Lawrence Business Magazine 2021 Q1 by Lawrence Business Magazine

2021 Q1

Publisher:

Lawrence Business Magazine, LLC Ann Frame Hertzog & Steven Hertzog Editor-in-Chief:

Ann Frame Hertzog

LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHERS

How do we keep Lawrence special? How do we preserve our past and honor our heritage while keeping our community vibrant, contemporary, and moving forward? Honoring history maintains our connection to our past and the sacrifices we made individually and shared in our journey to get to where we are today. Hopefully, we can learn from the past and grow and evolve as we forge forward creating new history. Preservation of our historic homes and buildings protects and enhances real estate value and the real estate market. They become points of interest for visitors to our communities. They become meeting places for the residents. They get turned into restaurants, Hotels, libraries, etc.

Chief Photographer:

Steven Hertzog Featured Writers:

Anne Brockhoff Bob Luder Patricia A. Michaelis, Ph.D. Emily Mulligan Sarah Ngoh Tara Trenary Copy Editor:

Tara Trenary

The continuation of cultural traditions is essential to preserving a sense of who we are. Lawrence is such a wonderfully diverse mixture of race, ethnicity and color capable of creating wonderful new traditions for the future. The celebration of our cultural heritage locally in Douglas County also connects us with similar cultural traditions throughout our country and uniting us to the rest of the world. Preservation and conservation of the environment, our environment, makes our community sustainable for ourselves and our children. By making our community sustainable, we do not sacrifice economic viability but use it to build our community. Preservation is about preserving and maintaining, but balanced with evolving. To quote Bob Dylan — ‘If you’re not busy being born, you’re busy dying.’ To continue to be relevant and keep all of the things uniquely Lawrence, we must continue to grow, learn and develop, not forgeting our past, but preserving it and using it as the seeds for our future. Lawrence has proudly been a progressive community since its inception. We are more than proud to remind our neighbors that Kansans voted to be a free state and reject slavery. We know the history of Bleeding Kansas as if we lived it ourselves. What has been created here is worthy of preservation. With our united vision, we have cultivated a diverse and inclusive community. As we navigate the changes and challenges before us, we must continue to choose to preserve what we have and help Lawrence evolve into the future we want it to be. We also need to protect and preserve our local businesses. Shop Local, Shop Lawrence! Sincerely,

Ann Frame Hertzog Editor-in-Chief/Publisher

Steven Hertzog Chief Photographer/Publisher

www.LawrenceBusinessMagazine.com

Additional Photographers:

Mass. Street - 1955 & 2011 Photos: The Watkins Museum and Steven Hertzog

Jerry Jost Craig C. Freeman Chip Taylor Laura Kingston Special thanks to The Watkins Museum, and The Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas

INQUIRIES & ADVERTISING INFORMATION CONTACT: info@LawrenceBusinessMagazine.com

LawrenceBusinessMagazine.com Lawrence Business Magazine, LLC 3514 Clinton Parkway, Suite A-113 Lawrence, KS 66047 Lawrence Business Magazine, is published quarterly by Lawrence Business Magazine, LLC and is distributed by direct mail to businesses in the Lawrence & Douglas County Community. It is also distributed at key retail locations throughout the area and mailed to individual subscribers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reprinted or reproduced without the publisher’s permission. Lawrence Business Magazine, LLC assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials. Statements and opinions printed in the Lawrence Business Magazine are the those of the author or advertiser and are not necessarily the opinion of Lawrence Business Magazine.

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2021 Q1

Contents Features: 9

Lawrence in Perspective:

Lawrence Business Hall of Fame

by Bob Luder

Butterflies, Birds, Prairie & Preservation by Anne Brockhoff

The Heart of the Community Massachusetts Street

by Tara Trenary

A Cultural Evolution

Home Court Advantage

The History in the Names

The Future of the Past

Preserving Memories | Oak Hill Cemetery by Patricia Michaelis, Ph.D.

by Sarah Ngoh by Bob Luder by Emily Mulligan by Sarah Bishop

Departments: 5

Letter From the Publishers

24 Non-Profit

Food Not Bombs

73 Local Scene 76 Newsmakers 78 Whose Desk?

Our Mission:

We are dedicated to telling the stories of people and businesses making a positive impact on Lawrence & Douglas County. /lawrencebusinessmagazine

@LawrenceBizMag

TO UPDATE YOUR ADDRESS OR FOR SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION:

LawrenceBusinessMagazine.com/subscriptions/

LAWRENCE & DOUGLAS CO [ IN PERSPECTIVE ]

by Patricia A. Michaelis, Ph.D., Historical Research & Archival Consulting photos by Steven Hertzog

Because urban cemeteries often were overcrowded, cities across the country began to move them a few miles In his inaugural address in 1864, Mayor R. W. Luddington called for a new cemetery to serve as a site with “sepulchral fitness for sacred reminiscences where departed friends could be remembered.” It was to replace Pioneer Cemetery, which was a distance from town and contained the remains of victims of the 1863 raid by William Quantrill and his guerrillas. As a result, the city of Lawrence purchased land for what became Oak Hill Cemetery in 1865 and authorized Mayor Gurdon Grovenor to look for a professional landscaper. In the meantime, Holland Wheeler, and engineer hired by the City, platted the site, and the City sold 250 lots, with the proceeds being used to pay for surveying and fencing the property. The cemetery was to be designed on the “rural cemetery ideal,” which had been popular in eastern cities because of the effects of industrialization—smoke, grime and pollution of all sorts. Urban cemeteries with limited room to expand were overcrowded, and graves were sometimes stacked on top of each other. Rural cemeteries were typically built one to five miles outside of the city, far enough to be separated from the city but close enough for visitors. They often contained elaborate monuments, memorials

and mausoleums in a landscaped parklike setting. The rural cemetery movement mirrored changing attitudes toward death. Images of hope and immortality were popular, and statues and memorials included depictions of angels and cherubs, as well as botanical motifs such as ivy representing memory, oak leaves for immortality, poppies for sleep and acorns for life. For Oak Hill Cemetery, this meant creating that desired parklike setting. However, an article in the Daily Kansas Tribune on March 26, 1870, pointed out the City’s failure to meet that goal: While it is true that nature has lent many charms to the site selected, and individual taste and affection contributed to its adornment, the grounds still lack the improvement which the friends of the beloved dead should have bestowed on them. We do not want to find fault with our City Council. They have done much of the past year’s work well, and deserve commendation for many things. But it seems to us that there might be more attention paid to the cemetery. Individual effort might be made to a greater and better purpose, and the city ought to spend more money 9

in laying out the walks and planting trees. As this is the season of tree-planting, the suggestion, we think, is not inappropriate, that every person having a relative reposing there should plant a tree. Evidently, the City took notice. The next spring, Grovenor, former mayor and then cemetery superintendent, placed an ad in the Daily Kansas Tribune for 75 elm trees for Oak Hill Cemetery. The cemetery has several connections to Quantrill’s Raid. Many of those who died were buried in a trench on Mount Oread called the long grave. In 1872, the City of Lawrence decided to reinter these raid victims to Oak Hill Cemetery. Others killed in the raid were buried in various places throughout Lawrence. Mayor Grovenor invited the families of these victims to be reburied in Oak Hill Cemetery, as well. On May 30, 1895, the Quantrill’s Raid Memorial was dedicated. The inscription on one side of the granite monument reads: “Dedicated to memory of the one hundred and fifty citizens who defenseless fell victims to the inhuman ferocity of border guerrillas led by the infamous Quantrell [sic] in his raid upon Lawrence, August 21st, 1863.” The other side’s message was: “The roll of their names may be found in the city Clerk’s office Lawrence. And in the records of the State Historical Society, Topeka.” Oak Hill Cemetery was integrated from its inception. This is not surprising given the abolitionist sentiments of the City’s founders. For a time, the Daily Kansas Tribune printed the names of those receiving permits for burial. The notice in the Jan. 30, 1870, edition indicated that “burial permits were issued for the interment in Oak Hill Cemetery of Etta B Ellis, aged 4 months; Fannie Bowers (colored).” Gabriel Gray, an African American minister, was one of the early burials. Jesse and Frances Dillard, African Americans who lived in the Pinckney neighborhood, were also buried in Oak Hill. Charles and Mary Langston, the grandparents of Langston Hughes who raised him during his time in Lawrence, are buried in Oak Hill Cemetery. In Section 4 of the cemetery, there are graves of veterans of the 79th and 83rd United States Colored Troops. All of these burials are interspersed among the graves of white Lawrencians. In the years following the Civil War, Decoration Day was established to honor those who died fighting for their country during this conflict. A proclamation of Gen. John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) in 1868 stated that the first major Memorial Day observance was held to honor those who died “in defense of their country during the late rebellion.” Known as “Decoration

Day,” mourners honored the Civil War dead by decorating their graves with flowers. On the first Decoration Day, Gen. James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, after which 5,000 participants helped to decorate the graves of the more than 20,000 Civil War soldiers buried in the cemetery. This built on a pre-Civil War tradition of decorating graves of family members in the spring.

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In the 1870s and 1880s, Decoration Day observances in Lawrence were elaborate. According to the “Order of Exercises,” arranged by the Lawrence GAR post and printed in the May 28, 1871, Daily Kansas Tribune, at 12 noon: “one hundred guns will be fired from Oak Hill cemetery, all bells of the city will be tolled for thirty minutes, all steam whistles blown, all flags displayed at half mast, and the band will discourse a dirge from the headquarters of this Post.” At 3 p.m., a procession was to be formed by various groups to go to Oak Hill Cemetery. Those participating in the parade included a mounted escort of Knights Templar, orators of the day, the band, G.A.R. and all other soldiers and sailors, city government, fire department masonic fraternity, Odd Fellows, Good Templars, Turnverein Society, University cadets, all other organizations, citizens on foot, citizens mounted and citizens in carriages. The memorial program was to begin at 4 p.m. with an anthem by the choir and a prayer by the Rev. Richard Cordley. The program included speeches by T. D. Thatcher, Gen. John Fraser, the Rev. N. S. Sage and I. S. Kalloch. The orations were interspersed with musical numbers including the “Star-Spangled Banner” and “America.” The decoration of graves followed the program, and the event concluded with a benediction by the Rev. F. M. Ellis. Similar Memorial Day programs were organized for the following years. Oak Hill Cemetery became one of the attractions for visitors to Lawrence. The Daily Kansas Tribune for May 9, 1881, described the cemetery as follows:

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Oak Hill Cemetery is situated half a mile east of the city limits. A high mound forms the center of the grounds, taking a gradual slope in every direction. This is arranged into terraces, covered with blue-grass and ornamented with shade trees. At the summit of the mound is the flower garden, appearing in summer, like one vast bouquet of choice flowers. A few yards west of this is a fine marble shaft, marking the resting place of Gen. James H. Lane. At the eastern extremity of the grounds are buried the heroes of the Lawrence massacre. … Much attention is bestowed by the city upon its cemetery, especially upon Decoration Day. So many well-known people are buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, journalist William Allen White called it the “Kansas

