100 years ago: Tennis court opens in Central Park

From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for August 29, 1914:

  • “One of the best things that has been done for the beautifying the local parks this summer has just been completed in Central Park, on Seventh street between Tennessee and Kentucky in the form of a tennis court. Early in the spring some of the people in the west part of town asked the Commissioners if they would help furnish funds to build a court in the park. But they could find no way in which they could allow the funds for this purpose. so the people got permission to build the court and went ahead with the construction. The court is built of rock screenings. The ground was well tamped before the screenings were put on, and then a layer of four inches of rock screenings were rolled on. The court is exceptionally complete and compact. It is fenced in by a ten foot netting so that the balls cannot be lost. A representative of the University said that it is the best court in Lawrence, and one of the best constructed. The court was built entirely by subscription and with the intention of improving the looks of the park and giving the people of north and west Lawrence a place where all will be welcome to play.”
  • “The tall corn stalk contest of the First National Bank has proven a very popular affair. There were 75 entries in the contest and the stalks were all the way from 12 to over 16 feet tall. Some of the stalks had two ears on them and some did not have any good ones, but most of the entries averaged one good ear…. The measuring of the stalks began at 2:30 this afternoon. There were several of the stalks that were close and it was necessary to measure a number of them. The judges ruled out all stalks that did not have one well filled ear and decided that the fair way to measure them would be to measure with the curvature of the stalk instead of the perpendicular height…. The first prize was awarded to Mrs. J. A. Ford with a stalk measuring 16 feet and 6 1/2 inches…. Watermelon was served by the bank after the judging had been finished.”
  • “Will the pool halls close the first of the year? Not if the owners can help it. Today petitions are in circulation asking the city commission to submit the matter to a vote of the people. The ordinance provides that the pool halls shall close and there is no talk of simply ignoring the ordinance. The people can decided, however, under the referendum. The petition is in the hands of the owners of the pool halls and they are personally asking for signatures. They contend that the people do not want the ordinance, but must show the commissioners…. It is probable that the opponents of the pool halls will get busy to resist the efforts of the owners.”
  • “A new postal ruling has gone into effect which prevents the dispatching of circular mail with mail of the first class. Mr. Kingsbury, head mailing clerk at the local post office, said this morning that the new ruling was welcomed by employes of the mailing department. The Lawrence office receives circulars by the thousands at times and it will now be necessary only to see that the stamps are canceled and the circulars sent in bulk to the round table at Kansas City where a large force of clerks are there employed for the particular purpose of handling circulars.”