This day in history: Spokane schools reported spike in vandalism; out-of-control horse and buggy attracted gawkers downtown

From 1975: A shocking spurt of vandalism was costing Spokane schools tens of thousands of dollars, and the school board were now seeking to make the vandals’ parents pay up.

The school board introduced a new policy which would allow the schools to seek restitution from “parents or guardians of minors committing such acts,” as well as adults who committed such acts.

Nearly 500 cases of vandalism had already been reported during the school year, including a particularly costly nighttime rampage through Franklin Elementary School. In that case, “virtually every classroom” was ransacked, creating a mess “beyond description.”

From 1925: Autos, not horses, were crowding the streets of downtown Spokane by 1925, but for one madcap moment, the “wheels of time” turned back 20 years.

A bay horse hauling an empty buggy came careening down Riverside Avenue, causing pedestrians to gawk and cars to swerve out of the way.

At one point, the traffic became so jammed that “the horse saw no path other than a narrow space between two cars.”

The horse made it through; the buggy did not.

The horse broke free and continued its mad dash down Riverside. Finally, a police officer was able to grab the broken buggy shafts and stop the animal. The chagrined owner led the horse away, along with the remains of his buggy.

Also on this day

(From onthisday.com)

1933: Joseph Goebbels becomes Nazi Germany’s Minister of Information and Propaganda.