Arlington.” The first governor of Kansas, Charles Robinson, and his wife, Sarah, are buried there. The graves of early Lawrence activists include James H. Lane, James Blood, Richard Cordley, James Emery, Wilson Shannon and John Speer. Lucy Taylor, the first woman dentist in Kansas, is interred in Oak Hill. The cemetery includes several mausoleums including one for John Usher, Secretary of the Interior under President Abraham Lincoln. The graves of Lawrence businessmen Justin Bowersock and Jabez Watkins are in the cemetery. Prominent Kansas University basketball coach Forrest “Phog” Allen is buried in Oak Hill, as well, along with many other notables. Oak Hill Cemetery is a peaceful place that illustrates the goals of the rural cemetery movement with its rolling terrain. If explored in detail, it presents a look at the people who founded Lawrence and made it a prosperous city. Oak Hill Cemetery is located on East 15th Street and Oak Hill Avenue, and can be accessed from Elmwood Street. p

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The Business Hall of Fame tribute dinner is normally held in the fall each year, the 2020 event is scheduled for June 10, 2021 by Bob Luder

The mission of Junior Achievement ( JA) of Kansas is clear: to have strong and successful business leaders in communities help mentor bright, young entrepreneurs with ambitions of being tomorrow’s business moguls. Once a year, JA pauses for a moment and pivots attention away from the young business minds it strives to cultivate. The focus for one night falls upon the mentors, the pillars of the community who donate their time and wisdom in the name of molding the future generation. JA does this by hosting the Lawrence Business Hall of Fame tribute dinner. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s dinner actually will be held next year and the date has not yet been set. This year’s class of Lawrence Business Hall of Fame laureates, the 11th such class to be so honored, includes some of the most prominent and influential business leaders in the community the past several decades. Dana Anderson, of The Macerich Company, has been a real estate developer and executive for five-plus decades and is perhaps best known as one of the major fund-raising forces for the University of Kansas (KU), helping raise more than $550 million during the Kansas First Capital Campaign. Doug Compton, owner/operator of First Management, Inc., and First Construction LLC, has been an essential developer of real estate in the Lawrence area and throughout the Midwest for nearly four decades. Roger Johnson owns Alcove Development, a developer of modern residential homes in northeast Kansas. Cindy Yulich has worked at Emprise Bank for nearly 30 years and has served on the bank’s board of directors and various management and loan committees. All four honorees are the epitome of what hard work and an unrelenting entrepreneurial spirit can accomplish.

Most pertinent to JA, they’re also shining examples for all young entrepreneurs to follow, and all four have volunteered time, knowledge and business acumen to the classrooms and in the field. Each was selected as a Lawrence Business Hall of Fame laureate based on sterling records of business achievement and demonstrated excellence, both in his or her respective business and volunteer endeavors. They join a list of notables, who include publisher Dolph Simons Sr. (inaugural class of 2010), real estate developer Bob Billings (2011), former Kansas Attorney General Bob Stephens (2012), real estate developer John McGrew (2018) and advertising executive and designer Cindy Maude, as prominent business leaders who have made extraordinary contributions to Lawrence. NOTE: Because of COVID-19 and related governmental restrictions regarding gatherings, the 2020 Lawrence Business Hall of Fame event has been rescheduled to June 10, 2021. It will be determine by April 10, 2021 whether to stay with the rescheduled date of June 10, 2021 or if it needs to be moved to later in the year. Check the JA website for updates: www.kansasja.org

Dana Anderson Anderson was six hours short of earning a marketing degree from KU when he was drafted into the U.S. Army in the winter of 1956. Despite earning just $72 a month, he managed to send $5 for alumni association dues back to his university. That’s how important he’s always valued his relationship as a loyal Jayhawk. Upon returning from military service, Anderson completed his degree and went to work for Kansas City Power and Light, working with builders on all-electric homes. After saving a modest amount, he went into business with a partner developing subdivisions. The withdrawal of an 15

Dana Anderson

Air Force base in Topeka brought financial hardships, but Anderson reinvented his business model and joined some developers in creating a stand-alone discount store that has survived to this day, most recently as Gordmans. Anderson helped found Macerich in 1966 and is its vice-chairman of the board emeritus, previously serving as executive vice-president and chief operating officer. Today, the company is a New York Stock Exchange real estate investment trust with 47 shopping centers in 15 states. But it’s been his philanthropy with KU for which he’s perhaps best known. He’s served on Campaign Kansas, the James Naismith Society and the KU First fund-raising committee, and is a longtime member of the Williams Education Fund. He has twice served on the KU Athletic Board. In May of 2001, he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the KU School of Business.

The KU Alumni Association honored Anderson with the Fred Ellsworth Medallion in 1998 for his lifelong contributions to the university. In all, he has made more than 150 gifts to various KU projects. Anderson and his wife, Sue, were 2018 recipients of the Elizabeth Watkins Community Caring Award for their positive influence and generosity to Lawrence Memorial Hospital (now LMH Health) and are heading a $3-million capital campaign for a second cardiac catheterization lab and the purchase of new robotics equipment. “I respect Junior Achievement’s effort to educate our young people about the virtues and opportunities in the business world with our free-enterprise economy and am honored to receive this award,” Anderson says. “As a youngster, I always had a job, as my dad did not believe in allowances. My first job was selling magazines door-to-door in fourth grade, and I worked all through my high school days.” The Andersons celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary Dec. 29 and have four children and eight grandchildren.

DOUGCOMPTON

Doug Compton

For nearly 30 years, Compton has been owner/operator of First Management Inc. (FMI), a property management/commercial real estate firm based in Lawrence; and for 15 years, he’s owned and operated First Construction LLC (FC), a general contractor. FMI and FC build, invest, rent and own commercial real estate, residential student housing and apartments throughout the Midwest and 12 other states. During that time, FMI and FC have become major players in the northeast Kansas real estate market. Before that, however, Compton began pursuing farming interests in the Lawrence area and acquired land to be used for future development. Compton is an active developer in projects that include medical buildings, retail, hotels, restaurants and, most recently, the purchase of the Lawrence airport.

He also has expanded into the banking industry. He is the principal organizer of First Financial Bancshares Inc., where he serves as CEO and director, and Great American Bank, where he’s chairman of the board and directors. It has locations in Lawrence, DeSoto and Kansas City. Compton is a lifetime member of the KU Alumni Association. He is married to Lesley Elliott Compton, and they have a combined family of six children: Douglas Jr., Chase, Lili, Brooke, Beau and Banks.

“It’s a great honor, especially with this class of fellow inductees,” Compton says of the Jr. Achievement honor. “Dana Anderson has been my mentor and is like a second father to me. Roger Johnson’s company has been doing construction work for me for more than 20 years. And Cindy Yulich has been my banker forever. “Not only do I have respect for these people, but my friendship and involvement with them over the years just makes it a special group to be included in.”

ROGER JOHNSON

Roger Johnson

Born and raised in Lawrence, Johnson attended India Grade School, Lawrence High and Washburn University. He was drafted into the U.S. Navy while a senior at Lawrence High and served two years.

Upon returning home, he entered school at Washburn and began investing in rental properties and managing real estate for third parties. He started RD Johnson Excavating in 1981 and ran that business for 35 years, selling it in 2016. Following the sale of RD Johnson Excavating, Johnson started Alcove Development with two partners: Dustin Baker and Jeremiah Johnson. Johnson and his wife, Debby, have a son, Jeremiah, and two stepchildren, Grant Catloth and Olivia Gilbert. The Johnsons live on a ranch in southwest Douglas County.

Johnson says he believes the work being done by Jr. Achievement is essential for the future productivity of Lawrence, the area and the country.

“If we don’t do things like (mentor young entrepreneurs), we’re going to eventually run out of workers,” he says. “This is a great opportunity for kids to learn.” Johnson also says he’s honored to be included in such an esteemed class of laureates.

“It’s a great class,” he says. “Doug and I have been good friends, and worked together on projects for years. I’ve done work for Dana but don’t know him well. When I started out in construction, Cindy Yulich was one of the few who would loan me money. I’m probably forever indebted to that lady.”

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CINDYYULICH

Cindy Yulich

Yulich joined Emprise Bank in 1991 to help open its Lawrence location. She grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, graduating from Turner High School in 1977. She earned an associate’s degree from Kansas City Kansas Community College in 1979 and a bachelor’s degree in business administration (minor in social science) from Emporia State University in 1981. She graduated from the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Colorado in 1998.

Yulich began her 29-year career at Emprise Bank as an assistant vice president, becoming market president in 2008. She has served on the bank’s board of directors and its asset/liability management committee in addition to loan committees.

She is serving or has served on a wide variety of boards and committees, including Lawrence Memorial Hospital (now LMH Health) Board of Trustees, Peaslee Technical Training Center, Economic Development Corp., Lawrence Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, USD 497 Board of Education, United Way of Douglas County, American Cancer Society and the Rotary Club. Yulich received the Lawrence Public Schools Outstanding Citizen and Service Award in 2002 and the Wally Galluzzi Chamber Volunteer of the Year award in 2013. She received the Athena Leadership Award from the Chamber of Commerce in 2016.

“(Junior Achievement’s) commitment to strong business principles, honesty and integrity, the power of partnership and collaboration, and conviction to hands-on learning are all things that have served me well my entire life,” she says. “I’ve been fortunate to have wonderful mentors in my career, some of whom preceded me in receiving this honor. To be considered to follow them is humbling, and I look forward to continuing their legacy by mentoring those that will follow me.” Yulich is married to Mitch. They have two grown sons, Brett and Jordan, and daughter-in-law, Kristi. p

NON [ PROFIT ]

by Bob Luder, photos by Steven Hertzog

Putting a spotlight on war, poverty and the destruction of the environment, the Food Not Bombs movement recovers good food headed for the trash and makes vegetarian and vegan meals for those in need.

Lawrence is a town that shows great pride in the number of charitable civic organizations in its midst. There’s one longtime stalwart of the city’s food system that’s gone about things in a different way. In fact, anyone involved with Food Not Bombs insists, first and foremost, that the organization is not a charity. Rather, it is a collection of volunteers that prepares and serves free vegetarian or vegan meals to the less fortunate as a means of protest against the long-held systemic capitalization of the federal government, particularly in the area of the military industrial complex. It seeks to inspire the public to participate in changing society and focus resources on solving problems like hunger, homelessness 24

Claire Nderagakura (in the middle) with Food Not Bombs volunteers at the Lawrence Public Library every Monday from 5:30-6:30pm

and poverty while seeking an end to war and the destruction of the environment. “Our motto has always been ‘Solidarity, Not Charity,’ ” says local farmer and longtime Food Not Bombs volunteer Pantaleon Florez III. “Food Not Bombs has always tried to stay away from charity models and all the bureaucracy that comes with that. We’re giving for the sake of giving. There are 40 million in this country who go to bed hungry every night, 12 million of them children. That’s who we’re trying to help.” Food Not Bombs traces its origins back to May 24, 1980, in New England when co-founder and Boston resident Brian Feigenbaum was arrested for protesting to stop the

Seabrook Nuclear Power Station in New Hampshire. A group of Feigenbaum’s friends vowed to raise funds for his legal expenses and started holding bake sales outside the student union in Harvard Square. That led to the idea of gathering discarded produce and other food items from grocery stores, restaurants, farms and the like, and using it to prepare meals for those in need. The people who started Food Not Bombs shared their first full meal on March 26, 1981, outside the Federal Reserve Bank during the stockholders meeting of the Bank of Boston to protest the exploitation of capitalism and investment in the nuclear industry. The decision was made early on to make the meals completely vegetarian or vegan because 1) of the safety factor of handling recovered meat and 2) as a protest of animal cruelty and factory farming. Today, Food Not Bombs’ website lists more than 500 chapters, but it’s believed there actually are more than 1,000 chapters in more than 60 countries around the world. There are nearly 500 chapters in cities throughout the United States. The Lawrence chapter of Food Not Bombs started in the late 1980s and, Florez explains, has undergone a handful of incarnations during the years. “There’ve been a few waves,” he says. “I think we’re probably on about our fourth wave right now. A lot of the support we get has come from students at [the University of Kansas]. So we’re dependent on how that and the rest of our volunteer network sustains itself since we’re not sponsored. “It’s poor people helping poor people,” he continues. “We don’t always have the means, but we seem to get by.” Lawrence Food Not Bombs volunteers serve homemade vegetarian or vegan meals to approximately 50 to 60 people from 5:30 to 6:30 each and every Monday evening in front of the Lawrence Public Library. That number of people served jumps higher during summer months. Volunteers source food from local farms and other volunteers, and coordinate with the Sunrise Project kitchen. On evenings when there’s food left over, volunteers might take it to a winter shelter or even travel to areas where there are homeless conclaves and distribute it there. Another unique aspect of Food Not Bombs is that it operates without a leadership structure. There is no board to answer to, no chapter officers to run ideas or initiatives by before proceeding. Chapters are fully autonomous and operate strictly through the work of grassroots volunteers.

