open-minded community
rn town
Courtesy University Archives
letts Street were giving away a new sedan valued
"There was already a German in the very first group of settlers that arrived in Lawrence in 1854," said William Keel, chairman of the Germanic languages department. "Then, in the following years the number of immigrants increased."
Beginning in 1857, a large number of Germans started arriving. At the turn of the century, Germans constituted 10 percent of the population of Lawrence. They
by Henri Blanc Kansan Correspondent
represented the largest group of foreignborn citizens.
Another fact that shows the presence of the German community was the existence of a Turner Club in Lawrence prior to the Civil War. The club was a patriotic German club that promoted democracy, freedom and national unity." They were very much pro-democracy and prnational unity," Keel said.
The Turner Club had originated in Germany during the war against Napoleon. After the 1848 revolution in Germany failed, the Turners came to the United States and began founding Turner societies throughout the Midwest.
"When the Civil War broke out, 44 out of the 48 members of the Turner Club enlisted in the Union army," Keel said.
The branch of the Turner Club in Lawrence was called Lawrence Turnverein. "It was a fairly active club in the National Turner Organization," Keel said. The Turner Club also provided assistance to new German immigrants. The Lawrence Turnverein also was involved in cultural activities.
Unfortunately, the anti-German sentiment during World War I was a blow to the German cultural influence in the country. Along with Lawrence's German newspaper, Die Germania, the Turner Club ceased to exist after World War I.
LAWRENCE TODAY
Although Lawrence is a modern town, signs of its multicultural past still are present. "You can still see vestiges of the Mexican-American population, mainly the Mexican restaurants, in North Lawrence," Stansifer said. The Haskell Indian Nations University is in a way a testimony to the first inhabitants of Lawrence before it was even a town. African-American churches still are a part of the landscape. And today, the Turner Hall on Ninth and Rhode Island streets still stands.
Hannah Brazee / KANSAN
Today, the once-barren Hill is a popular area where students are often found watching football games in Memorial Stadium.
=Hill • September 13, 1995
Planet Lawrence
13