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Professor gives Emporia gift of song for its 150th anniversary celebration

James Barnes

With a little help from his friends, James Barnes, professor of music and dance, gave the city of Emporia a timeless gift for its 150th anniversary.

Barnes composed a song that was performed by the Emporia Municipal Band on July 5 at a city celebration. "Beacon on the Prairie," a march, is Barnes' musical tribute to the city.

Gary McCarty, conductor of the Emporia Municipal Band, approached Barnes about composing the song.

"Gary and I go way back. We were in the KU band together many years ago," Barnes said.

McCarty developed an appreciation for Barnes' music from their time as bandmates and friends.

"I love his stuff. It sounds good. It's fun to play. And you can extract so much teaching from Jim's music," McCarty told the Emporia Gazette.

The title "Beacon on the Prairie" alludes to Barnes' travels between Wichita and Lawrence. While passing through Emporia, the city's water tower reminded him of a lighthouse, or beacon, for those traveling through the area.

TOPONYMS

S.H. Carpenter of the University of Wisconsin would have been KU's third chancellor, but he arrived in Lawrence on a sweltering summer day in 1874 in the middle of a drought and a grasshopper invasion. He immediately left town and did not even visit the campus. The Board of Regents then hired James Marvin, a professor of mathematics at Allegheny College; the building named for him also honors his son, longtime Dean of Engineering Frank O. Marvin.