AND THE BEAT GOES ON...

Here for our customers, It’s that structure that’s allowed a volunteer such as Clare Nderagakura to go from delivering one meal to cooking for large groups to procuring office space and creating her own “community closet” in a short period of time.

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“I delivered one meal, and I knew I needed to keep things going,” she says. “So I started to cook. I posted on social media and found a group of people willing to come in and help.” Nderagakura says the hard part for her was learning how to cook without using meat. For her community closet, she gathers other items such as toiletries and clothes, and brings many of those items with her on Monday evenings to the library. “From Oct. 21 (2020) to Nov. 9 was the time from when I started to cook to the time I got an office space,” she says, noting that the leaderless model of the Food Not Bombs organization allowed her the freedom to move that quickly. “I hear from people who get meals each week,” Nderagakura says. “They’re so excited about it. They really enjoy them. We’re seeing more and more people all the time.”

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Florez says the Lawrence Food Not Bombs chapter has weathered the COVID-19 pandemic just fine. Through a culinary artist grant connected with Rebuilding East Ninth Street, he was able to procure some personal protective equipment (PPE) and to-go containers for meals to keep people safe. This helped Food Not Bombs stock enough PPE and to-go containers back in May 2020 to get them through at least April.

“I think it’s great that we have a strong core group [of volunteers] that’s rooted here along with the mix of young college kids,” he says. “[For the future], I just plan to organize more people, organize more cooks. For me, expansion is mainly about organizing more people and getting more people involved.” Florez, a former schoolteacher, says he’s putting together a communal cooking handbook for future volunteers. Nderagakura says she sees a community that’s ready for more Food Not Bombs. “People in Lawrence are ready and willing,” she says. “As long as they know there’s a need out there and what it is, Lawrence is ready to go.” p

by Anne Brockhoff

Local environmental nonprofits

and research centers are valuable commodities when it comes to community outreach and research, as well as a boon to the economy.

Nature is close at hand in Lawrence, with forest, grasslands, wetlands and wildlife practically within walking distance of the city limits. Understanding the role it all plays in both the environment and the economy is more of a reach, though. That’s where the area’s network of advocates, educators and researchers comes in. Nonprofits and research centers like the Kansas Native Plant Society, Monarch Watch, Kansas Land Trust, Kansas Biological Survey and others play a vital role in fostering access and creating economic and intrinsic value within this community and beyond. “Lawrence is a real nexus of activities related to knowledge and awareness of the environment, not just in Kansas but more broadly,” says Craig Freeman, who has long served on the board of the Kansas Native Plant Society (KNPS), which promotes awareness of the state’s native plants and their habitats through education, stewardship and scientific research.

Environmental Economics

Those activities are more of an economic generator than they might appear. For one thing, such groups create employment, ranging from one contractual employee at the KNPS to 74 faculty, staff and graduate assistants at the Kansas Biological Survey (a University of Kansas research center often referred to as the Bio Survey). Events and meetings also draw out-oftown visitors, who then spend money on hotels, restaurants and other amenities, Freeman notes. As many as 120 participants typically attend KNPS’s three-day annual meeting in a different Kansas town each year, while several thousand come to Lawrence for Monarch Watch’s various events. There is “an economic benefit if you have to boil it down to dollars and cents,” says Freeman, who is a senior scientist at the Bio Survey and director of its R.L. McGregor Herbarium.

Still, organizations like KNPS “operate on a shoestring,” Freeman acknowledges, and so rely heavily on supporters. Dues from KPNS’s 800 members finance the budget, and it receives some grants for specific initiatives. Freeman’s wife, Jane Freeman, manages its administrative functions in Lawrence as the sole paid worker. Volunteers oversee the website and other activities. Outreach includes holding Wildflower Walks and a photography contest, providing “Plant a Prairie” garden kits to teachers, offering a graduate student scholarship and creating educational events and resources. The cancellations of 2020 proved challenging for an organization that relies heavily on in-person interaction at field sites, but Freeman is optimistic about safely resuming some activities this year. One silver lining: KNPS has benefitted from learning to better utilize technology. “We’ve increased the size of our toolkit,” Freeman says. Virtual forms of communication are “something we understand now, and we’re able to use it if we need to in the future.”

Butterfl y Outreach Monarch Watch also moved several of its marquee events online last year, but even a pandemic couldn’t shake this underlying truth: People have been enthusiastic about the outreach program since its beginning. Orley R. “Chip” Taylor founded Monarch Watch in 1992 to facilitate monarch butterfly education, research and conservation, and still serves at its director. His first project was studying the monarch migration between the U.S. and Canada, and the species’ overwintering grounds in central Mexico; but he needed help collecting data. So Taylor invited the public to assist in tagging butterflies with tiny coded, all-weather circular tags and was gratified by the response.

Orley R. “Chip” Taylor founder of Monarch Watch gives young children an introduction to the world of butterflies

“From the first year, I knew there was a thirst from the public to learn something about them,” he says. “They wanted to catch a butterfly, put a tag on it and learn more about this mysterious phenomenon.” 31

Thousands of volunteers across North American now tag some quarter-million butterflies each season, helping track their declining population. Expanding the monarchs’ habitat is essential to countering the slide, so in 2005, Taylor launched the Monarch Waystation program. It encourages people to plant milkweed and other host species, and now has 31,000 registered waystations in the U.S. and eight other countries. “We’ve got a lot of sites around the country, but we need 10 times that many,” says Taylor, who is also a professor emeritus in ecology and evolutionary biology at KU. “If you want to sustain these things, you have to create habitat.” Monarch Watch is affiliated with the Bio Survey, which provides it with facilities on campus. Between four and eight KU students work for it at any one time. The tagging and waystation programs are self-funded, merchandise sales generate other income, and Monarch Watch does have some grant support. The program provides milkweed plants to schools, nonprofits and restoration projects; involves “citizen scientists” in research projects; and facilitates forums, communications and publicity. Monarch Watch’s spring open house and plant sale, fall open house and fall tagging event each normally attract between 600 and 800 participants to Lawrence, often from as far away as Minnesota, Mississippi and California, Taylor explains. Even more people visit throughout the year, and Monarch Watch frequently collaborates with researchers from other universities. “We’re kind of an anchor for monarch studies and conservation,” Taylor says.

A United Cause

Environment-minded organizations also unite diverse groups within Lawrence. One example is Lawrence Ecology Teams United in Sustainability (LETUS), an interfaith network with representatives from First Presbyterian Church, Lawrence Jewish Community Congregation, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Lawrence, Plymouth Congregational Church, Oread Friends Meeting, St. John the Evangelist Catholic Parish, Trinity Episcopal Church and the Islamic Center of Lawrence. Together, they provide environmental advocacy and education on local issues, such as development of 32

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the 2040 Comprehensive Plan for Lawrence and Douglas County, as well as those with statewide impact, such as the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s efforts to update its Noxious Weed Guidelines. Other nonprofits connect Kansans to a wider network of like-minded advocates. Take Friends of the Kaw. The grassroots group has for 30 years protected the Kansas River through environmental advocacy, educational paddle trips, speakers, a film festival and other programs. As the only Kansas member of the Waterkeeper Alliance, Friends of the Kaw is also helping fight for clean water on an international scale. Similarly, the Jayhawk Audubon Society builds appreciation of birds and advocates for sustainability and preservation of intact ecosystems throughout Eastern Kansas. But even regional birding trips and events like the Kaw Valley Eagles Day help advance the National Audubon Society’s wider aims. “We’re a part of the bigger picture,” says Jayhawk Audubon president Dr. James Bresnahan. “All these birds, like the warblers that come in the spring heading to Canada— we want to get the local population involved in appreciating that, but these are global issues.”

Protecting the Land

Environmental advocacy usually centers on management of public resources. But what happens when people want to protect their own private land? The Kansas Land Trust (KLT) was created in 1990 to help landowners do exactly that. KLT collaborates with landowners to create voluntary, customized conservation agreements that protect areas with ecological, agricultural, historic, scenic or recreational value. Landowners can continue using their properties as they currently do, but they and all future owners are prevented from making man-made changes such as installing billboards or cell towers, building housing developments or fracking. “It’s principally to keep the natural state of the land in perpetuity. If it’s farmland, it stays farmland. If it’s a wetland, it stays a wetland. If it’s prairie, it stays prairie,” says Jerry Jost, KLT’s executive director and its only full-time employee. The organization also has two part-time employees, and volunteers help with functions like monitoring compliance. KLT has helped create 77 conservation easements throughout Kansas, including 11 in Douglas County. While most are private, some are open to the public, such as the KellyVarvil and Lichtwardt Conservation Easements. They’re 34

Native Kansas flowers and the Kansas Prairie Photos by Jerry Jost of Kansas Land Trust and Craig C. Freeman

part of the nearly 100-acre Lawrence Nature Park in northwest Lawrence and feature woodlands, a savannah, limestone outcroppings and walking trails. Ensuring access to that kind of green space enhances quality of life, improves residents’ health and makes Lawrence more appealing to businesses, Jost says. Information about other accessible properties is on KLT’s website, and the nonprofit hosts guided hikes, Nature Detective Winter Outings for young children and other events. It all contributes to a more environmentally aware community while helping landowners meet their own goals, he explains. “What we don’t know, we neglect. What we don’t appreciate, we neglect,” Jost says. “It’s important to get people outdoors and get them outdoors on protected lands.”

