170 Years Ago

From the Herald of Freedom for the week of Saturday, February 23, 1856:

• “Just now, reader, the weather is rather wet, and the ground muddy. Winter has taken up his duds and sloped for parts unknown, and Spring sends out a thawer to fix things for her advent. When the frost gets out of the ground, and the snow all melts into the river and creeks, we may expect to see Spring spreading her green carpet over the prairies, and putting songs in birds’ throats. A fortnight of this kind of weather and the vegetation will start forward.”

150 Years Ago

From the Republican Daily Journal and Daily Kansas Tribune for Saturday, February 26, 1876:

• “Fishing at the dam is steadily prosecuted, though the results just at the present are not of the best.”

• “The cellar of Moore & Bennett’s grocery store was broken into night before last and robbed of a large quantity of dressed pork.”

• “Pierson’s cable machinery is working splendidly, though it has sagged a foot or two and will require tightening.”

• “A brother of Winslow, the celebrated Boston forger, resides on a farm about five or six miles south of town. He is spoken of as a very quiet unobtrusive and highly respected citizen.”

125 Years Ago

From the Lawrence Daily Journal for Tuesday, February 26, 1901:

• “The weather was especially pleasant today, milder and pleasanter than yesterday…. The street force was at work today, removing the debris that has accumulated in the last few weeks…. Mrs. C. W. Smith is very low today, and there is little hope of her recovery…. The mild weather has put a stop to ice cutting, but the Griffin Ice Co. has already put up 1,700 tons.”

100 Years Ago

From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Friday, February 26, 1926:

• “All curb gasoline pumps within the fire limits of the city must be removed on or before July 1, 1926, it was decided last evening by a unanimous vote of the city commission…. This order will affect all of the pumps on Massachusetts street from Sixth to Eleventh street. The city commission has been discussing the removal of the pumps for some time…. The commission felt that since the city has about sixteen filling stations the curb pumps were not necessary.”

75 Years Ago

From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Monday, February 26, 1951:

• “One of the first students to enroll at the University and a survivor of Quantrill’s raid, will celebrate her 100th birthday on Wednesday. Mrs. Arabelle Cronkhite Newlin of Whittier, Calif, who is in ill health, has two ambitions. One is to live to be 100 years old and the other is to see the university grow…. [She] came to Kansas in 1854, where her father, a contractor, helped lay out the city of Osawatomie. He built the Osage Valley hall in Osawatomie which is still standing and hired John Brown to split rails for him. At the time of Quantrill’s raid the family was living in Lawrence but escaped injury. Her father was one of the contractors on Fraser hall, oldest building on the university campus… She entered K. U. on September 15, 1866 and attended school for four years…. She still retains her alumni membership and recalls with a chuckle that during her university days, card playing was taboo and young women seldom went out without a chaperon.”

• “About 600 acres of peas, an increase of 100 acres over last year, are being contracted for packing this year by Stokley Foods, Inc…. A total of 60,000 cases will be packed this year if the weather is favorable.”