Summer means many things to many people. For me summer is a time to combine two of my favorite activities: attending auctions and researching Kansas history. In the past few months I’ve managed to have what, in my terms, were some fabulous successes.

Last week I spent part of one day in Eudora at an auction. The auction itself was good entertainment. The goods for sale were spread out on the lawns of the home for inspection; the auctioneer, wearing a very stylish straw hat, was clear and decisive. Every so often a bidding war would occur and the rest of the crowd would wait to see who would emerge victorious. The sale goods were diverse.

Friends of mine spent the whole day waiting to bid on a tin cupola to put on top of a tower on their Lawrence house. My wife managed to buy two yellow flower pots for our porch. For me, though, the catch of the day was a complete copy of Ogle’s 1921 atlas and plat book of Douglas County. It’s a rare volume; one comes up for sale infrequently. Not only was I able to purchase it, I got it at a good price. I spent the entire trip home (my wife drove) with my nose buried in the volume.

Once we arrived home, I headed straight for my study, put the atlas on my desk, and began to go through it. As books go, it’s not all that old. Even by Kansas standards, a book printed in 1921 is relatively new. Printing began in Kansas in 1854. But there’s something quite special about being able to sit down with a collection of maps and plats and look at how this county was divided 80-odd years ago and who owned what.

Of course the first land record I looked up was my own house and acreage in Lecompton. Not surprisingly, there was no house on my property in 1921. At that time where I lived was quite rural. There were a few farms and that was it. On the other hand, the old school property, near our home, owned by the Winter family, was there then and is still there now, albeit no longer used as a school. And Oakleigh Creek, which runs through our land today, was there as well.

As I looked further through the volume two things became clear to me. First, the human landscape of Lawrence has changed radically over the years but at the same time, there were many names on lots which I recognized as still being here in Lawrence today. The United States prides itself on being a society on the move, yet there are obviously many families who have remained in Lawrence and Douglas County for generations. This is, perhaps, one of the things that makes Lawrence and Douglas County so special, the fact that there are people here with a history in the place and a real love for the town and county. The same is true of Lecompton and other towns nearby.

In a few years, the state of Kansas, Douglas County, and Lawrence all will celebrate their sesquicentennial. We have a rich history, those of us privileged to be Kansans and lucky enough to live here in Douglas County. We’ve had our ups and downs, but our history is full and there is much to wonder at and be proud of.

I hope all of us can take the time over the next few years to familiarize ourselves and our children with our history and our heritage, get involved in planning and implementing the sesquicentennial celebrations, and let the world know how great a place this is to live and work. For myself, I’m going to keep going to auctions and try to purchase more bits and pieces of Kansas history to inspire myself and my students.

Mike Hoeflich is a professor in the Kansas University School of Law.