UnderstandingThrough Research

Understanding what’s out there is also essential. That’s the mission of the Bio Survey, which holds dual status as a nonregulatory state agency. Faculty, staff scientists, postdoctoral researchers and graduate and undergraduate students study terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems, and how those are impacted by humans. Projects range from analyzing harmful algal blooms and their effects across the state to grassland biodiversity, river ecosystems and remote sensing/GIS mapping applications. The Bio Survey also manages the 3,700-acre KU Field Station, which was established in 1947 as a living laboratory. In addition to creating research opportunities, the field station also has a five-mile trail system showcasing woodlands and native prairie, and a Native Medicinal Plant Garden, both open year-round. It also offers occasional tours of the Baldwin Woods Forest Preserve, a research area that’s normally restricted and works with schoolteachers when possible. The presence of such research expertise and the concentration of environmental nonprofits is a boon for Lawrence, because they all boost awareness, enthusiasm and engagement. Residents who understand such issues and appreciate the area’s unique resources are more likely to value and preserve them, making the city an even better place to live and work, the KLT’s Jost says. “Every healthy community needs a broad menu of ways to be culturally, socially and intellectually engaged,” he says. “This is just one of those pieces on the menu.” p

Preserving our downtown and its history is fundamental to keeping Lawrence’s economy, relationships, jobs, tourism, quality of life, arts and culture booming. Downtown. What does that word mean to you? Shops. Restaurants. Arts. Businesses. Cafes. Nightlife. Culture. Entertainment. Community. Museums. History. For many of us, it’s all of the above. Downtowns are the soul of any city and essential to its success. Across the country, many of our downtowns were once among the oldest neighborhoods in town, meaning they now contain a unique insight into the past. Their historical landmarks, monuments, buildings and distinct features offer a rare glimpse into the past only witnessed by those things that 38

have stood the test of time. Knowing that history can lead to the preservation of a downtown’s future. “Travel teaches you many things, not the least of which is that downtowns matter,” explains Edward McMahon, a leading authority on topics such as health and the built environment, sustainable development, land conservation, smart growth and historic preservation. “Downtowns are the heart and soul of our communities.” Steve Nowak, executive director of the Douglas County Historical Society, which operates the Watkins Museum

share of hard times. During Quantrill’s Raid, much of the downtown business district was burned to the ground, he continues. Only two buildings were left standing in the Mass. Street business district. The most prominent building lost at the time was The Eldridge Hotel.

The Famous and the Infamous

by Tara Trenary, photos by Douglas County Historical Society, Watkins Museum of History

“The Eldridge Hotel has been an integral part of the history of Lawrence since its founding,” explains David Longhurst, part owner of the hotel since the 1980s. The original building on this site was the Free State Hotel, built in 1855 by settlers from the New England Emigrant Aid Society in Boston. The Free State Hotel, intended as temporary quarters for settlers who came here from Boston, was named so to make clear the intent of those early settlers: that Kansas should come into the Union as a free state. “Think about the investment of time, money and resources into the Eldridge Hotel,” he continues, “beginning with settlers who came to Lawrence and built the Free State Hotel in 1855.” Sheriff Sam Jones and other renegade confederates burned it down the day it opened in 1856. Col. Shalor Eldridge came to Lawrence and rebuilt the hotel again, naming it the Hotel Eldridge. Confederate guerrilla leader William Quantrill raided Lawrence in 1863 and killed more than 150 people, tragically burning and destroying the symbolic city. Once again, time, money and resources were needed to rebuild the hotel for the third time, Longhurst explains. “The Eldridge Hotel stood until 1925 as one of the finest hotels this side of the Mississippi and continued to play an important role in the early development of Lawrence and the State of Kansas,” he adds.

of History, agrees. “Massachusetts Street has been the heart of the community since the city’s founding and, in a way, the street reflects the community’s growth and change,” he explains. “It is certainly home to some of the city’s most historic buildings and also serves as a community gathering place.” “Mass. Street,” as locals call it, is the main street that runs through Downtown Lawrence. Much of it listed on the National Register of Historical Places under Lawrence’s Historical District, the 600 through 1200 blocks of Massachusetts Street were settled prior to the Civil War and have been through their fair

But by 1925, the hotel had deteriorated, and Lawrence businessman Billy Hutson rebuilt the hotel for the fourth time “because of its importance to the city of Lawrence, and [to] restore it to its former place of dignity and elegance,” Longhurst says. “The community stepped forward and made the investment necessary to ensure the success of this important undertaking. Once again, the Eldridge Hotel was a premiere hotel in Lawrence, in Kansas and west of the Mississippi.” 39

By the late 1960s, trends had changed, and downtown hotels were losing business and becoming less prevalent. The Eldridge was not immune and finally closed its doors as a hotel on July 1, 1970. “In fact, a key had to be made to lock the front door because it had been lost many years earlier,” he says. In 1970, the Eldridge was converted to the Eldridge House Apartments, and in 1985, another group of investors put in money along with $2 million in industrial revenue bonds from the City of Lawrence to convert the Eldridge back to a hotel. In 2004, yet another group of investors bought the Eldridge and invested even more millions of dollars to completely remodel the hotel. “And thus began the rebirth and renovation of our historic hotel,” Longhurst says. “This multimillion-dollar renovation project restored the building to its original 1925 grandeur.”

LAWRENCE’S PREMIER

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Reopening in May 2005, the hotel once again assumed its role as Lawrence’s premier hotel. “Occupying the most historic corner in Kansas, the Eldridge truly is the place where ‘history and hospitality converge,’ ” he says. With its long and complex history, the Eldridge Hotel is one of Lawrence’s most famous stories of reinvention and restoration. But it’s not the only one.

A House of History

Watkins’ Nowak says that nearly everything about the Watkins Building is unique. “As a history museum, we consider our building to be our biggest artifact. The grand nature of the building certainly helps draw attention to the museum and make us memorable.” A classic example of the Richardsonian Romanesque influence on Kansas’s architecture, it was considered one of the most magnificent buildings west of the Mississippi River at the time of its construction. At a time when Mass. Street was still a dirt road (1888), J.B. Watkins hired architects from Chicago to design the headquarters for his business empire. The building they designed included a number of technological advances and modern business conveniences. And Watkins spared no expense on the decor, Nowak continues. “Terra cotta ornaments on the exterior, mosaic floors, marble wainscoting, plaster-decorated ceilings, a cast-iron and marble staircase, and oak and exotic curly yellow pine woodwork.” The building included six vaults with doors made in Cincinnati, as well as both gas and electric lighting. “There was even an electric-powered employee call button system and a telephone,” he adds. The windows were a marvel of modern technology at the time, as the process for

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producing plate glass was invented in the 1880s. In 1888, the Watkins National Bank was established on the ground floor of the building. The original cost of the building was $100,000 (replacement cost today would be over $20,000,000). Watkins’ wife, Elizabeth Miller Watkins, donated the building to the City in 1929, and it was used as City Hall until 1970. In April 1975, after being restored, it became the home of the Elizabeth M. Watkins Museum. More recently, the name was changed to the Watkins Museum of History to clarify the museum’s focus. “The building was unlike anything else in Lawrence and unique among buildings west of the Missouri River,” Nowak says. “It marked J.B.’s success as a businessman but also Lawrence’s transition from frontier town to Midwestern city.”

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

What began as Kansas’ first abolitionist newspaper, The Herald of Freedom, in the mid-1850s, Liberty Hall has a varied history that includes burning twice and being rebuilt by materials asserted to be “completely fireproof.” After first being burned down during the Sack of Lawrence by Sheriff Jones, a new structure was rebuilt in 1856. The structure at 644 Massachusetts St. next became a gathering spot for debates, meetings and political speeches. In 1882, J.D. Bowersock purchased and renovated the building, adding another floor and creating the Bowersock Opera House, a theatrically themed opera house and well-known entertainment destination. About 30 years later, an electrical fire burned the opera house to the ground. So Bowersock rebuilt the building we know today as Liberty Hall. Over the next century, the building housed a theater, an inn and night club, a disco and now, a video store, coffee 42

shop, cinema and community gathering spot. Next year, in 2022, the building at Seventh and Massachusetts streets will have stood strong for 110 years. Genelle Denneny, Liberty Hall office manager, believes preserving a town’s history is important, acknowledging that operating within an older building like the one that houses Liberty Hall can be costly. “I know that preserving old buildings is not cheap. I feel there are a lot of businesses in old buildings that struggle with dated utilities, structural issues, heating/cooling [costs]. It is a situation where you weigh the solutions with the reality of what can be afforded: What are the priorities? “It is important to try to preserve history in any town, good, bad or ugly, because if you don't … it could repeat itself,” she continues. “Lawrence has a history of good, bad and ugly: Acknowledging that is reality.” Denneny explains that Liberty Hall is unique in that today, it has a variety of businesses that appeal to all types of people: movies, videos, coffee, music, entertainment—something for everyone. “The building itself is so beautiful to wander around in, it makes a special event even more inviting,” she says. And “It's fun to work downtown. There is usually something going on; the service businesses have a subculture where people know each other simply by seeing each other from day to day.”

Documenting the Past

The Block-by-Block research project began in the spring of 2017 in a journalism class at the University of Kansas, in which students learn to find information and evaluate its credibility. Searching for an activity that would help students integrate concepts about sources, research and attribution, Peter Bobkowski, associate professor, was inspired by a feature in New York Magazine that told the stories of buildings and people who worked and lived in them over the decades. His students, with help from other community leaders, were tasked with creating a business timeline of a historic building picked by the group.

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“Students choose KU in part because of the unique character of Lawrence, and Mass. Street is an important part of that,” he explains. “So helping them make those connections between the town’s history and what appealed to them about this town was rewarding.” Each of the historic buildings downtown tells a number of fascinating stories. Free State Brewing Co. and The Granada are just a couple of the buildings students studied for this project.

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From Bus Depot to Beer Joint According to Block by Block, the building at 636 Massachusetts St. began as an immigrant-owned grocery store. When the owner became too old to run the store around 1906, he moved to Chicago to live with his daughter.

“The previous building was destroyed in the tornado of 1912, so all that remained were the stone walls on either side,” explains Chuck Magerl, owner of Free State Brewing Co. “It was rebuilt as the Lawrence Depot for the Kaw Valley Interurban electric train line that ran to Kansas City. In the 1930s, it became the bus depot, and tens of thousands of students and Lawrence visitors came and went through this location.” The Kaw Valley Line, connecting Lawrence and Kansas City, was owned by JJ Heim, a brewing company bottling plant owner. The plan was to continue the line on to Topeka, which never happened. Ridership declined in the 1920s, and the last ride was taken in 1935. According to Block by Block, the wooden cross beams in the building today were once used to suspend the wires for the cars, one of the few remaining reminders of the trolley days. In 1989, what we know today as Free State Brewing Co. began leasing the space from Liberty Hall Associates. Famous for being the first microbrewery to open in the state of Kansas in 100 years, Free State has seen its share of students, visitors and locals, as well as some notable personalities. “Too many to truly count,” Magerl says. “Allen Ginsburg, Aaron Rogers, Joan Baez, Ann Coulter, Wes Jackson, Patty Jenkins, Bobby Knight, Rachel Maddow, Chris Piper, Dick Vitale and so many more.”

