From the Lawrence Daily World for Dec. 22, 1908: “Santa Claus came to town today, visiting every public place he could in the time allowed, and he got a marvelous reception everywhere as he made his rounds and stopped to talk with old and young alike. He seemed to know the businesses and the merchants and their products and made every effort to help them handle the last-minute sales. … Two gigantic pythons, dead of course, have been acquired by the local university museum and they will be mounted and put on display for the public.”