This Day in History: Canadians put on a show for the Expo '74 crowd

A cast of nearly 1,000 people – including bagpipers, drummers and Mounties – put on a show called the Spectacle Canadien at the Coliseum as part of Expo ’74’s Canada Week.

It was “2 1/2 hours of pomp and pageantry,” according to The Spokesman-Review.

A band of 120 bagpipers played “Scotland the Brave” and 32 members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police “performed intricate cavalry exercises on horses that never missed a step.”

“Their infamous charge only lasted a few seconds due to the small arena in the Coliseum and it’s not something you want to trip him up for,” SR said.

From 100 years ago: Spokane was working hard to get a transcontinental airmail route into the region, but there were two competing plans.

One was to establish a supply route from Elko, Nevada, to Pasco. Elko was on the existing route from New York to San Francisco.

The other was to establish a direct northern airmail route that would stop in Spokane en route to the coast. The Spokane Chamber of Commerce has announced its support for the northern route.

“We have worked for three years for the northern route and we should not give it up,” said a House spokesman.