Missing from KU? Lots of daisies and the chancellor’s piano

Contributed photo from Lois Orth-Lopes of her family playing in the daisies in 1969 in the area that's now KU's West Campus.

A few weeks ago when I blogged about the lilacs going missing from Lilac Lane (ICYMI: they have since been replanted), I invited readers to let me know if they’d noticed anything else missing from campus — and a couple of people actually responded.

Lois Orth-Lopes, of Lawrence, shared a memory and some photos I know will spark nostalgia for many locals and KU alumni. She writes:

You asked what else is missing at KU
… I am confident most students do
not realize that until serious
construction began on what is now
called the West Campus, the area was
wooded with meadows. Wild daisies
bloomed in May and June. Most likely
the dorm area on Daisy Hill had
daisies prior to the construction of
the big five dorms, but that was
before my time.

Interjection: She is correct, Daisy Hill got its name from the wild daisies that covered it once upon a time. Back to Lois:

When my sister, also a KU student, and
I realized how extensive
the construction was going to be on
campus west of Iowa Street, we
transplanted daisies to our family’s
farm in central Kansas. Several years
ago I transplanted daisies from the
family farm back to Lawrence. They now
thrive in our yard.

 
She shared these old, fuzzy — and precious — black and white snapshots of her younger siblings visiting her at KU in 1969. They’re playing in the daisies that once covered the area where the Lied and Dole centers are now.

Contributed photo from Lois Orth-Lopes of her family playing in the daisies in 1969 in the area that's now KU's West Campus.

Contributed photo from Lois Orth-Lopes of her family playing in the daisies in 1969 in the area that's now KU's West Campus.

Obviously Daisy Hill and West Campus will never revert to vast fields of daisies, because, you know, progress. But wouldn’t it be neat if KU incorporated them into the landscaping plan? Let me know if anyone starts a petition — bring back the daisies!

Another reader saw our recent A&E feature about Phog Allen’s piano being moved to the chancellor’s residence and wondered, what became of The Outlook’s old piano that moved out to make way for Phog’s?

Apparently it touched off a game of piano dominoes.

“While the piano movers had all their gear the Outlook piano, which is a ‘Chickering Quarter-Grand, Scale 121,’ was loaded on the truck and delivered to Ellsworth Hall,” where it got a tune-up and a new quilted cover, KU Student Housing associate director Kip Grosshans said.

The small upright Wurlitzer that had been in the Ellsworth lobby was moved to Oliver Hall, Grosshans said.
That’s where this domino chain ends, though, as the piano at Oliver Hall was “beyond repair,” Grosshans said. As other circa 1970s instruments need replacing, he said, KU Housing may consider digital pianos, like the one at the new Oswald/Self Hall.

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Footnotes

• Reflection room now open: This summer I reported that KU had designated a “reflection room” for students of all faiths or no faith to pray and meditate. That room (formerly known as Alcove A) is now open, according to a press release from KU Memorial Unions. I haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, but when I do I’ll try to post a current photo — safe bet there’s not a conference table in the middle of the room anymore.

• Glee at the K: Guess who sang the national anthem before the Royals beat the Mariners Thursday night, clinching a division championship for the first time in 30 years? That would be the KU Men’s Glee Club, which incidentally, is the oldest continuous choral ensemble at KU.