I was 12 when the fair opened. Since I lived in Spokane, my family went
many times, but there is one time that sticks in my mind. My Mom & Dad,
my brother (age 15) & I decided to eat in a French restaurant at the
fair. We knew we stood little chance of ever actually visiting France,
so this would be our best chance to sample famous French cuisine.
The food was awful. I don't remember what everyone else had, but I had
some dish that now puts me in mind of Swedish meatballs. Everyone
agreed it was the worst food we'd had at the fair, and the service was
slow and belligerent. So my father left no tip.
We had exited the building and gone maybe ten yards when a waiter came
hurtling out of the restaurant. He confronted my Dad and explained that
he had mad a major oversight by not tipping. My father was
flabbergasted. After listening to the waiter's complaint, he gave him a
few dollars just to make him go away. But we never went anywhere near
that restaurant again, and now I have a story about how the French can
be rude to American tourists even in America.
—greyshade
What a great site. I really like the design
and it stirred many memories -- I grew up in Marysville and my family made
the same trek. Also, the soundbite was a howler. It makes one
think Rhino should do a compilation of great world's fair songs.
—steve
I was living in Spokane at the time of the fair. I lived within a mile
of downtown and used to walk through the fair site while it was under
construction. I still have photos of the construction phase of the fair.
I also had a season pass and spent many days there during the run of the
fair. My favorite part was the folklife festival.
Thanks for the site.
—tower
I love your site. The school I'm at (Lewis and Clark) has two connections to Expo.
When Nixon came, we had Secret Service running around the school because
from the roof there was perfect line of sight to the park. There were
gov't snipers based on the roof for his entire visit. Also, when the fair
ended, Expo donated all the leftover paint to the school district. The
pipes in our basement were painted with a rainbow of not so flattering rainbow of colors. It took a decade for the students to finally convince the district
to repaint the basement.
—tmeyer
