25 years ago: Eudora CPA Picnic draws large crowds

From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for July 17, 1988:

  • The CPA Picnic celebration in Eudora was holding fast to its two main traditions — hot weather and big crowds. Eudora police chief Bill Long offered this crowd estimate: “Large.” This year’s parade had featured about 45 entries including fire engines, a marching band, Shriners, and several horseback riders. A picnic had begun with children’s games, followed by a children’s parade and a teen dance at the park.
  • A first-time novelist was awarded a science-fiction writing prize at the annual Campbell Conference at Kansas University this weekend. Connie Willis, author of “Lincoln’s Dreams,” won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for the best SF novel of 1987. “The novel explores the nature of dreams and the power of the past to influence the present,” said James Gunn, KU professor of English and director of KU’s Center for the Study of Science Fiction, the conference organizer. The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best SF short story had gone to Pat Murphy for “Rachel in Love,” which had appeared in Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine.