Office of the Mayor

Proclamation

Lawrence, Kansas

WHEREAS:       The sweet potato is a nutritious, healthy, affordable and accessible vegetable; and

WHEREAS:        The citizens of Lawrence are invited to celebrate locally grown sweet potatoes during the month of October by participating in activities, such as telling the history of sweet potato production in Lawrence and supporting local growers; and

WHEREAS:        Lawrence has a long history of producing sweet potatoes and many of the early settlers on farms surrounding the town planted sweet potatoes as part of a diverse crop system that included Irish potatoes, corn, wheat, rye, oats, flax and millet; and

WHEREAS:        Charles Langston, the grandfather of writer Langston Hughes, grew sweet potatoes on his farm by the Kansas River; and

WHEREAS:        Sweet potato celebration events are planned for October to encourage everyone to grow, sell and eat more sweet potatoes;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Mike Amyx, Mayor of the City of Lawrence, Kansas, do hereby proclaim the month of October 2014 to be

“SWEET POTATO MONTH”

in Lawrence.

                                                                   Mike Amyx, Mayor

October 7, 2014