What I do know is that now that Steve Jansen has been “offered a chance” to retire, Douglas County has lost a living treasure. There’s not a soul alive who knows more about the history of Lawrence, and for the 25 years I’ve been a part of this community, most of what I’ve learned of our past came directly from Steve. He has always been able and willing to appear anywhere, any time (for free), even on very short notice, to talk about the history of Lawrence and northeast Kansas.

Our history is still there, of course, well documented in the museum (have you ever visited?), but without Steve traveling all over the county and making it come alive for anyone interested, our community has discarded one of our most important voices.

Art Hadley,

Lawrence