In an intriguing incident from 1975, two Spokane residents embarked on a huckleberry picking adventure that took an unexpected turn. After spending a “cold rainy night in the negligible shelter of a rock overhang” just north of Newport, the two women, aged 52 and 82, were found in good health the following morning. They reported that they “didn’t really sleep all night … we were listening for a search party.”
The search effort concluded successfully when rescuers located the pair, who communicated with their searchers through shouts that echoed across the mile-long canyon where they waited. Remarkably, both women were able to walk out of the canyon alongside their rescuers, still holding on to their precious huckleberries.
A Look Back: The Silver Grill Special Train in 1925
Flashback to 1925, when a special excursion train named the Silver Grill Special was set to transport between 3,000 and 4,000 passengers from the Puget Sound area to Spokane. The event was designed to coincide with the grand opening of the Silver Grill, located in the newly remodeled Spokane Hotel. Among the travelers would be a troupe of entertainers from the Coast.
This special excursion train journey was scheduled to last from Saturday night until Monday evening, providing visitors an opportunity to not only attend the restaurant’s opening but also to participate in the festivities of the Spokane Interstate Fair. Tickets for this memorable trip were priced at just six dollars.
Noteworthy Events on This Day
- 1814: British forces captured Washington, D.C. during the War of 1812, causing extensive damage to numerous landmarks.
- 1968: France achieved a significant milestone by becoming the fifth nation to possess thermonuclear capabilities, conducting a detonation at Mururoa Atoll in the South Pacific.
