This day in history: Sen. Scoop Jackson touted wheat in presidential campaign stop in Spokane; hero and his swim prevented train catastrophe

From 1975: Sen. Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson arrived in Spokane to campaign for president and described himself as “a candidate in the progressive center.”

He said that Eastern Washington had a key role to play on the international scene.

The reason? Wheat.

He said that “we have a far more valuable commodity than oil – and that’s food.”

He said the U.S. could do much to alleviate worldwide hunger with its vast production of food.

Jackson believed the biggest obstacle facing his candidacy was name recognition – outside of the two Washingtons, at least. He said he had 58% name recognition and expected to improve that considerably.

Jackson would go on to win a pair of Democratic primaries but eventually dropped out following the emergence of Jimmy Carter.

From 1925: Charles Ponis, a Great Northern railway section foreman, saved an oncoming passenger train from disaster near Irby, Washington, just west of Odessa.

Ponis was patrolling the line one night when he encountered a massive flood, 9 feet deep and 100 feet wide. It had washed out the tracks and scattered ties and timbers for a half-mile

He realized that a train with 100 passengers was coming from the other direction and would plunge into the washed out roadbedwith devastating results.

There was only one way to get to the other side of the washout: swim.

So he dived into the dark, cold waters and swam a quarter-mile until he could stand up and wade. He made his way down the track, and frantically gave the danger signalto the oncoming train. The train stopped and picked him up.

The train was now marooned, because the tracks in the other direction had also washed out.

The next day, the passengers were picked up by 29 autos from Odessa and taken to safety.