From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Dec. 31, 1911:

“New Year’s Day in Lawrence will be observed pretty generally…. A number of the stores will keep open, but many will close for the entire day. Perhaps the most important observance of the birth of the New Year will be at Plymouth Congregational church where the Old Year will be sung to its death. This is a new idea for Lawrence and the probabilities are that a large crowd will gather at that church…. The Journal-World will go to press sometime during the morning so that its employees may enjoy New Year’s Day as much as possible.”

“A storm started to come last evening. But it arrived in full force this morning, when after a light fall of sleet the snow arrived from the north. It was no pretense, that snow, but a big heavy one, with Mother Goose plucking her largest feathers and recklessly throwing them down. The storm here today was general all over the middle west and train service was badly delayed, making the mails late to the city. Still colder weather and more snow is predicted for tomorrow, so that the indications are for a white New Year’s.”

“For an hour and a half this morning some man left his horses outside of the court house without any blankets. The animals were shivering from the cold. The humane officer was notified and attended to the case.”

“Last night the business section of the little town of Perry was badly damaged by fire, the losses amounting to $15,000. The exact origin of the fire is unknown but is supposed to have started from an overheated stove in a storeroom at the rear of Strum’s barber shop. Eaton & Plummer’s Restaurant, Robertson’s furniture store, Strum’s barber shop and the pool hall were destroyed by the flames…. The ‘bucket brigade’ had to do some good work…. Today a movement was started to have a waterworks system for Perry.”