5.
University Daily Kansan
Page 5
Friday, Nov. 7, 1952
Lack of Adequate KU Fire Protection Led to Construction of Potter Lake
By CHUCK MORELOCK
Before 1910, only Lawrence city water was available in case of fire on the hill and that supply would have been exhausted in five minutes.
Lack of adequate KU fire protection 42 years ago led to the construction of a water reservoir which has become one of the campus's beauty spots-Potter lake.
In 1910, the Board of Regents decided to build a lake which could impound the drainage off the slopes of the ravine north of Snow Hall and thus have a water supply on the campus in event of fire.
As the lake filled in from spring rains and snow thaws, somebody suggested that a regatta, usually held on the Kaw river as part of commencement programs, be held on the newly created lake for the 1911 graduation exercises.
Swimming and canoe races, diving contests and water games were scheduled as the primary entertainment, but the spotting of a "whale" provided the most entertainment for the audience.
Construction of a dam and pump house that could force water to any part of the campus was begun in the fall of 1910 and completed in the spring.
At 5 p.m., on June 5, 1911, the commencement program started. Among the visiting state officials was Sen. T. M. Potter, for whom the lake was named.
About midway in the program, the creature was seen swimming in the middle of the lake. A boat was sent out to capture it but was upset in its attempt. The question of how a whale could appear in a man-made, fresh water lake has never been answered. Perhaps it is still there—no records have ever stated that the whale disappeared.
A tragic incident occurred in the
lake a few months later. A group of civil engineers, returning home one night from a party in Marvin hall, decided to take a swim while walking past the lake.
They swam across, but on the return trip one member went down and could not be found by the others. It took an hour before they located his body.
In 1921, the Daily Kansan reported that at least six had drowned in the lake and urged protection for swimmers. Diving towers, dressing rooms, spring boards, and life guards were provided in 1924 as part of a program for more careful use of the lake.
Plans for disinfecting the water and cementing the bottom were considered for several months, but upon completion of a public pool in 1927, all improvements were abandoned and swimming in Potter lake banned.
"Art by Radio" with Miss Maud Ellsworth, associate professor of education, each Monday from 2:30-2:45 p.m.
Stations Carry Children Series
"Adventures in Music Land," a music appreciation program for grades three to six stressing folk music, each Thursday from 2:30-3 p.m.
A series of programs for elementary schools is now being broadcast by both of the University's radio stations, KFKU-AM at I250 kilocycles and KANU-FM at 91.5 megacycles.
"Playtime," rhythms and games for primary and elementary grades, each Wednesday from 2:30-3 p.m.
Five programs broadcast simultaneously over the stations are:
"Time for a Story," record stories for grades four to six, each Friday from 2:30-3 p.m. Good stories in literature with well-known actors as Herbert Marshall, Charles Laughon, Ronald Colman, Basil Rathbone and others portraying the parts.
Over the FM station, KANU, the following programs are broadcast:
"Uncle Dan from Froggy Hollow Farm," grades four to six, a series of dramatized nature study programs, each Monday from 2-2:15 p.m.
Growing Up, a series of beaulufs
on Thursday, from 2-12 p.m.
to four, each Friday from 2-2:15 p.
"Let's Find Out," science programs for grades two and three, each Tuesday from 2-2:15 p.m.
"Tales from the Four Winds."
stories for primary grades, 2:2-15
"The Distant Lands," dramatized history for grades five and six, each Wednesday from 2-1:15 p.m.
A manual for teachers describing all of the Jayhawk School of the Air programs and providing suggestions for classroom use may be obtained without charge by writing to the Jayhawk School of the Air, University of Kansas.
Sprinkle a merry design on small size bottles with gummed stars, circles, and tie a fancy string around the neck. This can be given as a gift—to hold favorite cologne later.
Homecoming Activities Flat to Some Old-timers
By TOM STEWART
Homecoming, that hectic day when Jayhawk alumni the country over get "Rock Chalk fever" and return to Mt. Oread for a one-day cure, will probably seem pretty flat to some of the old-timers.
The fact is, it just ain't what it
used to be.
Certainly, homecoming nowadays succeeds in drawing thousands back to the scene of their undergraduate days—which is, logically speaking—what a homecoming ought to do. This won't impress the old-timers too much.
Some of the gamer lads on the Hill that year put the torch to a monstrous bonfire in front of Fraser hall, at that time the administration building. When the blaze got high enough they pitched on a dummy of the Missouri Tiger, and the shoes of some of the smaller freshmen.
Whether or not the administrators approved of this, we don't know, but with the students showing such abandon in their firefeeding, perhaps it's best that they staved inside.
In their day, the return of old grads was incidental compared with the zany activities which accompanied the occasion. The Homecoming of 1913, the year the tradition began, set a lively standard for future years.
Things quieted down somewhat at the homecomings through the years of "the Big War." In 1922, "Hobo day," run off simultaneously with homecoming, was revived after a lapse of a few decades. This must have tickled some of the alumni from the 1880s. When the Hill was theirs, Hobo day centered around a beer bust held in Kansas City.
The rejuvenated Hobo day,
though, had had its stinger removed. It had become nothing more than a day when students tried to outdo each other in wearing the oldest, shabbiest clothes.
The year before Hobo day's return marked the first of the Friday night stag smokers and "Old-Timers" nights which were part of homecomings for the rest of the "twenties."
In 1926, organized houses began competing among themselves with house-front decorations. Actually, they were six years behind the hustling merchants of Massachusetts street, who had been decorating for homecoming each year from 1920.
Another energetic tradition which sparked this era was the football game between the students of the School of Law and the School of Medicine. No sissy affair, this The "Quacks" and the "Shysters" checked out regulation equipment the afternoon before the varsity game, and tore into each other with a will.
The most bizarre of stunts to accompany homecoming, though, was the cross-country race for organized houses. Winners, assuming there were such, received turkies. It is difficult to think of a site where the terrain is less suited for track events than it is on Mt. Oread.
A less strenuous race which took place at one time was a speed contest for ducks, held on Potter lake.
Let's all cheer for the BIG RED TEAM
(Spell) K-A-N-S-A-S
(Yell) Kansas, Kansas, Kansas
(Clap Four Times)
(Yell) Fight, Fight, Fight
(Repeat 3 times and end with)
K U Fight!
ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK
Rock-rock-rock-chalk
Jay-jay-jay-hawk
Rock Chalk, Jayhawk,
K.U., K.U.
(Repeat twice and end with)
Fight, Fight, Fight.
JAY JANES KU KU's