In this episode, Liz grapples with a Spokane urban legend that recently got widespread attention thanks to a viral TikTok video, and gives the one-two punch to AI-generated answers and the content creators (can't call 'em "researchers") who rely solely on them. 

The video claims that the Rosauers (a grocery store, for you non-Spokanites) in Browne's Addition was built on a Chinese cemetery. At the time of the video, there were ample resources that said otherwise, but Google Gemini's AI response promulgated the myth. Liz did over 40 hours of original research to write a fantastic article on Spokane Historical proving that the video and Gemini were wrong...which ended up getting crawled by Gemini, which used the information to correct its summary! A win for original research! 

Liz starts the episode wearing her career researcher hat to talk about why you can't use AI in place of actual research (you gotta be able to cite your sources, dudes!), and also gives a short update about the recent Spokane fires. But then we dive right into the myth, and even better, the actual, factual history behind the legend. Because there were Chinese people living and working in Spokane in the late 18- and early 1900s, and they did have interesting burial practices that involved burial, disinterment a few years later, and a second burial back in China; and it's likely one, if not two of these temporary burial sites were in/near Browne's Addition. (Although, as Liz uncovers for us in the episode, neither site was where Rosauers--or any grocery store for that matter--was built.)

No one is spared in this episode, not AI, not lazy content creation, not Grocery Outlet (shout out, GrossOut), not even that really crappy intersection you gotta contend with driving out of Browne's. 

Thank you for listening. Stay weird! 

**

Liz tells Devon about Spokane's two totem poles: the "Hamat´sa Spirit" pole carved for Expo '74 by legendary Nuu-chah-nulth artist Joe David and his apprentice, Frank Charlie (also Nuu-chah-nulth); and a pole carved in 1977 by a non-Native man who went by Wobay Kitpou and Colville craftsman Michael Paul. Both totem poles were originally placed in Riverfront Park on what was then called Canada Island. In 2016, the island was rededicated to the Spokane Tribe, the area's original people, and in 2017 renamed Snxw Meneɂ, Salish for "salmon people".

We talk about what a totem pole is, touch on other types of Northwest Coast art, the current state of the poles, and Liz shares bonus facts about the "Seward shame pole". 

Further Reading:

Liz's writeup on the totem poles for her Expo '74 website: https://www.visitexpo74.com/art-and-music/canada-island-totem-pole

Information on the Hamat´sa dance and ceremony written by U'mista Cultural Society; Joe David performed a Hamat´sa dance/ceremony as part of his pole's carving: https://umistapotlatch.ca/enseignants-education/cours_5_partie_3-lesson_5_part_3-eng.php

A Spokesman Review article on the 1977 pole's removal: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2019/aug/01/after-42-years-in-riverfront-park-totem-pole-remov/

Liz tells Devon about Spokane's Garbage Goat, an interactive, trash-eating sculpture from Expo '74 that has transcended its original purpose to welcome folks to the fair and encourage people to pick up trash and become a beloved icon of the city. 

The Garbage Goat--Billy--is a steel sculpture that was created by Sister Mary Turnbull, aka "the welding nun," for Expo '74. Thanks to an internal vacuum system, visitors to Riverfront Park can "feed" the goat trash, which gets sucked up into a giant waste container. While goat farmers originally protested the sculpture because it perpetuated a potentially harmful stereotype that goats can eat trash, it has since inspired generations of visitors to pick up litter, as well as a host of businesses and artists to uphold the goat as a positive symbol of Spokane. 

Side quest topics include: ADA issues in Riverfront Park, a hot rat summer update, a wet rat winter news bulletin (a month late--sorry!), and psychic abilities. No major content warnings on this one: it's a fun, family-friendly listen (if you don't mind swear words). 

Liz tells Devon about the 1906 murder of Spokane resident James Sloane, and his 17-year-old son, Sidney, who confessed to the killing. 

On August 28, 1906, a body was discovered in a Spokane alley. The victim had been murdered with an axe, and was soon identified as James Sloane, proprietor of the local Sloane, Paine and Richmond grocery store. His older son, Sidney, confessed to the crime and was put on trial. Not only was the crime sensational, so too was the plea: not guilty by reason of insanity. 

This is a rare example of the Broads covering true crime. While we do not focus on gore, content warnings include discussions of alcoholism, abusive family situations, incarceration, discussions on mental health, mention of sexual assault, some mention of blood, and, of course, murder.

Devon tells Liz about some of the unique structures settlers in the PNW built out of the massive stumps left behind from logging, with a focus on The Stump House at Guillemot Cove in Washington. Devon also tells Liz about one stump that the fire chief blew up with an old shell left from the Battle for Seattle, and how he almost caught the banker on fire. We also try to track down the origins of a criminal known as "Dirty Thompson" and share the location of a current stump-turned-LFL in Idaho.

Liz tells Devon about Grant Chesterfield, the confidence man reading palms and conning crowds up and down the west coast (and then beyond) in the early 1900s. With several wives and a lotta lies, we're confident you'll be interested in this man. (Bonus: Liz tees up a future episode on Sidney Sloane, the Spokane teen who confessed to killing his father with an axe in 1906.)

CW: DV, alcoholism, SW

Devon tells Liz about Seattle's current controversy with a feel-good ending: the story of the Hot Rat Summer mosaic in Capitol Hill's Cal Anderson Park.

AKA "Saint Rat", Hot Rat Summer is a mosaic that has won the heart of its community while getting caught in city's larger push for tougher graffiti laws and punishments, as well as continuing the conversation about the importance of trans visibility. With the controversy heating up in June and July of 2025 and a resolution on our about August 4, this is our most current Pacific Northweird story covered to date. 

We talked for over an hour and a half on and around Hot Rat Summer, going over public art, community rights and roles, trans visibility, laws and policies, art history, and more: editing this episode down to just about 40 minutes was a challenge. If you'd like the 60 minute version, join us over on Patreon where we left in bits about Liz's work on Expo '74, Devon's experience editing, a deeper dive into public policy thanks to Liz, and a small aside about big balls.

Liz tells Devon about Peter Max, the German-American artist who designed the iconic US Expo '74 stamp, which features the “Cosmic Runner" or "Cosmic Jumper" traveling through a colorful world, and the controversy surrounding his false claim that he also illustrated The Beatles' film, "Yellow Submarine". 

And just in time to close out Gay Wrath Month, Liz throws in a little bonus connection between Expo '74 and José Julio Sarria, aka Mama José, the celebrated gay rights activist, drag queen, and the first openly gay candidate for public office in the United States. A rough-cut edit with extended Expo '74 content is on our Patreon for subscribers, too! 

Images and more info can be found on Liz's website, Visit Expo '74, at https://www.visitexpo74.com/art-and-music. 

Devon tells Liz about "fearsome critters"--characters from American logging camps that are not cryptids, despite often appearing on cryptozoological lists. We sneak in a Pride Month tie-in (are you a Squink or a Gumberoo? Bisexuals claim Ball-Tailed Cats, FYI), and Liz quizzes Devon on some old timey logging terms. 

Liz tells Devon the meaning behind the mysterious (and vaguely combative) SPOKANE WAS A RAILROAD TOWN billboards recently spotted in Spokane. She shares the cast of characters behind the boards, and ties the story in to Expo '74's legacy: "The best of what Expo was is the best of what Riverfront Park still is, which is a place where every body can come, and you don’t have to have a specific membership or whatever: you just show up."

Spokane was a railroad town? No, darling: Spokane is a railroad town. 

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