Lifestyle Columns

Local History: Hunting chickens — a lesson from KU’s earliest days

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 ...

Local History: The Kansas River’s big flood — and the legacy it left

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 ...

Local History: Amos Lawrence gave a name and more to our city

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, ...

Spirits: Mint juleps steeped in American social, political history

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 ...

Garden Variety: How bitter cold affects plants — and pests

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 ...