Robert Davis sat in his wheelchair Tuesday afternoon with a large fan blowing onto him in his family’s mobile home at Gaslight Village, 1900 W. 31st St.

It wasn’t much cooler inside than outside, where temperatures climbed into the upper 90s.

His grandson, C.J. McTizic, 15, turned on the window air conditioner, but it blew only hot air. It had failed during last week’s 100-degree-plus heat wave.

Davis lives on his Social Security checks and said he couldn’t afford a new window unit.

The family is among those Lawrence residents struggling to keep cool without air conditioning.

“Turn it off. It still ain’t working,” said Davis, 60, a diabetic who has had both legs amputated.

When it is hot, he said, he usually stays in front of a fan at home unless he leaves for kidney dialysis treatment or to pay bills. He and his family have relied on fans donated by kin and charities to keep the air in their home circulating.

“I really have a hard time because I have asthma real bad,” Davis said.

Fans are all that cool Robert Davis and his grandson C.J. McTizic in their trailer at 1900 W. 31st St. Their air conditioner broke during last week's heat wave and Davis said he didn't have enough money to buy a new one. They are some of the Lawrence residents trying to keep cool in the heat without air conditioning - a situation that wasn't so rare decades ago.

He lives in the sweltering trailer with his wife, Martha, two adult sons and C.J., who said this summer he had tried to make sure his grandfather is OK while trying to stay cool at swimming pools across town.

Life before A/C

It wasn’t so many years ago that everyone had to brave summer heat the best they could, before air conditioning became a common household item.

Donna Gelvin moved with her family to Lawrence in 1935. She remembers the fans that blew in her father’s grocery and delivery store, Landrith’s Finer Foods, in the 1000 block of Massachusetts Street.

“One air-conditioned place was the Granada (movie) theater. We used to go to the show every Saturday night to keep cool,” Gelvin said.

Others would take a dip in the Kansas River or pick up blocks of ice stored in an icehouse at the corner of Sixth and Vermont streets, said Helen Krische, archivist at the Watkins Community Museum of History.

It was difficult to find relief on sultry summer days back then.

“You didn’t even think about it,” Gelvin said. “You just went out, and we used to walk downtown and all that and didn’t even think about it.”

Today in Lawrence, swimming pools are a fun venue of choice for those hoping to cool off on a hot summer afternoon.

“There’s nothing else that we can do outside that’s available – nothing else cool outside,” said Laura Jenson, who swam with her daughter, Tasha, on Tuesday afternoon at the County Fair Swim Club on Maple Lane in East Lawrence.

Two people sought treatment for heat-related injuries or illness Tuesday at the Lawrence Memorial Hospital emergency room, said hospital spokeswoman Belinda Rehmer.

Lawrence charities have received donations and requests for fans in the last week. Penn House, 1034 Pa., filled 10 requests, and the Salvation Army, 946 N.H., received 23 fans and has given 10 away. Ballard Community Center, 708 Elm St., also is giving fans to families in need.

Matter of perspective

Some choose to stay hot.

One Lawrence-area family doesn’t turn on its one small window unit on the second floor unless it’s scorching outside. In its straw-bale home north of the city, the Strecker family typically runs ceiling fans and opens the house at night so the kitchen’s concrete floor and stone-floor living room can trap the cooler air.

“It’s certainly nice to hear the birds in the morning instead of the whine of a compressor,” Steve Strecker said.

And one couple actually welcomed the weather Tuesday afternoon. Will and Abby Musgrove were unloading as they moved into their new home in East Lawrence. The Musgroves had packed their belongings in 100-degree heat the last two days in Denton, Texas.

“We got out of the car and were like ‘Hey, it’s not so bad out here,'” said Abby Musgrove, a Kansas University doctoral music student. “We’re all sitting on the porch commenting on how nice the breeze is.”