Legendary Locale

Mike Logan, owner/operator of The Granada, 1020 Massachusetts St., says the original Granada was built as a silent film theater. “Flashforward to today, and I guarantee when The Granada is operating, it is anything but silent.” 44

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According to Block by Block, it began as a grocery store in 1905. In 1907, it became a carpenter’s shop. Next, in 1908, a roller-skating rink called The Auditorium opened in the space. It was a time of “skating fever,” and the rink even employed a band for music. Because of the number of skating-related injuries, the mayor of Lawrence decided to prohibit skating in town. Soon after, The Auditorium closed. In 1919, an auto repair garage and gas station operated in the space. In 1923, the location became a Ford and Lincoln dealership. In September 1934, Stanley Schwahn, owner of the Patee Theater and president of the Commonwealth Theater, remodeled the lot into The Granada Theater, complete with a large, vertical neon sign and a marquee covering the sidewalk. It was said to be the most modern theater in Lawrence. The theater’s opening picture was “Hide-Out” (1934). Public events were also held as advertising, featuring giveaways of cars, vacations and house appliances. Movies such as “Stagecoach” (1939), “Gone with the Wind” (1939) and “Bachelor in Paradise” (1961) also came to The Granada. In 1989, United Artists sold The Granada, and soon after, Mike Elwell, a former Douglas County district judge, bought it and transformed it into a coffee shop and nightclub. He preserved all of the original ware and structure, including the ticket booth dispenser and original movie posters, to create an atmosphere like what it would have been during the 1930s. The venue played light jazz music from 4 to 9 p.m. then transformed into a nightclub. Elwell sold the Granada in 2005 to Consolidated Properties LLC, owned by Doug Compton. Consolidated planned to create a home court location for KU’s tennis teams, to no avail. Logan leased the space in 2003 and still runs The Granada today. “Our history defines Lawrence's character,” Logan says. “The preservation of our buildings and history are one major way for Lawrence to tell it’s story.”

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The Granada has been hosting live music since 1993. Some noteworthy national and international artists include: M83, The Get Up Kids, Ben Folds, Flaming Lips, Weezer, Henry Rollins, Pat Green, G-Love & Special Sauce, Marilyn Manson, Dirty Projectors, Jerry Cantrell, Murder by Death, Big Head Todd, Smashing Pumpkins, Rusted Root, John Mayer, Creed, Blink 182, The Roots, Jack’s Mannequin, Walk the Moon, The Killers, Phoenix and Snow Patrol. The Granada is currently making improvements for both

the band and the fan, Logan explains. “The shutdown due to COVID has given us a lot of time to try and figure out how to best reinvest in the space in consideration of a reopening, and return to being an active attractor to talent from across the globe. We are proud that we have been able to keep the building alive with live music and are looking forward to the next chapter for the venue … ” Though Block by Block is no longer a J-School project, a lot of great information was discovered and noted by KU journalism students during this time. “One of the reasons that we don’t do the project anymore (we stopped a few semesters ago),” Bobkowski explains, “is that there is no infrastructure to gather the information that the students researched and display it to the public in a way that would be accessible and useful.” He says he would like to convert that information into something the public can consume but hasn’t found anyone willing to collaborate with him to help him store and disseminate the information to the public. “There is a lot of great information here, and Lawrence could be a pioneer in preserving and sharing this type of information with the public; but it’s not something I can do by myself,” he says.

Preservation a Priority

Preserving a community’s historic and cultural heritage is vital to its identity and that of its community members. But with continued outside distractions such as budget concerns and competing priorities, ensuring that a town’s historic and cultural stories are told is only getting harder. “The awareness of Downtown’s importance both economically and culturally shown by both the community and by city government is a very important part of preservation,” Watkins’ Nowak explains. “It is hard to expend effort preserving something that you don’t appreciate, and the community really seems to appreciate Lawrence’s history and how that is reflected in Downtown.” He believes efforts to ensure that Downtown has something to offer all residents are an important part of preservation. “The best way to build support for Downtown is for people to use it and make it a regular part of their daily lives.” Historic preservation can be complicated and nearly always requires partnerships among private, public or governmental groups. But by preserving our significant historical sites, we ensure our varied cultural identities will continue to be enhanced. “Mass Street serves as a reminder of who we are as a community—what we have been through, how we have grown and changed, what is important to us,” Nowak explains. “It is a reminder of our past but also a symbol of our character as a community now.” p 47

By Sarah Ngoh

In celebrating the rich history of Lawrence, be sure not to miss the numerous events that honor our community’s diverse cultures. When thinking about how Lawrence has preserved so much of its important history while also evolving with the times, it is important to remember the many cultural events celebrated annually around town, including St. John’s Mexican Fiesta, the Juneteenth Festival and the University of Kansas (KU) Powwow and Indigenous Cultures Festival. Each of these events works to preserve important but sometimes overlooked aspects of Lawrence and American history, and each has evolved over time to make valuable contributions to the Lawrence community.

Fiesta Time

Maybe you’ve heard of La Yarda, the complex built in 1924 near 8th Street by Santa Fe Railroad to house its Mexican railway workers and their families. Working for the railroad was one way Mexican-Americans found their way to Lawrence, and many of them lived in La Yarda. It thrived until 1951, when the Kansas River flooded causing Lawrence’s Great Flood. Families scattered, and La Yarda was no more; but the community had established ties with St. John the Evangelist Catholic Parish and maintained that connection, creating a close MexicanAmerican community in town.

Recognizing its relationship with this community, in 1981, St. John’s asked its Mexican-American parishioners to host a mini fiesta to celebrate Mexican culture and raise funds for improvements around the grounds. The mini fiesta took place in the church basement, where food and music were provided for parishioners. This mini fiesta has, during the last 40 years, evolved into a two-day event that attracts attendees from all over Kansas each summer. Today, St. John’s Mexican Fiesta consists of live mariachi bands, a DJ, dancers, including local children performing traditional Mexican dances, authentic Mexican foods and children’s games. The fiesta is still a fund-raiser, using those funds primarily for the school’s Spanish language program and a scholarship fund to help local students of Mexican descent obtain college or trade school credits. In fact, the fiesta has provided over $43,000 in scholarships to local students through the years. Though the fiesta was canceled the last two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be back the weekend after Father’s Day, 2022, on St. John’s blacktop, and everyone is welcome. As Frank Lemus, one of the fiesta’s organizers, notes: “This is a celebration for the whole city of Mexican-American culture in Lawrence. It is an opportunity for everyone to celebrate that culture, as well as to celebrate togetherness and stewardship.”

Celebrating Freedom

On Sept. 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This executive order freed all enslaved African Americans effective Jan. 1, 1863. Although slavery was officially outlawed, African Americans in Texas remained enslaved for an additional 2½ years before Union troops arrived to enforce the order. Juneteenth, also known as “Jubilee Day” and” Freedom Day,” is the commemoration of June 19, 1865, the day Union Army Gen. Gordon Granger proclaimed enslaved African Americans in Texas free. Juneteenth celebrations in Texas began the next year, and they quickly spread across the south and then up north. Today, Juneteenth is celebrated in most major cities in the United States, and activists are campaigning for Congress to recognize it as a national holiday. After attending a Juneteenth event in Arizona, Lawrencian Janine Colter, owner of Hidden Jewel Hair Salon and a professional licensed cosmetologist, realized that Lawrence, especially given its unique history as a free state, needed a similar celebration. So in 2003, Colter co-chaired with local resident Donna Bell in creating the initial committee that began an annual event to celebrate Black history in Lawrence. That event evolved into Lawrence’s Juneteenth Festival, which includes oral presenters, Underground Railroad tours, three-on-three basketball tournaments, a prayer breakfast, an essay contest for school-aged children, live entertainment, music, food and a number of local vendors. As part of this celebration, in 2019, local children were able to go to City Hall and hear the Emancipation Proclamation read aloud. Adults were offered free diabetes and cholesterol checks by Heartland Community Health Center in an effort to gather, assist and inform African American citizens about health issues that affect them. However, this family-friendly and educational event is not just for Lawrence’s African American community. It is an event created to entertain, support and inform all Lawrence residents. As Colter notes, “The Juneteenth celebration isn’t just about Black history; it’s about Lawrence history. We want everyone to come out, celebrate and learn with us.” Be on the lookout for Juneteenth 2021. This year, it will take place beginning at noon on June 19 at South Park. There will be vendors, live music, food, presentations, speeches, a Kid Zone (run by the local Boys and Girls Club) and health services provided by Heartland Community Health. Juneteenth photos contributed by Juneteenth Celebration

A Cultural Salute

There is no denying that Lawrence has a unique, rich and complicated history when it comes to Native and non-Native relationships and issues. Yet this relationship between Lawrence and First Nations people and issues is also teeming with opportunities for greater community and understanding. KU’s First Nations Student Association (FNSA), which has held an annual powwow at the university for the past 30 years, recognized this potential when, in 2017, it decided to partner with the Lied Center to host the Powwow and Indigenous Cultures Festival. This event was meant to bring the community together in celebration and discovery, with the hope of building new, healthier and more positive relationships among Native and non-Native people in Lawrence. KU Powwow and Indigenous Cultures Festival organizing committee member Melissa Peterson says, “We work to create a community event that showcases the diversity and cultural depth of Indigenous peoples of North America, historically and in the contemporary, and host an event centered on learning, fun and respectful engagement while expanding and strengthening relationships between KU, the Lawrence community and Indigenous communities in our region.” This commitment to strengthening relationships is exemplified in the diversity of the hard-working committee responsible for putting this fantastic event together. KU Native faculty, students and staff, KU non-Native staff, Haskell staff and community members all work together to organize the KU Powwow and Indigenous Cultures Festival.

Lied Center Powwow and Indigenous Cultures Festival photos by Laura Kingston

Modern powwows are opportunities for First Nations people and others to meet and socialize, dance, sing, eat and honor Native cultures, and the KU Powwow and Indigenous Cultures Festival is no exception. Anthea Scouffas, another member of KU Powwow and Indigenous

Cultures Festival organizing committee, notes, “We have Native dancers from all over the U.S. who take part in the powwow. Local and regional Native artisans showcase and sell their work, and a number of local Native food vendors sell food and beverages just outside the Lied Center main doors. We also have many kids’ activities outside, some in the FNSA tepee and others throughout the grassy areas around the Lied.” Past educational offerings have included: a panel on Indigenous language revitalization programs; a class called Powwow 101; a viewing of documentary films and panels; dwelling builds to showcase the diversity in traditional Native housing; an Indigenous Short Films Festival, “Identity by Design,” which showcased KU Native student’s regalia and tribal history; a performance by Native hip-hop artist/activist, Nataanii Means; a screening of “MEKKO” by writer/ director Sterlin Harjo; and a live painting by muralist Steven Grounds. Some of the children’s programs have included: children’s literacy and crafts with the CRELI (Culturally Responsive Early Literacy Instruction) grant at KU, Haskell Alaska Club’s traditional dance activity and Haskell’s American Indian Higher Education Consortium Club’s demonstration of traditional Native hand games. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s events will be virtual. However, do not let this discourage you from attending. There are a number of fantastic and engaging events to join, including: z a virtual 5k run/walk hosted by FNSA that will raise money to support a scholarship fund for First Nations students at KU z a virtual Indigenous cooking class z a documentary showing of “Sisters Rising: Native Women Reclaiming Sovereignty,” with a phenomenal panel discussion z Indigenous storytelling and activities for children and adults z the FNSA Virtual Powwow that will include educational information on different dances at a powwow. p

St. John’s Mexican Fiesta photos Courtesy of St. John the Evangelist Church

Phog Allen inside the Allen Fieldhouse

As a junior at Salina Central High School, Richard Konzem wasn’t unlike most other wide-eyed farm kids growing up in central Kansas. He was unsure of what the future held beyond high school. He wanted to go to college but had yet to give any real thought as to where. A trip to a state basketball tournament in March 1975 changed all that. As the van carrying the Central boys basketball team turned right off of Iowa Street and headed down the hill on 15th, Konzem, the team’s manager, had his gaze immediately drawn to the huge expanse of limestone and brick to his right, just west of James Naismith Drive. It was the most majestic fortress young Konzem had ever seen to that point. And once inside, the rays of light shining through the upper windows, illuminating the basketball court below, the new Tartansurfaced track surrounding the court, expansive rafters, clouded glass office doors with images of Jayhawks painted on them: It was all magnificent. “I decided right then I was coming to (the University of Kansas),” Konzem says. Salina Central went on to win the state boys basketball championship that weekend. But Allen Fieldhouse already had claimed yet another devotee, just as it has on the hundreds of thousands who have walked through its doors before and since. 52

crowd of 20,000 there in 1968, months before his assassination. World-famous entertainers have performed there, from Harry Belefonte—who performed the first concert in Allen in November 1964—to Louis Armstrong, Ike and Tina Turner, Elton John, the Beach Boys and comedian Bob Hope. In 2004, President Bill Clinton spoke alongside former Kansas Sen. Robert Dole. The Fieldhouse hosted KU commencements when bad weather forced participants away from Memorial Stadium and indoors. It hosted enrollment in the fall when students still pulled cards for classes. Two indoor track world records were set in the building. Volleyball, wrestling, even crew teams practiced there.

by Bob Luder, photos from Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas

Though not modern like many of the athletic venues across the country, its intimate atmosphere and historic qualities are what make Allen Fieldhouse special. “Being a farm kid from Kansas … the limestone exterior and size of Allen Fieldhouse was awe-inspiring,” says Konzem, who went on to spend more than a few years working in the building as manager of KU’s men’s track and field program, as a director for the University’s Williams Education Fund and as an assistant athletic director. “And they had the thing you don’t see in many arenas: the windows.” The most cherished quality of Allen Fieldhouse, one the old barn has worked hard to attain over its nearly 66 years, is its history.

