50 years ago in Expo history: In a promising sign, advance ticket sale revenue from the fair was in the millions

Revenue from advance ticket sales to Expo ’74 topped $3.2 million and site development was about 17 days ahead of schedule.

Expo general manager Petr Spurney delivered this good news to the Expo board, and he anticipated more good news to come.

Inquiries delivered to the Expo office – a good predictor of future sales – exceeded 3,500 a day and topped 10,000 on the most recent day.

“I think we are going to make our attendance projections, and probably exceed them,” Spurney said.

Almost 100,000 season passes had already been sold, along with 384,188 singe-day passes.

From 100 years ago: The fallout continued over the admission by Rev. C.A. Rexroad that he was the “exalted cyclops” of the local Ku Klux Klan.

There were indications that Rexroad, who was pastor of the Corbin Park Methodist Episcopal Church (South), would have to resign from his post as the chaplain of the 161st National Guard Infantry.

However, the board of his church said they would “stand behind Mr. Rexroad no matter what comes or goes.”

“We think he has taken the right view,” a board member said, “and there are scores of others who think the same thing.”

“I’m not worried at all,” Rexroad said. “My friends are all loyal and are standing behind me.”

He called a story in the Spokane Daily Chronicle, in which admitted to being a Klan leader, “a venomous attack.” He said his next sermon would be on the Klan “and three of its principles.”