This day in history: Elks walked black bear outside Davenport Hotel. Meat processor vowed to get more people to eat rabbits

From 1975: A long-dormant industry in the Inland Northwest was bouncing back: the rabbit industry.

Rabbit industry?

Yes, a new rabbit processing plant was butchering and packaging 300 to 500 rabbits every other Monday.

“Demand is fantastic, just fantastic,” said the meat supervisor at Bob’s Thrift Stores. “We wish we could expand but they can’t give us any more.”

Despite that, the co-owner of the rabbit processing operation admitted that “consumer acceptance” was iffy, and he hadn’t made a dime as yet.

The rabbit industry thrived in the region for decades until the government shut down a number of processing plants for sanitation violations. At that point, a lot of people quit raising rabbits or engaged in “backhanding,” meaning, butchering their own rabbits and selling the meat themselves.

“We’ll get this area back eating rabbits,” vowed the meat processor.

From 1925: More than 100 members of the Elks Lodge from Montana stopped in Spokane on the way to a Portland convention – and they brought along their rambunctious mascot, a black bear cub.

The cub “climbed all over” his handler, Doc Daniels, who then took the cub for a walk outside the Davenport Hotel.

“He howled in protest of the hot pavement, but grinned in glee when placed in an auto,” reported The Spokesman-Review.

Doc’s companions declared it a “a tossup” over which one would enjoy himself more in Portland.