From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Dec. 6, 1972:

• According to Douglas County Deputy Sheriff Marilyn Steele, the number of bad checks passed in the first 11 months of the year already stood at 117 percent of the total for the entire previous year. The 11-month 1972 total was 996 uncollected checks with a face value of $30,475. Sheriff Rex Johnson pointed out today that the holiday season was the peak time for attempting to pass bogus checks. Steele added that although store clerks were usually more harried and busy trying to help shoppers at this time of year, they must not relax their guard but should continue to be cautious in taking checks and vigilant about checking identification.
• Efforts were in progress to raise $200,000 to transform the old Watkins bank at 11th and Massachusetts into a community museum, and planners were determined to make it one of the nation’s finest. The purpose of the new Elizabeth M. Watkins Community Museum, according to preliminary plans, would be “not only to preserve the Watkins Bank building in a restored state as a historical site and a fine example of its architectural style, but also provide a wide variety of service to the community as a cultural and educational resource to the public in general and to the school system and other public agencies of the town and country.”