KU’s Front Porch

The Fieldhouse, labeled as such because its floor originally consisted of clay and dirt, has hosted a vast array of events and luminaries over the decades. Sen. Robert Kennedy spoke before a house-record

All of the greatest athletes in KU’s rich history—Wilt Chamberlain, Gale Sayers, Jim Ryun, Lynette Woodard—practiced or competed in the building that is commonly referred to as “the house that Wilt built.” Allen Fieldhouse has been everything to everyone. “Allen Fieldhouse is considered the front porch of the University,” says John Novotny, who was associated with the university from 1966 through 1981 as an academic counselor, assistant athletic director and first Williams Education Fund director. Of course, there’s what Allen Fieldhouse is mostly known for: the home of Jayhawks basketball. There are all of those great teams, players and coaches (six of the eight who have coached the Jayhawks did so in the fieldhouse) who have mostly won there, including 33 conference championships (and a national-record 14 straight during the Bill Self era), a 69-game home-court winning streak (not to mention two other separate streaks of 62 and 55 games) and two teams that won NCAA national championships—in 1988 and 2008. All the great games against Big Eight and Big 12 conference rivals and national powers, the most memorable of which just might be a 150-95 victory over Kentucky in 1989. And perhaps the most cherished moment in the building’s 66 years, the return of Chamberlain to the Jayhawk fold and the halftime 53

ceremony and speech that left no dry eyes in the house. The Jayhawk men sold out 306 consecutive games dating back to 2001, a streak only a worldwide coronavirus pandemic could interrupt. In 2014, the Guinness Book of World Records verified Allen Fieldhouse as the loudest indoor arena. Former Duke player and longtime ESPN basketball analyst Jay Bilas called Allen Fieldhouse the “St. Andrews of college basketball.”

“I think it’s the best sports venue in major sports, not just college basketball,” says Blair Kerkhoff, sportswriter for The Kansas City Star, who has covered college sports since 1989 and covered Jayhawks basketball from ’89 to ’97. “It’s as intimate as a 16,000-seat building can be, and the five minutes before a game—historical video, player introductions—isn’t duplicated anywhere.”

A Rich History

The history of Kansas Jayhawks basketball is inextricably tied to the history of the game itself. The Jayhawks played their first season in 1898-99, and their first head coach was none other than the inventor of the game itself, Dr. James Naismith. They originally played in the basement of old Snow Hall, with a 14-foot-high ceiling, before moving into old Robinson Gymnasium in the early 20th century. In 1927, the team moved to Hoch Auditorium, with a capacity of 3,800, for the next 28 years. It was during this time that the Kansas basketball program was turned over to a Naismith disciple, Dr. Forrest C. “Phog” Allen. Allen would go on to coach the Jayhawks for 39 seasons and establish himself as “the Father of Basketball Coaching” for his innovations to the modern game. A key moment in Allen’s coaching career came in 1948, when Kansas State constructed an 11,000-seat fieldhouse known as Ahearn Field House. Allen had brought up a new basketball arena to the University of Kansas and state in 1927, but the Great Depression and World War II quickly curtailed those plans. The construction of Ahearn reignited Allen’s desire for KU to have one of the largest basketball venues in the Midwest, if not the U.S. In 1949, a bill was renewed that appropriated $750,000 in state funding for the project, estimated to cost $2.5 million. The actual cost was between $2.6 and $3 million. The Fieldhouse was constructed with 700,000 bricks and 2,700 tons of structural steel that was secondhand from Chicago and used during the Korean War. The University had to agree to include the word “armory” in its original plans so that it could procure the steel during wartime. “We’d never built anything this big,” Warren Corman, one of the original architects on the project, said last year on an episode of The Jayhawker Podcast. “The structure itself was the most important thing, because it had to be built to last forever. And it had to span 200 feet, because the floor itself was 50 feet.” Corman said one of his key responsibilities on the job was to count weekly to ensure there were 17,000 seats that would fit into the fieldhouse. “I remember it as a heated big barn,” he says. “I had no idea it would be so iconic.”

Construction of Allen Fieldhouse

The year 1954 was one where the Father of Basketball Coaching suffered a rare loss of an argument. It came down to Allen and Naismith as to whose name would adorn the Fieldhouse. Allen wanted his mentor to have the honor, but it was put to a vote among KU students,

A young fan rides the tail of Big Jay, Tina Turner performing in The Fieldhouse and Indoor track meets

og Allen; in and coach Ph Wilt Chamberla field surrounded by The Fieldhouse

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and Allen came out on top. As a consolation, Michigan Street, which ran along the east side of the Fieldhouse, was renamed Naismith Drive. On March 1, 1955, the Jayhawks men’s basketball team defeated archrival Kansas State 77 to 67 in the dedication game for Allen Fieldhouse in front of an overflow throng of 17,228, to this day the attendance record for a game there. They played on a maple wood floor screwed into supports planted in the clay floor.

Something for Everyone

Throughout its first three decades, Allen Fieldhouse was used by student-athletes from just about every sport KU sponsored. “In the old days, they took the basketball court out in the off-season,” Novotny says. “People forget how big track was back then. Basketball hadn’t gotten as big as it got when Larry Brown came [in 1983] and then was followed by Roy Williams and Bill Self.” Fieldhouse architect Corman recalls, “I can remember the women’s rowing team up in the concourse practicing. There was athletic stuff happening all over the building.” “I remember the football team practiced for the ’81 Hall of Fame Bowl crosswise on the basketball court,” Konzem says. “At the same time, the baseball team practiced in the upper corner in batting cages.” But basketball was king, and as the sport grew in popularity and financial impact, so did the Fieldhouse and its atmosphere, which over the years added championship and individual banners throughout the rafters and, in 1988, a long banner hung high up in the north rafters that read: Pay Heed to All Who Enter—Beware of the Phog. “It was such a historic place, and I wanted to coach in Allen Fieldhouse,” says Roy Williams, head men’s basketball coach at North Carolina, who coached the Jayhawks to four NCAA Final Fours from 1988 to 2003. “After the first two seasons there, I became even more convinced we should always play there. It was the greatest home court advantage I’ve ever seen.”

Preserving History, Evolving the Future

Former KU athletic director Lew Perkins wrote in the introduction to the 2004 book Beware of the Phog: 50 Years of Allen Fieldhouse, “We must be diligent in making sure (the Fieldhouse) remains highly functional. But we will not 57

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Robert Kennedy speaks in The Fieldhouse; The Beach Boys perform; Students Waving the Wheat; Students line up in the cold to get tickets for a KU Basketball game

do so at the expense of tradition and history.” Indeed, many of the renovations and upgrades the old barn has undergone over the years have been made with enhancing the history and tradition in mind. Back in the old clay/dirt days, the Fieldhouse surface had to be watered and dragged daily to settle dust and provide an even running surface for track athletes.

TRANSFORMING IDEAS INTO COMMERCE

“A custodian watered the dirt each morning,” Novotny says. “There was a group of faculty who liked to run at 6 a.m., and I remember them meeting with the chancellor about the water.” A Tartan surface covered the dirt in 1974, and in 1979, a new maple wooden basketball court was installed. Eventually, other sports like track and field and volleyball got their own indoor facilities: Anschutz Sports Pavilion opened in 1984 for indoor football practice and indoor track; Horejsi Family Athletics Center opened in 1998 for volleyball and basketball practice, leaving Allen Fieldhouse to be modernized as one of the country’s preeminent college basketball arenas. Lighting and sound systems and scoreboards have been consistently updated and upgraded over the years. In January 2006, the Booth Family Hall of Athletics was added to the east side of Allen, creating a dazzling display of the university’s athletics history. In lieu of not having private suites, up to four different donor spaces were created that can accommodate about 600.

Facilities Guidance Connections

785.832-2110 Learn more at btbcku.com

In April 2016, the DeBruce Center opened, highlighted by the original copy of Naismith’s original rules of “basket ball.” The history of the game had come home. “Allen Fieldhouse is known for its historical significance first and foremost,” says Brad Nachtigal, associate athletic director, operations and capital projects, who in his 21 years with KU has witnessed three major Fieldhouse renovations along with other smaller projects. “The building has its original interior. It’s stood the test of time. “We’re definitely always looking for ways to make fan amenities better. We continually strive to preserve and modernize what we can.” In the end, many agree that the qualities that make Allen Fieldhouse not modern are what make it the special place it is. “I’ve been to a lot of fancier places, but there’s something about this place that makes it feel like being home,” said Corman on the Jayhawker Podcast. “Even though it’s big, it’s intimate with people being seated really close together, not much knee room. “I don’t think they’ll ever take it down.” p 59

by Emily Mulligan, photos by Steven Hertzog

The process of naming parks and streets in Lawrence changes with the times and is unique because of the town’s history. We don’t give it a second thought when we tell someone to “head west on Bob Billings” or “turn right on Kasold,” or “meet up in the shelter at Holcom Park.” In a sense, that is exactly what the predecessors in Lawrence had in mind when they chose the names for streets and parks. Their goal was to preserve the names of those people who had a major impact on the town and make them household names for decades. So who are the people behind the names? And how and why were those names chosen? The street and park names in Lawrence tend to fall into these four categories: to honor someone for their accomplishments or contributions; developers naming after themselves, or the city naming properties for those who bequested property or parks funds to the city; for nearby streets or geographic features that define an area; are unnamed or awaiting potential sponsored naming rights. Before outlining and recapping the namesakes of some of Lawrence’s better-known streets and parks, it is worth exploring the modern-day processes for how each are named. 60

Naming Streets

It is rare for a main artery or public street to need a name nowadays. The only major nonnumbered artery that has been named in the past 20 years is George Williams Way, which is detailed below. In that same time frame, one major street was renamed, and that is Bob Billings Parkway, formerly 15th Street. Both of these were named by City Commission approval. Future major street naming likely would follow a similar process, says David Cronin, city engineer with Municipal Services and Operations for the City of Lawrence. Residential street naming follows a much less public process, Cronin explains. Developers name the streets themselves in subdivisions and neighborhood developments, and they have wide latitude to choose names as they see fit. The City reviews the street names, mostly on a cursory level. They want to make sure there are not duplicate street names elsewhere in town, and any streets that are an extension of an existing street maintain that name for consistency. The only thing the city code explicitly does not allow in a street name is compass directions as any part of the name. It also specifies that culde-sacs or dead ends must be named “Court,” while streets that start and end attached to another street must be named

“Circle.” The City Commission gives final approval for the names based on the City staff’s recommendations, he says.

