Old Home Town – 100 years ago

From the Lawrence Daily World for Dec. 26, 1908: “The chief feature of Christmas services at the Lutheran Church was presentation and dedication of a large oil painting, ‘Christ in Gethesemane,’ the work of Lewis Hanson. He is a noted Danish artist who has lived here for some months. … The Salvation Army has done an outstanding job in aiding the needy this year and took Christmas baskets to more than 75 families. … Several local businesses had holiday dinners for their employees and some handed out gifts, to the surprise of many. Many merchants had excellent business years and wanted to share their good fortune with their workers. … Better pay and benefits seem to be producing a huge rise in enlistments in our armed forces and some stations say they have more recruits than they can handle in the next month or so.”