

Police did not arrive on the scene until five minutes later because of a malfunction in the alarm system. By then the pair had disappeared.

Police said that women had previously acted as bank robbery accomplices in Spokane, but this might have been the first time a woman “did the work herself.”

From 1924: About 75 children were practicing their Christmas program at the Hillyard Lutheran Church when “the roof suddenly broke into flames.”

The children were able to escape without harm, but the fire completely destroyed the church roof. The fire was caused by sparks escaping from the chimney.

The nearby Hillyard Methodist Church announced that it would host the Lutheran church’s Christmas program.

Also on this day

(From onthisday.com)

1814: The War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom comes to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent.