Old Hometown

Local writer Sarah St. John pulls from the Journal-World archives to compile reports of what it was like to be in Lawrence decades ago.

World War I in Lawrence: Residents adjust plans because of ‘ice famine’

Editor’s note: Local writer Sarah St. John compiles reports of what it was like to be in Lawrence during World War I. A local labor shortage combined with a mid-August heat wave combined to make ice a rare commodity in Lawrence in the summer of 1918. The Lawrence Ice and Storage Company ...

World War I in Lawrence: Newspaper publishes letters from the front

Editor’s note: Local writer Sarah St. John compiles reports of what it was like to be in Lawrence during World War I. In the summer of 1918, more local soldiers were being sent from their U.S. training camps to overseas locations. With this change came an increase of letters sent to “the ...

World War I in Lawrence: Family has 6 sons in armed forces

Editor’s note: Local writer Sarah St. John compiles reports of what it was like to be in Lawrence during World War I. The youngest son of the Weber family, 500 Illinois St., enlisted last week, bringing the family’s total to six sons in the military. Joe had enlisted for the Navy hospital ...

World War I in Lawrence: Soldiers parade downtown before departure

Editor’s note: Local writer Sarah St. John compiles reports of what it was like to be in Lawrence 100 years ago during World War I. In the summer of 1918, after nearly two months of focused work, the men attending the first Army Training Camp on the University of Kansas campus were nearly ...

World War I in Lawrence: Gasoline merchants stop selling after 6 p.m.

Editor’s note: Local writer Sarah St. John compiles reports of what it was like to be in Lawrence during World War I. In July 1918, following the lead of other cities, Lawrence began an initiative to reduce evening “joy riding” and other recreational driving by making gasoline ...

World War I in Lawrence: Drivers urged to donate old tags

Editor’s note: Local writer Sarah St. John compiles reports of what it was like to be in Lawrence during World War I. In July of 1918, Lawrence drivers had made their annual tax visit to the courthouse and were now waiting for their new license plates to be mailed from Topeka. The first ...