This day in history: An unexpected boon in Spokane tourism and a gruesome discovery made headlines

From 1975: More than 500 air travelers made an unscheduled stop at Spokane International Airport after flights were diverted from foggy Seattle and Portland.

It was “said to be the largest such diversion to Spokane,” the Spokane Chronicle reported.

Northwest Airlines was busy finding lodging for its stranded passengers – “any place we can get them a bed,” a representative said.

This came close on the heels of another important air travel development – a tentative agreement in the United Airlines strike. Full service on United was expected within a few days.

From 1925: A water fee collector was making his rounds on the outskirts of Ponderay, Idaho, when he made a gruesome discovery.

He found Frank Fox, 40, dead in his small cottage.

Fox was “in his underclothing, with one sock off, and there were bruises and scratches on the face and large patches on both hips where the skin had been scraped off.” Fox had evidently been dead for some time.

Chairs were turned over and “things thrown about.” For these reasons, authorities suspected that Fox might have been murdered.

However, the doctor who performed the autopsy believed that Fox had been very sick “and perhaps partly out of his mind from suffering.”

Police were investigating.

Also on this day

(From onthisday.com)

2001: The first “Lord of the Rings” film, “The Fellowship of the Ring,” is released and earns $47 million during its opening weekend and $871 million worldwide.