100 years ago in Spokane: The cold weather made some residents of the Manito Park Zoo ‘in a bad mood’, but not the polar bears

Winter put the animals in the Manito Park Zoo in an unhappy mood, according to the zoo’s keepers.

“The moose are insidious and nobody wants to take any chances with them,” said the zookeepers. “… The bears, apart from the polar ones, are in a bad mood right now.”

The keepers did not take any chances. The bears are “staked into their burrows and the bars closed before the caretaker enters the cage to clean up and prepare the next meal.”

The polar bears, on the other hand, are “friendly fellows”. They let the caretaker into their cages without a fuss.

Over in the bird house, the Elster is “just as cheeky in winter as in any other season”.

“He calls himself ‘Maggie’ and chats super fast when someone approaches.”

From the music beat: The famous band leader and composer John Philip Sousa was supposed to bring his band to the auditorium of Lewis and Clark High School for two benefit concerts.

Sousa said he will bring new material but will not “neglect pieces that have become national favorites,” including “Semper Fidelis” and “The Washington Post March”.

Also on this day

(From the Associated Press)

1942: During the Second World War, US bombers hit mainland Italy for the first time with an attack on Naples. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the dismantling of the Works Progress Administration, which had been set up during the Depression to create jobs.