From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Dec. 1, 1985:

• A new IBM XT computer and “China Star” software had been delivered to the East Asian library on the fifth floor of Watson Library at Kansas University. The new equipment made it possible to generate the written characters of the traditional Chinese used in the Republic of China as well as the simplified Chinese used by the People’s Republic of China. The software could also generate written characters of Japanese, Greek and Russian.
• Local stores were reporting a fairly good start to the holiday shopping season. Sunflower Surplus reported increased sales of coats, sweaters, and wool shirts. Toy-shoppers were buying up a lot of Pound Puppies and Transformers. Jewelry, Christmas decor, and kitchen items were doing well. Outdoor and cold-weather items were selling well, which may have been more a reflection on recent weather than on the upcoming holidays.