From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for July 4, 1973:

• The winds were only 37 miles per hour this time, and there was only .76 of an inch of rain, but once again Lawrence had been hit by severe weather. The storm, which had begun about 2 a.m., was not nearly as powerful or damaging as the previous two (one two days earlier and one in mid-June). The most serious effect was seen at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ken Switzer at 2835 Missouri, where lightning had struck at about 2:30 a.m. Ken Switzer reported that the lightning had hit the south end of the house, knocking off a four-by-ten-foot piece of siding before “zinging” through the interior of the house. Curtains in one room were set on fire by the bolt, but the couple had been able to extinguish the flames immediately. Switzer said that the lightning appeared to have traveled along curtain rods and through the house’s electrical circuits, knocking down sections of wall plaster beneath each window. He added that the sound of the lightning strike was “louder than what you can imagine.”
• It was reported today that the storm on the previous Monday had caused damage to the stained-glass dome over the rotunda of the Douglas County Courthouse. The dome could not be restored at this time, according to county maintenance superintendent Alfred Skeet, because of the lack of replacement materials. Skeet said that the cost of the materials would be nearly prohibitive, even if the new glass could be found to match the old.
• After all the natural pyrotechnics, residents of the Lawrence area might have been wishing only for some peace and quiet tonight. However, with a hot and sunny Fourth on tap for today, and fair skies tonight, the outlook looked favorable for the evening fireworks show at Memorial Stadium.
• At Wimbledon today, an 18-year-old Chris Evert surprised the crowd with an upset of top-seeded Margaret Court of Australia. Evert now had her first chance at the women’s singles tennis title.