From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Jan. 2, 1974:

• Ice skating enthusiasts were advised today to bring a broom to their favorite local rink as recent snows had covered the ice. The skating rinks (flooded tennis courts) at the three junior high schools and at Lawrence High School were open today, but the snow had not yet been cleared. Bill Womack, director of maintenance and operations for U.S.D. 497, said district crews had been busy cleaning school grounds and driveways and had not yet been able to clear the rinks. The skating rink in Central Park was scheduled to be flooded again today to repair its rough surface, according to Wayne Bly of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. At Potter Lake on the Kansas University campus, the snow-covered surface was not keeping skaters off the ice.
• Continuing bitter cold temperatures and additional snowfall combined this morning to cause the closing of some rural schools in the area. Natural gas supplies at Haskell Indian Junior College and Kansas University had been cut off, forcing the schools onto fuel oil. A few area school districts were also on the “interruptible gas service,” which cut off gas supplies during times of heavy demand to assure supplies for residential customers.
• The first new Lawrence citizen of 1974 was born just after 10 o’clock this morning at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. The first arrival, a boy born to Mr. and Mrs. Emmitt Primeaux, 516 Fireside, was to receive about $200 in goods and services from Lawrence merchants. Parents of the last Lawrence baby born in 1973 (Mr. and Mrs. William Decker, 2010 Tennessee) were not scheduled to receive any such gifts, but they were guaranteed a $750 deduction on their 1973 income tax return.