To the editor:

I am asking the school board to reinstate the name of “Liberty Memorial” as part of the new name for the present Central Junior High.

This building was built and dedicated in 1922 as a memorial for 19 Lawrence soldiers who died in World War I. Two large bronze plaques display the names of these 19 soldiers on each side of the auditorium’s stage. The wall above the stage displays an engraving of a portion of Kipling’s “The King’s Pilgrimage.” The name “Liberty Memorial High School” is engraved in masonry above the main entrance of the building.

In recognition of this school building’s 75th anniversary on Sept. 27, 1998, the building was remembered in a ceremony as the Liberty Memorial High School building. Mary Gordon, a former teacher in the district, and her committee led the ceremony. One of the 19 soldiers named on the plaques, Cpl. Everett DeMerritt, was an uncle of Mary Gordon and her sister, local historian Martha Parker. Another soldier named on the plaques, Lt. Harry Ziesenis, was an uncle of Richard Ziesenis, who lives in Eudora.

There has been some objection to the name changes because of the expense. There will be some expense to change the name from “junior high” to “middle school.” Adding “Liberty Memorial” to just one school will not be a significant expense. It should have been Liberty Memorial Junior High when its status was changed from senior high school to junior high school.