The Lawrence Preservation Alliance’s upcoming “After La Yarda” historic walking tours will take tourgoers through the La Yarda neighborhood to learn about the past and present of its people. La Yarda was a tight-knit community of Mexican American railroad workers and their families living in housing owned by the Santa Fe Railroad from 1920-1951. Located near the Kaw River, the La Yarda neighborhood was destroyed by a major flood in 1951. But residents did not leave Lawrence after the flood. They worked together to find new living arrangements, and many former residents and descendants of La Yarda are still living in Lawrence today. The tours will be offered from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on three upcoming Saturdays: May 28, June 4 and June 18. They will begin at Lawrence Amtrak Santa Fe Depot and then travel through New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania streets in Lawrence.
Source: The Lawrence Times

One day in 1973, The Wall Street Journal published a review of Kansas tourist attractions. It was not kind. “Kansas is trying to promote tourism,” the Journal noted, “but it really doesn’t have a heck of a lot to promote.” The column singled out the godfathers of Kansas roadside tourism — the World’s Largest Ball of Twine in Cawker City, the World’s Largest Hand-Dug Well in Greensburg and the folk art town of Lucas — for particular ridicule, with pause breaks in the spots where the Journal expected its audience to chuckle at Kansas’ expense.
Source: The Lawrence Times