100 years ago in Spokane: No sports on Sundays? Ministers lamented activities that kept boys from going to church
Alvin M. Keeling
1 min read
Spokane ministers denounced a modern development: sports on Sundays.
Members of the Spokane Ministerial Association objected to tennis tournaments being held on Sundays.
They also noted that the Downriver golf course was packed “early every Sunday” in season and play continued all day.
Additionally, local clubs advertised indoor baseball games on Sunday mornings.
“Boys who should be in Sunday School are acting as markers or markers for these indoor baseball games,” a minister noted.
The association has taken no formal action, but some ministers have said ‘something needs to be done to scrap these games on Sunday’.
Meanwhile, a member of the association’s “civic justice committee” has called on the association to publicly oppose the upcoming vaudeville appearance of the wife of notorious bank robber Roy Gardner. They feared she was talking about the “noble qualities” of the man known as the “Smiling Bandit”.
Skating pace: The freezing weather brought thousands of skaters to Spokane. Park Superintendent John Duncan said there were about 1,500 skaters at the Manito Park pond and an equal number at the Cannon Hill Park pond.
The cold and snow also brought out the coasters (sleds). In an effort to keep children away from dangerous streets, the park service has created safe coast hills on Cowley Street, Elm Street and Downriver Park, with supervisors at the top and bottom of these hills.
