This day in history: Summer storms causes destruction throughout region. Secretary of Commerce Hoover agrees to deliver Columbia Basin Irrigation League address

Fri., Aug. 7, 2026

By Jim Kershner The Spokesman-Review

From 1976: A violent summer storm swept through the Inland Northwest, knocking down trees and power lines – and preventing Coeur d’Alene moviegoers from seeing the shocking ending of “The Exorcist.”

A squall blew down the screen at a Coeur d’Alene drive-in theater, leaving viewers hanging.

The accompanying power outage also partially thwarted a would-be robber waving a shotgun at the Garland Drive-In restaurant.

The robber entered just after closing and demanded money. But the electric-powered cash register wouldn’t open.

The frustrated robber then ordered the owner to open a safe and escaped with $100.

From 1926: Boosters of the Columbia Basin irrigation project were ecstatic that Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover had agreed to “deliver the principal address at the annual meeting of the Columbia Basin Irrigation League.”

Hoover was “one of the most widely recognized and influential members of President Coolidge’s cabinet.” His speech was scheduled to take place in Seattle later in the month, and boosters hoped that he would also “inspect the arid lands of eastern Washington, proposed to be irrigated by development of the project.”

“It is doubtful if there is anyone with a more far-seeing vision, and economical understanding of the nation’s needs today, than Secretary Hoover,” a league official said.

Hoover, of course, would soon become even more influential. He would be elected president in 1928.

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