From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Dec. 30, 1973:

• “Give your Christmas tree to a fish for Christmas” was the slogan being pitched to Lawrence residents looking to dispose of their holiday greenery. Residents were being asked to deliver their trees to a designated area just north of the fire station at 19th and Haskell, after which the Lawrence Jaycees, in cooperation with city crews, would haul the trees to Douglas County Lake. The trees were then to be tied in bundles and placed on the ice or submerged at a later date. When bundled, sunk, and firmly anchored in certain locations, the trees were intended to act as fish attractors.
• The stained-glass dome in the Douglas County Courthouse was being reinstalled this week by workers from a Kansas City stained glass company. Glass broken in a summer storm was being replaced, and the entire assembly was being cleaned. The structure had been damaged during a July storm when a blown-out skylight had thrown shards of glass through the dome. It had first been feared that the cost of repair would be prohibitively expensive, even if new glass could be found to replace the old. However, the work had been accomplished at a cost to the county of $500, with $5,100 being covered by insurance.