Naming Parks

Parks in Lawrence receive their names from one of two sources. The most typical route has been that a name is proposed and then receives a vote from the City Commission for approval. That process has applied to parks with people’s names and those named for streets, neighborhoods or other geographic features. The other way is to name the park for whomever donated the property or bequested money to the city to be used to create a park. There are many examples of each of these, spanning the decades and even centuries, thanks to thorough research by Roger Steinbrock, who heads up the marketing division of Lawrence Parks and Recreation. One interesting exception to the above categories of honorifics and bequests is Broken Arrow Park, at 2800 Louisiana St. The land for the park was donated to the city, school district, county and township by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1959, according to Steinbrock’s research. The park’s name, Broken Arrow, was the result of an essay contest at what is now Haskell Indian Nations University. The student with the winning essay was awarded $50 for the description of a broken arrow as a symbol of peace.

An Evolving Process

In surveying the names of parks and city spaces in Lawrence, the history of honorific park names is very low on women and people of color. It is easiest to name the exceptions to this in alphabetical order: Martin Park, Pat Dawson Billings Nature Area, Sandra Shaw Community Health Park, Viola and Conrad McGrew Nature Preserve and Woody Park. The Kathy Fode Room in the Parks and Recreation administrative building is named to honor Fode’s retirement. Hobbs Park is named for a woman, Myra Hobbs, but she provided the funds for a park in a bequest, so it is not an honorific. The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board will begin work this spring to devise a formal process for naming future parks based on best practices of other cities. That process will need to be approved by the City Commission, which should happen sometime before the fall, says Derek Rogers, Lawrence’s director of Parks & Recreation. 61

THE LEGACY OF PLACE NAMES

A Word About the State Streets

It is impossible to discuss the names of streets in Lawrence without acknowledging the state streets in the city’s central core. As it turns out, the city founders were using those street names to send a clear political message at the time and for future generations. But seeing that message requires a bit closer examination of all the names. The New England Emigrant Aid Society named the streets when it arrived in 1854, naming Massachusetts Street after their home state but getting crafty as they named streets east of Mass. Starting with Delaware Street, the streets are in the order they entered into the Union, but not exactly: The New England abolitionists deliberately left out two Confederate states that should be in that sequence, Georgia and South Carolina, according to research by local historian Steve Jansen. Then, west of Mass. St., the streets resume the proper order until Texas is also left out. So Lawrence’s original street names were more about who was not named than who was named. We have states of the Union, in order, but the city’s founders thought that slave states did not merit recognition in the abolitionist era.

“It should be a public process, getting community input on naming parks. Neighborhood associations and other entities should have a say,” Rogers says. Likely a new park will be named this year on the grounds of the city’s new police headquarters. Not including that space, there are five park properties that do not have names, says Mark Hecker, assistant director of parks for Lawrence Parks & Recreation Department. Other well-established city recreation properties have retained their initial generic names since they opened: the Outdoor Aquatic Center, the Indoor Aquatic Center, the skate park, the Mutt Run off-leash dog area, the disc golf course in Centennial Park, to name a few. The City Commission approved a sponsorship program in 2017 that applies to Parks and Recreation facilities, programs and events. So with the right sponsorship or partnership, unnamed sites could acquire an additional moniker. Sponsors must be consistent with the City’s public mission and core services, with options for naming rights, annual sponsorships and community support, and specific parameters for each. 62

Honoring People With Streets and Parks

A couple of Lawrence’s main artery streets are named in honor of people: Bob Billings Parkway and George Williams Way, both named in the 21st century. Bob Billings Parkway is the stretch of 15th Street west of Iowa Street. It borders the part of Lawrence that Billings is known for having developed: the former Alvamar Golf Club, now called the Jayhawk Club, and the surrounding neighborhoods. The Lawrence City Commission approved the renaming, which was proposed by the Lawrence Home Builders Association in 2004, a few months after Billings’ death. Renaming an existing street was an unprecedented move in Lawrence, and it required replacing more than 50 street signs and changing a large number of addresses for homes and businesses with the Post Office. George Williams Way, which runs north-south in western Lawrence and is the street that leads to Rock Chalk Park, is named for longtime City of Lawrence Public Works Director George Williams, who died in 2015. Williams was born in Lawrence, attended KU and worked for the city’s Public Works department for 45 years, culminating his career as its director.

Parks in Lawrence that bestow honor on people tend to be named in two categories: longtime city employees like Jim McSwain and Fred DeVictor, and recreational sports coaches who made an impact on youth and citizens of Lawrence like Louie Holcom L. R. “Dad” Perry and Elgin Woody. Jim McSwain Park, at 1941 Haskell Avenue, was named for the longtime fire chief and also dedicated to honoring all firefighters. The 5-acre park is adjacent to the city’s fire training facility and had long been planned to be named in some way that would honor firefighters. McSwain was fire chief in Lawrence for 27 years, a job whose typical tenure is about five years. He had a background in fire training and oversaw notable fires fought in Lawrence, including the 1991 Hoch Auditorium fire on the KU campus and a 1997 Downtown Lawrence fire that damaged Sunflower bike shop but mercifully was contained. “He did a lot for the city and had a big impact on shaping what is there today,” Parks and Rec’s Hecker says. DeVictor Park, at 1100 George Williams Way, was dedicated to Fred DeVictor as he retired from directing the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department in 2007. The city purchased the land for the 40-acre park from Alvamar Inc. in 1998. “He developed the parks system in Lawrence. Where he started and where he ended is amazing,” Hecker says. Louie Holcom was a community baseball coach and youth advocate, and Holcom Park, Holcom Park Recreation Center and Holcom Park Sports Complex, at 2700 W. 27th Street and 2601 W. 25th Street, are named for him. The sports complex was dedicated in 1974, and the park was established in 1976. The recreation center, which is 19,000 square feet, was financed through a bond issue and private funding in 1985 and 1986. Dad Perry Park, at 1200 Monterey Way, was named in honor of L.R. “Dad” Perry, who was a teacher and coach in the Lawrence School District, and made an impact statewide, becoming known as the “father of gymnastics in the state of Kansas.” The city purchased the park in 1967 with matching funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Woody Park, at 201 Maine St., was named to recognize Elgin Woody, a Lawrence citizen who organized minority baseball and softball leagues for Lawrence youth. The park is located in the same area where Woody’s teams played, 4 acres purchased in 1936. p

With the help of local residents and businesses, many associations exist to ensure Lawrence’s historic architectural treasures are preserved.

Piece by piece, the windows are coming back together. Part of the original St. Luke AME Church, built in 1910 at the corner of Ninth and New York streets, in downtown Lawrence, these majestic stained glass windows, with their mottled blues, greens and golds, were cracked, missing panes and in general disrepair. But just as the Lawrence community has come together to initiate a rehabilitation of this historic structure so that it can stand tall for another century of churchgoers, the windows themselves are being resurrected through the meticulous craftsmanship of Hoefer’s Custom Stained Glass, in Hutchinson, Kansas, and the funding efforts of the St. Luke AME congregation, the Douglas County Community Foundation, the Lawrence Preservation Alliance, the Douglas County Heritage Conservation Council and the Kansas Historical Society. 64

Lawrence has a long history of treasuring the architectural artifacts of times past. Founded in 1984, the Lawrence Preservation Alliance, the city’s nonprofit advocate for the preservation of historically significant buildings and natural environments, started when community members recognized their historic neighborhoods were vulnerable to demolition when solely economic concerns were taken into account. Beginning as a grassroots effort to raise funds to purchase endangered residential properties that could be sold to individuals who recognized their historic value, the Lawrence Preservation Alliance quickly became a legal nonprofit entity and a leader in historic preservation initiatives within the city. It lobbied for the passing of a preservation ordinance, and as a result, Chapter 22

of Historic Places, 72 listed on the State Register of Historic Kansas Places and 94 listed on the Lawrence Register of Historic Places. Not surprisingly, Lawrence is also home to a number of architectural and construction firms specializing in historic preservation and rehabilitation, including Form and Function, Gould Evans, Hernly Associates Inc., Natural Breeze, Rockhill and Associates, Struct/Restruct and Treanor Architects, as well as a number of craftspeople whose skills make detailed historic rehabilitations possible. While upholding our community’s commitment to historic preservation can be challenging and, at times, even controversial, through innovation, compromise and collaboration, we can ensure that the stories of our past survive within the walls and windows of our neighborhoods for years to come.

Why Preservation Is Important

by Sarah Bishop

of the City Code was adopted by the City Commission in 1988. Chapter 22 established the Historic Resources Commission, a Certified Local Government endorsed by the National Park Service and the State Historic Preservation Office to maintain standards consistent with the National Historic Preservation Act within city limits. It also established the position of historic resources administrator, a salaried city staff position currently held by Lynne Braddock Zollner, as well as Lawrence’s local Register of Historic Places, an initiative designed to complement both the National Register of Historic Places and the Register of Historic Kansas Places. Today, Lawrence is home to 12 historic districts, three urban conservation overlay districts and one national historic landmark: Haskell Indian Nations University. At the time of this writing, Lawrence has 65 properties listed on the National Register

Dennis Brown, president of the Lawrence Preservation Alliance since 2006 and a professional house painter who has been working on historic homes for more than 40 years, explains why he has chosen to commit so much of his life to the historic preservation of Lawrence’s neighborhoods: “When I walk up the steps inside the Douglas County courthouse, and I see the rounded impressions of thousands of feet that have gone up and down those steps for hundreds of years now, I think of all the many folks I wish I could meet, that I respect from our history, who were standing on these stairs just like I am right now. If you remove the building, you remove the tactile experience that connects you to that history.” Brown’s dedication to preserving Lawrence’s historic architecture is practically unmatched, although he would be the first to try to pass any such accolades to someone else. His passion for history is evident, even as he deflects questions about his own contributions to the cause in order to focus on the original movers and shakers of Lawrence’s historic preservation movement, e.g. Oliver Finney, the first president of the Lawrence Preservation Alliance; Marci Francisco, Kansas state legislator who was one of the original galvanizers of the Alliance; and Dennis Domer, prolific historian of 65

Lawrence’s many neighborhoods and retired professor of American Studies at the University of Kansas. The history of our neighborhoods and preservation of the architectural landscape seem especially important at this cultural moment during which so many of us are confined to our homes, cut off from our larger communities and compelled to transition our social interactions from the brick-and-mortar backdrops of offices and meeting halls, bars and coffee shops, to the digital realm. As our everyday interactions with the environment outside our individual domiciles are diminished, it is, perhaps, exactly the time we must listen most carefully to what historic resources commissioner and architectural historian Brenna Buchanan calls “the voice of the structure.” “I see myself as being a steward of the architecture,” she confides. “It can’t speak for itself, so I try to be the voice for the structure, the voice for the home.”

