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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TALK TO US: Contact Amanda Beglin at (785) 864-4810 or features@kansan.com
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2001
LIZ FRANKLIN Cedar Falls, Iowa
The second part of the Julia Roberts movie Sleeping With The Enemy is set in my hometown. Nancy Price, who
wrote the book on which the movie is based, is from Cedar Falls. All the places featured in the movie, such as Tremont Street and the University of Northern Iowa, are really there.
According to a friend who works with survivors of domestic abuse in Cedar Falls, Sleeping With The Enemy is loosely based on an actual case that happened in Cedar Falls in the 1980s. However, an afternoon spent with the Watson librarians couldn't confirm this.
JOHN WELLS Lawrence
Residents of the Midwest, especially young people, may sometimes feel a step behind the trendy U.S. cities
such as New York City or Los Angeles. But Lawrence residents can take pride in the fact that our city is connected worldwide. Lawrence began making official ties internationally when Eutin, Germany, became our sister city in 1989. We paired with Hiratsuka Japan, in 1990.
Eutin became a sister city to commemorate 25 years of a study abroad program with the University of Kansas, said Saye Watson, member of the sister city advisory board. Hiratsuka also had been sending students from Kanagawa University to study at KU
These proclamations were signed in 1990 by the mayor of Lawrence. In addition to sending students to both cities, there are also cultural exchanges of gifts and exhibitions
The Japanese garden on Massachusetts Street was created to celebrate Lawrence's 10-year anniversary with Hiratsuka.
Also, "they presented us with a pagoda, stone lantern and the cherry trees in Watson Park." Watson said.
SARAH ZAMAN Chennai, India
THAD ALLENDER/KANSAN
Amid the overcrowded public transportation, street hawkers, Lakshmiadorned autorickshaws, and messy puddles during the monsoon, Chennai is
one to more than six million people It is the fourth largest city in India
Although Chennai is now a vibrant metropolis, it was once a bunch of scattered, individually operating villages. In 1639 the British began colonizing Chennai with the establishment of the East India Company tea exports. The East India Company served as a nucleus out of which the surrounding villages were clustered together, and so began the growth of Chennai as it is seen today.
LINDA MENDEZ Bellevue, Neb.
An exciting day in my old hometown included a trip to our new first-ever Sonic restaurant and a
leisurely stroll through one of the nation's largest Wal-Marts.
Although there is not much to do in Bellevue, the oldest city west of the Missouri River is rich in history. During the Cold War, Bellevue's Offutt Air Force Base housed a mass of nuclear weapons. Had the United States been attacked during the war, Bellevue, a tiny speck on the map, would have been a primary target.
JOSHUA KENDALL Lawrence
Lions and tigers and bears, oh my. They are not the only things lurking around in Kansas. Ghosts, gravestones
and the places they rest add to Lawrence's unique history. Two buildings here "possess" the condemned spirits of the forgotten past.
Nearly 200 years ago, the present Sigma Nu fraternity house was the home of a wealthy Kansas governor. But the unfortunate hanging of the governor's mistress in the upstairs ballroom turned this quiet house into a haunted house. The ghost of the forgotten mistress is said to periodically roam the house, making late-night parties more perilous than fun. It has since been documented by paranormalists to possess
Cody Walters, Onaga senior, (foreground) and Charlie Rose, Overland Park senior, sail the waters of Clinton Lake last summer. Construction of Clinton Lake began in 1971 and cost more than $55 million.
There 's no place like home
Kansan feature writers team up to uncover entertaining facts about hometowns near and far
some paranormal activity.
The Eldridge Hotel, 701 Massachusetts St., is another favorite haunt. William C. Quantrill and his band of followers pillaged and destroyed many Lawrence homes and businesses in 1863. Most of The Eldridge Hotel was destroyed in the fires except for an original cornerstone that was used when rebuilding the hotel. This relic of Quantrill's Raid is said to have held death and devastation, locking Eldridge's place in the spirit world. There have been reports of flashing lights, doors mysteriously shutting by themselves, and breath marks on recently cleaned mirrors.
LOUISE STAUFFER Holland, Mich.
Where can you see Lawrence Welk, Bob Newhart, O-Town and Shirley Jones (Mrs. Partridge from the 1970s show The Partridge Family) perform during one week? Tulip Time.
