Students arriving for classes at the University of Kansas on Sept. 12, 1866, were unprepared, and they weren’t the only ones. Chancellor Robert Oliver met for morning devotions with 40 students and the faculty that morning — not just the first for the year, but the first for Lawrence’s ...

Robinson Park, between the two bridges over the Kansas River in downtown Lawrence, was named after the first governor of Kansas — Charles Robinson. But according to David Dary, author of “Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas: An Informal History” Robinson was that and much more. In addition ...

It’s often easy to forget about the Kansas River. If we drive over the bridge, we might notice whether the water level is high or low, whether there are sandbars or accumulations of driftwood, and speculate on whether the water is generating power via the dam. The river is there, but it ...

Where are you from? Lawrence, Kan., of course. But why Lawrence, of all the names our city could have? Turns out, it all goes back to Mass. ­Massachusetts, that is. Lawrence, Mass., is named after Abbott Lawrence, who was the uncle of Amos Adams Lawrence. The Lawrences were a distinguished, ...

I’m sure most of us have heard of the mint julep, a bourbon-based cocktail associated with the American South and the Kentucky Derby. During the Civil War and up until 1920s, the mint julep was the drink of choice and Tom Bullock made one of the best around. Born in 1872, Bullock was the son ...

The bitter cold that accompanied recent winter storms in the Lawrence area will likely have long-lasting effects on certain trees and landscape plantings. And while many gardeners think the silver lining of the cold is a decrease in insect and mite populations, the actual effect is difficult ...