From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Dec. 10, 1973:

• A Kansas State Penitentiary inmate remained at large today after walking away from a weightlifting exhibition at the Lawrence Community Building. Robert Lewis Jackson, 30, Kansas City, Mo., had been serving a 15-year-to-life sentence for aggravated robbery when he had walked away from the exhibition, which was sponsored by the Missouri Valley Amateur Athletic Union. John Ross, recreation supervisor for the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department, said that five inmates had participated in the event and that at least one guard had accompanied the group to Lawrence.
• Christmas shopping had “really broken loose” the preceding weekend, according to Gibson Discount Center manager Art Cromer. Other store managers in Lawrence were in agreement after a weekend of crowded stores and above-average sales. Shoppers were not trending toward any particular items; they were “just buying,” said Fred Stroud, manager of Duckwall Stores Inc.