50 years ago in Expo history: The first in a treasure trove of paintings arrived in advance of the big fair

The first paintings for the art gallery in Expo ’74’s Washington State Pavilion arrived in Spokane – and they were so valuable they had to be stored in a Spokane bank vault.

About $500,000 worth of paintings were destined for the art gallery, and among the first to arrive was “Hillside Farms,” by the well-known Hawaiian artist Isami Doi.

It was uncrated and taken to the Spokane branch of the Seattle First National Bank for safekeeping until the art gallery area of the Washington State Pavilion was finished. A total of 146 paintings was expected by the end of March.

From 100 years ago: The Ku Klux Klan’s “imperial lecturer” from Seattle came to the defense of Rev. C.A. Rexroad of Spokane, who admitted a few days earlier that he was an “exalted cyclops” of the Klan.

This caused an uproar both within and without his congregation at the Corbin Park Methodist Episcopal Church (South). Some of his fellow pastors called the Klan un-American, and others called for Rexroad to resign his role as chaplain in the Washington National Guard.

The “imperial lecturer” claimed he could not understand why anyone would consider the Klan un-American. He said many Klan members were also members of the American Legion, and being a Klan leader should not hinder his duties in the National Guard.

Also on this day

(From onthisday.com)

1836: Battle of the Alamo: After 13 days of fighting, 1,500-3,000 Mexican soldiers overwhelm the Texan defenders, killing 182-257 Texans including William Travis, Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett.