The annual reunion of descendants of George M. and Karoline Wezstein Bahn-maier will begin with a basket dinner at 12:30 p.m. Sept. 12 at the Territorial Capital (Lane University) Museum in Lecompton. Please bring table service. The Bahnmaier and Wezstein families came to Kansas in 1855 and settled five and one-half miles southwest of Lecompton in 1856.

The Old West Lawrence Applause Awards program announces winners for August and September. The awards recognize homeowners who make improvements to their properties and add beauty to the neighborhood. Award recipients are Al and Diane Horning, 818 La.; Robert and Betsi Anderson, 715 W. Eighth; and Nikane Mallea, 831 Ill.

In 2008, the Hornings moved into their newly built Craftsman-style house. The low-maintenance front yard is a mix of drought-resistant grasses, Russian sage, Knockout roses and silvery lamb’s ear planted on low mounds.

Several years ago, the Andersons rehabilitated their Victorian cottage. It has been in the Anderson family for more than 60 years. A white picket fence defines the front yard and is surrounded with pink bush roses, vinca and coreopsis. A low stone wall running along the alley is accented with lavender, iris, sedum, phlox and roses. Something is always in bloom in the well-planned garden.

Mallea has owned the German Lutheran church, built in 1899, for the past four years. During that time, she has added a bamboo fence around the back patio and seasonal plantings surrounding the front entrance. More about this historic structure can be read in Katja Rampelmann’s 1993 Master Thesis, “Small Town Germans: The Germans of Lawrence, Kansas, from 1854 to 1918”, available online at: history.lawrence.com/project/community/thesis/intro.html.

Kaplan University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., marked the graduation of its summer 2010 online class during an Aug. 7 ceremony in Chicago.

Lawrence graduates are: Jeff Farmer, bachelor’s degree in information technology; and Kristen Fellows Walker, certificate in paralegal studies.

Other area graduates are: Stephanie Jones, bachelor’s degree in health sciences, Bonner Springs; and Amanda McConnell, associate degree in health sciences, Overbrook.