This day in history: Region experiences cooler, wetter August than usual

From 1975: August 1975 was the fifth coldest August in Spokane’s history – and one of the wettest.

The average high for the month was 64.2 degrees, more than 12 degrees below normal. The temperature never reached above 90 degrees.

The total precipitation for the month was almost an inch, well above the month’s normal average of just above a half-inch.

What was in store for the first day of September? More of the same, with a forecast high of 65 and a low of 45 degrees.

From 1925: Spokane police Chief W.H. Turner announced the formation of a two-man “shotgun squad” – which meant exactly what the title implied.

“In choosing the squad, we are going to consider the best marksmen on the force,” Turner said. “They must be men who can use their heads before shooting at a fugitive. The orders will be to get the man, and, if it is necessary, shoot to stop him.”

The shotgun squad would be “held at the station in readiness to work on any crimes reported.” The chief said it was “a preventative measure to protect the safety of Spokane citizens.”

The men would be equipped with pump-action shotguns.

Also on this day

(From onthisday.com)

1752: The Liberty Bell arrives in Philadelphia from Whitechapel Foundry in London.

1773: “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral” by Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved American, publishes in the U.K. It is the first known book of poetry published by a Black woman.

1807: Aaron Burr is acquitted of charges of plotting to set up an empire in the U.S.