Finding Compromise Renovation of 1106 Rhode Island by Hernly Associates

For both Brown and Buchanan, the act of historic preservation is one of humanizing the architectural landscape and bringing the stories of Lawrencians past back to tangible life. But historic preservation has its detractors—often those who see it as costly, difficult, bound up in bureaucratic red tape or all three. If you ask Landon Harness, co-founder of local construction and design firm Form and Function, they’re not totally wrong. “It’s a labor of love,” Harness says. “Historic homes can be more difficult to work on than new construction. You have to find the right windows, find the right trim, find the right tile.” And of course, extra work on behalf of the contractor means extra costs on behalf of the property owner. Fortunately, federal and state government have recognized the extra challenges historic preservation work can present and the additional costs it can incur. To offset these costs, the U.S. Department of the Interior developed a tax-credit program that provides a 20% income tax credit to taxpayers rehabilitating income-generating historic structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the state of Kansas offers a 25% income tax credit to taxpayers rehabilitating residential or income-generating structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places or the Register of Historic Kansas Places in accordance with federal historic rehabilitation standards and guidelines. This state tax credit goes up to 30% if the taxpayer is a certified 501(c)3 nonprofit, and the national and state tax credits can be combined. Stan Hernly, principal architect and founder of Hernly As-

sociates Inc., the national and/or state tax credits are usually more than enough to offset the additional costs accrued as a result of a historic rehabilitation project in compliance with federal preservation guidelines. In addition, Hernly points out, “You’re preserving the main structure, and there are a lot of costs and a lot of energy expended in the original construction of any building. If we tear that original structure down, all of those costs and all of that energy is just thrown into the landfill. Rehabilitation is really one of the best ways to approach resource conservation both in terms of finances and in terms of energy, because you’re keeping what was put into the construction of that building in the first place.” Joni Hernly, owner of Hernly Environmental Inc. and Stan’s life as well as business partner, agrees. Running a business committed to conducting safe and healthy environmental testing for toxins often found in historic structures, including lead-based paint, mold, asbestos and radon, while also working as a rehabilitation tax-credit specialist at Hernly Associates, she explains historic rehabilitation is an environmentally friendly practice that doesn’t have to be intimidating, although each project is different. “The first step for any historic rehabilitation project is to have a knowledgeable consultant or contractor do a walkthrough,” she says. This helps clients understand the best way to achieve their goals while maintaining key elements

Top: Dennis Brown, president of the Lawrence Preservation Alliance Renovation and restoration of stained glass windows by Hernly Associates

Top: Landon Harness founder of local construction and design company Form and Function in front of a finished project on Connecticut Street and working on a new project; Bottom: The staff of Hernly Associates Inc and Hernly Environmental Inc; Joni and Stan Hernly

of the structure and adhering to the necessary standards and guidelines. In addition to offsetting the costs of historic rehabilitation to the property owner, historic tax-credit programs also benefit the communities in which they operate. According to the National Park Service, the Federal Historic Tax Credit program created 2.54 million jobs, generated $89.97 billion in rehabilitation investment and established 160,058 low- and moderate-income housing units in fiscal year 2017 alone. At the state level, the Kansas Preservation Alliance reports the Kansas Historic Tax Credits program generated 4,443 jobs and $141.6 million in income for Kansas residents between 2002 and 2009. While there are currently no city tax credits for historic preservation projects, such projects produce socioeconomic benefits at the local level, as well. In addition to generating jobs and income for Lawrence residents who work in the historic rehabilitation field, historic preservation projects and historic districts also attract visitors. As the City’s Zollner explains: “Aside from being environmentally sustainable, historic preservation can be a real boost to city tourism. Many people travel to learn about local architecture and to feel the history of a place, and that brings in business to our larger economy. Having these historic listings and sites available for people who want to visit is a benefit to the entire Lawrence community.”

Standing Stronger

The Rev. Verdell Taylor Jr., leader of East Lawrence’s St. Luke AME congregation for more than 26 years and was responsible for getting the church listed on the national historic registry shortly after his arrival in Lawrence, has also been a member of the Lawrence Preservation Alliance board for more than 20 years. He confides: “The intricacies of older buildings, the detailed work on older homes, always attracted me. When I learned that St. Luke AME had been the childhood church of Langston Hughes, I knew we had to get it on the registry.” Photographs of the church’s stained glass windows being restored pane by pane have been getting an impressive number of likes on the Lawrence Preservation Alliance’s social media accounts. What is it about the windows? “They just give you a special feeling,” Taylor says. “There’s a reverence, something spiritual about them that we can’t quite understand. When you drive by them, and they’re all lit up inside, or you sit quietly

within the church feeling the sunlight come in around you, it’s a kind of sanctuary that’s been passed down through the generations. “You know, I’m a pastor and a God-believing man, and the only thing that kept those windows in the church walls was God himself; because without God’s help, those windows would have fallen out of there,” he chuckles. It’s easy to laugh now knowing the windows are on the mend. And thanks to support from the Lawrence community, they’re going stand up stronger than ever, gracing the corner of Ninth and New York streets with a century of stories for at least another hundred years. p

Preserving Your Home If you’re interested in working on your historic home, the Lawrence Preservation Alliance’s “Historic Home Guide” is a good place to start. Providing an overview of the three different historic registries— national, state and local—the site also shares basic information about what kinds of home projects might require historic review or be eligible for historic tax credits. In addition, it provides a handy list of linked resources that can assist with everything from researching your property’s history to applying for tax credits and finding a qualified contractor to completing simple restoration projects yourself. Visit www. lawrencepreservation.org for more information. To find out if your property is currently listed on the national or state historic registries, visit www.kshs. org/p/register-database/14638. Find out if your property is listed on the local Lawrence registry by contacting the City Planning Office. By reaching out to City Planning, you can also find out if your property is in the environs of a historic property and required to adhere to the local preservation ordinance.

See if Your House Deserves a PIP Award Did you know you can win an award for helping to preserve your neighborhood? The Lawrence Preservation Alliance offers Preservation in Progress (PIP) Awards each quarter to Lawrencians who are taking on historic rehabilitation projects in accordance with historic rehabilitation and preservation standards and guidelines. Winners receive a certificate and are featured on the Lawrence Preservation website and social media accounts. Check out the current winners at lawrencepreservation.org/awards.

Landon Harness masks up while working, and sits for a photo on front porch; A completed project by Harness on Connecticut Street; Hernly Associates working on repairs to the Haskell Arch

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NEWS [MAKERS] & PEOPLE ON THE MOVE Johnston and Gutierrez named Vice Presidents at Truity Credit Union Kaylee Johnston and Gabe Gutierrez were recently named vice presidents at Truity Credit Union. “Kaylee and Gabe have been invaluable to Truity in the Lawrence market,” said President/CEO Dennis Halpin. “I’m very pleased to have both of them on the middle management team.”

Kaylee Johnston Johnston began her career at the credit union in 2006 as a teller while she was still in high school. “Slowly but surely, with the guidance of many influential leaders, I have grown into a career that I love,” Johnston stated. She served as a teller, member consultant, lead member consultant and senior member consultant. After graduating from the KU School of Business in 2014, she was promoted to branch manager, and now she is vice president, Lawrence Market. “Having served in these multiple roles gives me perspective on what my teams members are facing every day in their positions,” she said. Johnston currently serves as the co-chair for the Chamber of Commerce Envoys, sits on both the statewide and local board for Junior Achievement as the treasurer for both. She also founded and am the current president for the Lawrence KS Young Professionals. Johnston is a “townie,” born and raised in Lawrence. She currently lives in Baldwin City with her daughter Gracie. “I’m grateful for the growth opportunities Truity continue to provide all employees. I’m excited to serve in the VP position and look forward to Truity’s continued success in the Lawrence community,” she continued.

Gabe Gutierrez Gutierrez has been with Truity for 15 years and has been in the Commercial Lending Department for 6 years. He was elevated to the department manager in 2018 and was recently named vice president. In his time with the department, he has earned his Credit Union Business Lending Professional (CUBLP) designation through the CUNA Mutual training program in 2016. As vice president, Gutierrez will continue to oversee the Commercial Lending Department and will work diligently to bring competitive and worthwhile financing options tailored to businesses in Lawrence and surrounding communities.

New Envista Branch to Open in Lawrence in May 2021 Envista Credit Union is pleased to announce that they have purchased the building at 3045 Iowa in Lawrence, Kansas to serve as the tenth branch location for Envista. The facility will open in May of 2021. “While the self-service capabilities that Envista offers through online and mobile banking are state-of-the-art, our growing membership in Lawrence has a need for financial support through a physical location,” said Ron Smeltzer, president and CEO of Envista. “We are committed to investing in the communities and the members that we serve.” Envista Credit Union is a full-service financial institution established in 1957 to provide members quality products and services to achieve their financial goals. 76

NEWS [MAKERS] & PEOPLE ON THE MOVE Four Hands on the Wheel Van Go, Inc. announces new Co-Executive Directors Eliza Darmon and Kristen Malloy, both seasoned Van Go staff members, to lead the organization into the future. The new leadership format, approved unanimously by Van Go’s Board of Directors, began January 1, 2021. Each woman brings a unique set of skills and specialty area to their positions: Eliza in Development and Operations, and Kristen in Program Administration and Human Resources. “Together we look forward to creating a model of leadership at Van Go that exemplifies the invaluable job skills of teamwork, collaboration, communication and shared leadership that we teach our youth every day. Last year’s challenges affirmed the benefits of this integrated approach. It is with deep respect for one another and reverence for Van Go’s roots that we will steward this cherished organization into the future,” said Darmon and Malloy. “We are delighted that Kristen and Eliza will be serving as Co-Executive Directors of Van Go. They did an exceptional job leading Van Go in 2020, and we know they will continue to strengthen and grow this award-winning social service organization. Working in tandem, and supported by an extraordinary staff, our new Co-Executive Directors will propel Van Go forward in its mission to support and empower at-risk youth through the development of essential work and life skills. Van Go is strong and its work has never been more vital. We congratulate these incredibly talented leaders and look forward to supporting them in their ongoing work on behalf of our youth and community, “ said John Bullock, 2020 President of Van Go’s Board of Directors.

Malcolm Proudfit Promoted to CEO of Good Energy Solutions Good Energy Solutions is pleased to announce that Malcolm Proudfit of Lawrence, KS has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer of Good Energy Solutions. Malcolm holds his Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Kansas. He also holds Bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Finance and brings years of experience in the solar industry. “Over the last year, as Chief Financial and Operations Officer, Malcolm has brought improvements at Good Energy Solutions in our people and processes, all while empowering change that will enable the continued growth of the business”, said Kevin Good, President and Owner of Good Energy Solutions. “Malcolm has earned the position of CEO by helping the company grow and thrive during a pandemic. I look forward to seeing what he can do to steer the organization through the tidal wave that is building in the solar and energy storage industries and supporting our fast growing electrical division” Good added. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to lead this organization. This is an industry I am passionate about, and I wanted to work with the best, which is what led me to Good Energy Solutions. We have an amazing team, and even though we’ve still got some battle scars from 2020, we are enthusiastic about the future, and ready to get to work. We will seek to continue our growth trajectory so that we can accomplish our mission of providing good, clean energy to those around us”, added Malcolm Proudfit. Good Energy Solutions has seen continued growth in the last several months in electrical services for both the commercial and residential market, increased interest in energy storage, and a boom in the solar industry. 77

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Lawrence Business Magazine 2021 Q1

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