University of Kansas - Jayhawker Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

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Grand Old Party Leader Gives a Lifetime of An oilman who never made a million... Alf Landon, former Governor Kansas Brigadeer General Phillip Bradley pre- sents the American flag to Theo Landon at the Memorial service on the south steps of the capi- tol. (Gary Mook) Achievements Kansas Governor Mike Hayden pauses for a mo- ment of silence during the Memorial service in the capitol rotunda. (Gary Mook) University of Kansas Chancellor Gene Budig, Nancy Landon Kassebaum, and Alf Landon begin to clap as the last strains of the national anthem fills the stadium during the Parents ' Day football game in September. (Gary Mook) 25

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On Sunday, September 6th, thou- sands of people lined Westchester Road on the east side of Gage Park in Topeka to see Alf Landon ' s guest of honor at his 100th birthday cele- bration. Dignitaries, members of the media and the KU marching band were all in attendance as President Reagan honored the former governor. Governor, you preceeded me by a bit as our party ' s nominee for presi- dent and I had a little better luck, but I also had better years and an easier field, Reagan said. But no one ever did prouder as a candidate by his party or the nation than you. Two months later, a more somber and saddened procession made its way up the Topeka Capital steps as states- men, friends and relatives came to pay their last respects to the man who had become to be known as the grand old man of the Republican Party. Alf Lan- don died in his Topeka home October 12 after a bried illness and hospitaliza- tion. Landon, who once claimed himself to be a lawyer who never had a case, an oilman who never made a million and a presidential candidate who carried only Maine and Vermont, graduated from the University of Kansas in 1908 with a law degree. Through the years he remained faithful to KU, following many of its sports and activities. The last public appearance Landan was to make was at KU ' s September 19th Par- ents Day. Landon returned to his homestate, Kansas, after losing his 1936 presiden- tial bid, and remained there as a politi- cal and philosophical sage, continuous- ly sought out for his diplomatic opin- ions and advice. Shortly after the election, he turned down a position in President Franklin Roosevelt ' s cabinet and a seat in the U.S. Senate which he could have easily gained for a more comfortable seat as he chose to remain an armchair politician. As governor of Kansas from 1933 to 1937, Landon led the state through the Depression with his common sense and pragmatic philosophy, supporting mea- sures that established a strong finan- cial basis and responsible legislature. Landon also advocated an advanced outlook on foreign relations and warned against increasing protection- ism when the U.S. was moving towards a restriction on foreign trade. In a 1966 lecture inaugerating the presitigious lecture series bearing his name at Kan- sas State University, he called for U.S. recognition of Chinayears before President Richard Nixon finally opened up the doors of the Western World. Landan ' s daughter, Kansas Senator Nancy Landon Kassebaum, comment- ed that in the 100 years of her father ' s life, the world has literally remade it- self. Despite all of the change he has wit- nesses, or perhaps because of it, he de- veloped a knack for combining a keen awareness of current events with a deeper appreciation for the underlying flow of history, -by Carla Krause

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' ' Nude slides Projected on Wall Hall. of Oliver UDK, 1968 The Document room houses nearly 700,000 printed documents and 400,000 micro-fiche documents of the United States. Also contained are documents from many other nations, scattered throughout the general library collections. (Tim Christoff) There was a magical place at the University of Kansas campus where anyone could travel back in time. There was no need for money, all that was necessary was the desire to learn something about the history of KU and Lawrence. Actually, the only travel necessary was across the back porch of Strong Hall, through the doors of Spencer Redearch Library and up one flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs was a doorway to the past. But, until a way is discovered to actually visit the past and actively participate in it, this was the best way to discover it. Everything anyone ever wanted to know about KU could be found somewhere in the archives. All old office and personnel information records were located there, along with building blueprints, pictures, past editions of the University Daily Kansan, Jayhawker and much more. The employees at the archives were often called upon to find a picture needed by the UDK or other local 26 papers. They had even supplied a new restaurant bar in Kansas City with several old pictures of campus. Most of the pictures from the past in the ' 88 Jayhawker came from the ar- chives. The gentlemen responsible for assisting in the location of suit- able pictures and facts were Barry Bunch, Ned Kehde and John Nugent, University Archivist. The archives consisted of reading rooms and stacks. the reading rooms contained past editions of the UDK, Jayhawker and Alumni maga- zines. Anyone was free to enter these rooms and browse at their leisure. The stacks resembled the stacks in Watson Library, but instead of books, boxes filled the shelves. These boxes were filled with papers. They were all given numbers, which functioned as organizational measures. All information about the same subject had the same number. To have been able to go through the stacks, the researcher had to ask for a tour. The employees were always willing to pass on information in and about the archives. Life on the hill had changed dra- matically since the following infor- mation was published in the 1900 Galaxy yearbook. In 1900, the KU band had been in existence for only two years with membership of 24. Although the band in 1987 had over 200 members, the words written in 1900, still applied, At every public appearance it has brought credit to the University and to its supporters. 1900 was also the time for shock- ing news, One fraternity has shak- en the foundations of discipline by giving a dance, although it must be admitted that the young gentlemen who were to be present put in a great deal of preliminary practice on the Virginia Reel and quadrille, so as to show how dead swell they had gotten to be. Fraternity and soror- ity dances no longer shock the foundations of discipline, but they also no longer dance the Reel to show how dead swell they are. People did continue to shake the foundation, but in later years, had to go to greater extremes to do it. In