This day in history: Flu outbreak reaches Spokane

From 1976: A national flu outbreak had reached Spokane, with about a dozen or more cases arriving at area hospitals.

The number of reported weekly respiratory ailment cases had jumped from 1,706 at the end of January to 4,047 for the third week of February.

For “the first time in memory,” signs had been posted at Deaconess Hospital “urging persons with flu symptoms not to visit patients.”

Absentee rates in Spokane schools reached as high as 37%.

This may have been a harbinger of the 1976 swine flu scare, which would soon result in a nationwide vaccination campaign.

From 1926: Washington Gov. Roland Hartley visited Spokane to make a major speech at the East Sprague Avenue Improvement Club – but he also made news when he put his arm around the aged mother of a convicted murderer and kissed her.

She had approached him at the Davenport Hotel and begged him to pardon her son, who she insisted was innocent despite the fact he was serving a life sentence for “wife murder.”

“I could not help but sympathize with her, and so did Mrs. Hartley, who was present,” said Hartley. “I put my arm about the old lady and kissed her as I escorted her to the door and promised to look into the case and see the man when the parole board meets.”

Hartley also made news by confirming his support of a key issue in the region, the creation of a vast Columbia Basin irrigation project.

The Spokesman-Review noted that state and federal cooperation was vital for the success of such a project.