An annual festival attracting more than
one million people each year, Tulip Time is a 10-day festival that revolves around tulips. Beginning May 10, tourists flock to Holland to view Windmill Island, a city park that features the only authentic Dutch windmill operating in the United States, 230-year-old "De Zwaan."
For more information about Tulip Time, visit www.tuliptime.org.
the Klompen Dancers, who are local high school students (including me for three years) and alumni. The 1,500 dancers wear authentic old-world-style costumes and wooden shoes.
Tourists also attend the festival to watch
AMANDA BEGLIN Lawrence
Thirty years ago, several car dealers gathered to plan Lawrence Auto Plaza, 29th and Iowa streets — and
emerged with a sense of humor.
Fourwheel Drive, a street parallel to Iowa Street that spans the auto plaza, was named in 1970 by Jim Clark, founder of Jim Clark Motors. City planners like Kyle Mieras have little to do with the fates of street names, Mieras said.
"When businesses plant a piece of property, they name everything even the streets," Mieras said. The city often suggests street names if a new street connects to an existing street, planners will suggest property owners continue the name but the final name is ultimately chosen by property owners, Mieras said.
Fortunately, the silly but appropriately named Fourwheel Drive has not been a problem for surrounding businesses, said John Ellena, owner of Jack Ellena Honda.
"We get interesting reactions," Ellena said.
"When I give our address over the phone, I usually get a chuckle or a laugh."
JOHN ALBIN Lincoln, Neb.
On seven Saturday afternoons each fall, Lincoln's streets are rendered devoid of all human
Game day tradition dictates that the locals all congregate in Memorial Stadium or lock themselves in their homes with the radio or television on and pay rapt attention to the team's every move. The obsession rises to such levels of idiocy, in fact, that if quarterback Eric Crouch uses the restroom, the entire state knows about it within five minutes and will have a delegation waiting outside to ask him how it went when he's finished.
life by our own homegrown natural disaster, the Nebraska Cornhusker football team
Memorial Stadium becomes the third largest city in Nebraska each game day with a whopping 76,000 people. Omaha, with a metro population of 716,998 and Lincoln at 250,291, are first and second, respectively. And woe to the outlander trying to use Interstate 80 East between Omaha and Lincoln after the game, where the cars full of Omahans backed up for miles have a better chance of completing a post-game tailgate party in the median than making it home in time for work on Monday.
JACQUELINE LENART Dallas
More commonly known as the city with big pride and big hair, Dallas has been home to many innovative discoveries, including the frozen margarita, the ATM and Liquid Paper correction
fluid. But the common interest among residents seems to be food.
The bustling metropolis has founded such restaurant legends as Chili's Grill & Bar and TGIFridays, and is also home to five-starrated Restaurant at the Mansion on Turtle Creek, according to the Mobil Travel Guide. For a city its size, Dallas definitely offers a wide range of options in dining with an exquisite reputation mixed with southern hospitality.
With an estimated population of two million, Big D, by no surprise, is home to one of the largest restaurant districts in the nation. Housing four times more restaurants per person than New York City, according to the Dallas Convention and Visitor's Bureau, the residents of this Texas town apparently have a slight interest in the dining industry.
AMANDA WOLFE Overland Park
Overland Park was given an overall "A+" rating out of 74 similar cities on the "Kid Friendly Cities Report Card," said Radhika Sarin, the principal researcher at Zero Population Growth, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization.
Pack up the minivans and move the kids to Overland Park because it was recently named the No.1 kid-friendly city.
Several factors were considered and given a letter grade. Overland Park received high grades in health, education, public safety, economics and population."Extra credit" was awarded for outstanding children's facilities such as the Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead.
Parnstead. Cities are ranked at www.kidfriendlycities.org.
JENNIFER BUTLER Lawrence
Clinton Lake, located just southwest of Lawrence, was constructed and is operated by the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers. Congress authorized the lake in 1962 and construction began in 1971. Nearly $55 million was needed to complete the project, according to the Corps' Website. In 1977 initial filling of Clinton Lake began. To improve fishing, the lake was filled slowly over a three-year period. In 2000, Clinton Lake was rated one of the top 50 "Best Lakes in the Country" by Boating magazine.
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