News and Events

Online Happy Hour Series

Welcome to ESU Happy Hour! The ESU has planned a series of programs to connect and reach out to our members through programs that are engaging, fun, and informative on a wide variety of topics. Happy Hour programs bring to you guest speakers live and free of charge. Speakers may also suggest a unique cocktail for you to create and enjoy at home. These programs are designed so ESU members and guests can learn and interact with our outstanding speakers. Many speakers will provide exciting participation opportunities with fun give away books and products at the end of each program.

We invite members to suggest topics for future ESU Happy Hour Programs at this link. Cheers!

Watch Previously Recorded Programs

Happy Hour Season 2

Friday, May 21 from 6:00 - 7:00 PM (EDT)
Storied & Scandalous Kansas City - A History of Corruption, Mischief, and a Whole lot of Booze
Karla Deel

Our final Season 2 Happy Hour guest speaker is author and publisher Karla Deel. Her book, "Storied & Scandalous Kansas City—A History of Corruption, Mischief and a Whole Lot of Booze," is an in-depth account of how Kansas City operated in its early days with mobsters, bootleggers, madams, political bosses, and raucous entertainers who truly brought the party to the plains even during Prohibition. When the ESU Kansas City Branch was founded in 1920, Kansas City was one notorious and scandal-ridden town. Karla will tell the storied history of Kansas City—the Paris of the Plains. You'll witness the best parades, the wackiest costumes, and the wildest scams. Kansas City's sordid underbelly is full of surprises sure to delight and entice—the odd, macabre, and delightful. Don't miss this behind-the-scenes look at Kansas City in its early days. Karla Deel lives and works as a writer, poet, researcher and freelancer in Kansas City, Mo. She has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Media Arts from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.