Author: Fred Atchison

Jeanne Klein, Professor Emerita, Kansas University, has been working on a project to find information about untold stories of black citizens buried in Oak Hill Cemetery. This historic Lawrence cemetery was established in 1865 and became the resting place for a number of people who were killed in the 1863 raid on the city by William Quantrill. So many notable figures were buried at Oak Hill that William Allen White referred to it as the “Arlington of Kansas.” Oak Hill was integrated by 1868 and many notable black citizens were buried there, including the minister Gabriel Gray, Charles and Mary Langston, the grandparents of Langston Hughes, and a number of veterans of the 79th and 83rd U.S. Colored Troops. However, a number of graves of other black citizens have damaged markers or no markers at all. Fortunately, burial records do exist and Klein is using them and consulting other historical sources to recreate lost stories. Klein urged people to visit Oak Hill and to support maintenance and restoration efforts.

Jenalea Randall, District 5710 Governor, shared her Rotary story with Lawrence Central Rotary. Randall is visiting clubs and is a member of the Topeka South Rotary Club and will preside over District activities for 2023-2024. She provided an overview of District 5710 which consists of 1900 members and 41 clubs throughout Eastern Kansas. The District is a vital resource for all things Rotary, including training, grants, and club news. The district emphasizes collaboration and networking to improve the effectiveness of member clubs’ projects and activities. Randall has asked the District to focus on developing a regional mental health task force and also to work on equity projects to empower girls. Randall spoke of her own experience when she lost her husband to an aggressive brain cancer. She credited Rotary friends for helping her get through the experience and cope with the loss. Her enthusiasm, humor and candor were appreciated by all in attendance.

The Rotary Arboretum is a beautiful public park that was created as a result of a collaboration among the three Rotary Clubs in town and the City of Lawrence. Located at 5100 West 27th street, the Arboretum has inviting walking trails, water features, over 300 memorial trees, gardens, benches, a gazebo, a shelter house, barbecue grills and rest rooms. Duane Peterson and Rod Croucher, both Supervisors for the City of Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department, provided an update on plans for the popular venue. Perhaps the biggest issue is that the park is running out of room for planting memorial trees. However, there are plans to expand into the adjacent acreage between the Arboretum and the ball diamond complex. The city is also working to get all irrigation for the park off of the city water supply which will reduce maintenance expense. Peterson and Croucher would also like to see a phone app created to complement the memorial trees identity web site. The two supervisors thanked club members for financial and volunteer help for the Arboretum.

Dan Martin became the President of the Kansas University Endowment in July of 2022. Martin is a graduate of Kansas University and has extensive experience working in higher education. The Endowment Association in a nonprofit entity that raises funds for KU by working closely with donors who wish to provide philanthropical support. It is the oldest foundation established for a university and has raised some four billion dollars since 1891. The Association works with five different campuses and employs 175 people. Martin mentioned several projects in the works, including the new Jay Hawk Welcome Center, the development at 23rd and Iowa, stadium improvements and the Cancer Center at KU Medical Center. Martin noted that one hundred per cent of all donations go the the University.

Lawrence Central Rotary’s own Jim Peters found his efforts to updates his book, Arlington National Cemetery: Shrine to America’s Heroes, derailed by the pandemic and his previous publisher going out of business. Peters wrote the book in the mid eighties when he was working in Washington D.C. Anticipating visits from family, he explored the city to become familiar with the many area attractions. His interest in history took him to Arlington National Cemetery and he became fascinated with the wealth of history contained in the national shrine. He was surprised to learn that no guide books or other printed sources of information were available for visitors. Peters set out to write his own guide to this most historical of American cemeteries. Peters found a small publishing company to work with and published his book, receiving very positive reviews. Through the years it is still the best selling guide book on Arlington. But when it came time for a fourth edition a new publisher backed out on the project. Peters decided to explore publishing the new edition himself and Monument Press was the result. There were numerous challenges along the way but the updated fourth edition became available last June. The book is available through the book distributor Baker and Taylor, locally at the Raven Book Store, and of course, at Arlington National Cemetery. Peters might even sell you a copy himself.