Sesquicentennial

Early settlers fostered love of music in city

With the city set to celebrate its 150th birthday Saturday, the Journal-World is taking a look at early-day life in Lawrence:

When the second group from the New England Emigrant Aid Company left Boston for Lawrence, the travelers kicked off their journey with a musical performance.

According to Richard Cordley’s “A History of Lawrence, Kan.,” Joseph and Forest Savage from Hartford, Vt., played instruments and sang “Hymn of the Kansas Emigrant,” a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier.

The Savages took their instruments on the trip and “enlivened the journey with music whenever opportunity offered,” according to Cordley.

They also became the nucleus for the city band that formed soon after Lawrence was settled.

“They did noble service in stimulating an interest in music in the early times,” Cordley wrote.

KU Homecoming

Tickets available today for Cosby performance

Tickets go on sale today for comedian Bill Cosby’s appearance next month at Kansas University.

The show, at 8 p.m. Oct. 5 at Allen Fieldhouse, is part of Homecoming events at KU.

Tickets are $15 for students and $25 for the public. They are available from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Student Union Activities box office, on the fourth floor of the Kansas Union, or from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Allen Fieldhouse box office.

They also are available by phone at 864-3141 or online at kuathletics.collegesports.com.

Ecology

‘Tough’ time in store for butterfly taggers

Monarch Watch’s annual butterfly tagging event will be from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the Baker Wetlands.

“It’s going to be tough,” said Monarch Watch director Chip Taylor. “It’s very wet out there.”

This year’s monarch migration also is off to a late start.

“In the 16 years that I’ve been keeping records, they’ve almost always arrived between September 9th and 11th,” Taylor said Thursday. “The latest they’ve ever been is the 16th, which is today — and they’re not here yet.”

Still, Taylor said there should be enough butterflies to keep taggers busy.

Co-sponsored by the Jayhawk Audubon Society, the event is free and open to the public. Nets, tags and training sessions for catching and tagging butterflies will be provided.

The wetlands are along 31st Street between Haskell Avenue and Louisiana Street.

Kansas University

Student with meningitis released from hospital

After nearly five months at the University of Kansas Hospital, Andy Marso has been released and will start outpatient rehabilitation.

Marso, who was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis in April, was released Thursday, said a spokeswoman at the Kansas City, Kan., hospital. He was finishing his senior year at Kansas University and was awarded a diploma despite missing the last few weeks of class.

Marso, who had all his fingers and toes amputated except for his right thumb, is expected to live in a Kansas City apartment with his parents and undergo one to two years of physical rehabilitation.