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University Daily Kansan Monday. Sept. 27, 1954
Centennial Parade Shows Pride in City's Progress
B y JOYCE NEALE
The Lawrence centennial parade was unusual in more ways than one. Not only was it the largest ever seen here, but it represented a deep pride in the progress of the city.
Entertainment was plentiful throughout the 90-minute parade. There were clowns with their pranks, the antics of the crew which manned an old hand pumper, and the "Coon Crick Still" in operation
fire spirit of the parade, however One of the biggest bursts of applause came for the Lawrence public schools float, "The First Bell Still Rings."
Such attractions were not the en-
Pride in education was apparent in several of the floats. One depicted the settlers' dream of a University in 1854, and the dream, realized in 1954, with a miniature of the campanile as the symbol of KU.
past and present education systems. Students were dressed for the periods represented, with emphasis on many advantages of school] in 1954.
Both Haskell and Lawrence Junior High entered floats centered on
The influence of the church on the city's history was brought out equally well. A replica of the first Lawrence church was on a float with the Kansas seal. Another depicted the difference between church programs of today, including the television field.
Of great interest to the spectators were the many ancient vehicles borrowed from the Ft. Leavenworth museum. Stage coaches, a covered wagon, an overland freight wagon, a hearse, an army tandem escort wagon, and buggies of various kinds all had a part in history.
Comparisons between 1854 and 1954 were the subject of many interesting floats. Old time soap-making was shown beside the present chemical plant procedure. Lawrence High's FFA chapter had a realistic scene of harvest in 1854.
The centennial queen, Miss Polly Peppercorn, and her court personified the glamour of 1954. The honored guest, Mrs Sarah Lawrence Slattery, a granddaughter of the Lawrence founder, provided a link with the past.
Progress in soil fertility was the theme of Co-Op Farm chemicals entry. The Indian with his fish and corn plants was contrasted with the modern fertilizer factory.
An added feature was the float sponsored by the Lawrence Journal-World. A Washington hand press was mounted on a truck and duplicates of an early day paper were printed and distributed as the parade moved down the street.
Sarge Defends Jayhawkers' Honor
Fifty bands, in Lawrence for the annual band day, were spaced throughout the procession.
BIGGEST PARADE EVER—Some 50,000 persons Saturday morning viewed the territorial centennial parade downtown, the largest such spectacle in the 100-year history of the city. Above, a horseman depicts Coronado, the first white man to see Kansas, and at right, Mrs. Sarah Lawrence Slattery, 75, of Botson, grand daughter of the city's founder, rides in an open tandem wagon.
Students from UUCLA have a novel way of cheering for their team, as they demonstrated Saturday by blowing a set of air horns to encourage the Bruins, but at least one KU fan is loyal to the Jayhawks.
At a particularly triumphant blast from the UCLA horn, Sarge, the popular mascot of Sigma Nu social fraternity, dashed into the fray and protested, tugging persistently at the California fan's trousers. Jayhawkers applauded the canine, and Sarge looked playfully menacing at each subsequent blast.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Tuesday, September 28, 3:30 p.m. In The Bookstore
ARVID SHULENBERGER Professor of English
John P. Marquand's Review of Professor Shulenberger's
"ROADS FROM THE FORT"
stated:
ALLEN CRAFTON Professor of Speech
"This very interesting novel . . . deals with mid-continent, mid-19th-century U.S. and the well-worn subject of hunters, Indians, outlaws, and Mountain Men, but manages because of its author's dramatic sense and knowledge of time and place to endow these traditional figures with convincing reality . . . A lightly exceptional evocation of the past."
Author of
"FREE STATE FORTRESS"
A vivid, entertaining history of the first ten years of the city of Lawrence.
Refreshments Served Everybody Invited
STUDENT Union Book Store.