Henderson history: Ku Klux Klan consolidated its position in mid-1924

The Ku Klux Klan rented the largest theater in town a century ago to air a recruiting film called “The Traitor Within,” which was “produced for, owned by and controlled by Protestants.”

I’ve written about the KKK’s local presence before and will be doing it again over the next few years to chart its path as it reached the pinnacle of its powers here.

Evidence of the KKK’s power during the 1920s is illustrated in an Associated Press story in The Gleaner of Nov. 17, 1946, in which Attorney General Eldon S. Dummit noted the KKK’s state charter had been revoked Sept. 4 and that little Klan activity had been seen recently.

“Most of the klaverns that flowered 20 years ago in such hotbeds of Klan activity as Paducah, Henderson, Owensboro, Covington, Newport, Frankfort and Lexington, have become defunct,” he said.

The first public indication of a local Klan presence during the 1920s appeared in The Gleaner of Dec. 7, 1921, when the KKK donated $100 to the local YMCA. The Dec. 23 and 24 editions followed with stories about KKK donations to Christmas activities for the needy.

The first of multiple KKK parades here occurred May 11, 1922; The Gleaner counted 183 Klansmen marching from Central Park to Union Station. The police chief marched alongside the Klansmen and the police department provided traffic control and security.

I wrote Jan. 14 about the two competing police forces that came about after the 1923 election. Henderson’s first two city commissioners were John Cunningham and Frank Haag, who were defeated in November 1923.

Their replacements − J.W. Johnson and J.H. Hart − ran a large advertisement in The Gleaner of Oct. 28, 1923, which illustrates one of the main points of contention during the KKK controversy.

“Some of the people who wish to see us defeated have been so bold as to say that we are being paid to make this race by a certain religious organization and that we are the tools of a certain religious sect.” They were talking about the Catholic church, of course; the KKK was virulently anti-Catholic.

The ad went on to point out the incumbent commissioners they were running against had at least nine Catholics on the payroll, as well as a Jew on the city Parks Board and a Black, Dr. W.B. Wilson, as the assistant city physician.

The Grand Theater showed “The Traitor Within” April 14 and 15, 1924, but it was not the first time the KKK had made use of that theater. The Klansmen had gathered in the Grand’s shadows before they made their first parade in 1922 and on Dec. 11, 1923, Klan organizer E.H. Lougher spoke to a packed audience there for about 90 minutes. Lougher said he was the KKK organizer who had been arrested in Lexington, Owensboro and several other cities.

The Grand Theater, by the way, was built 1904-05 as the Park Theater across from Central Park and became the Grand Theater in 1910. It was destroyed in a fire that began the night of March 9, 1933.

The Klan bought a large advertisement in The Gleaner of April 13, 1924, and a two-paragraph article appeared in the same issue. The ad provided much the same information that appears in the accompanying flyer. “True methods of the Ku Klux Klan! The greatest of all American pictures! Featuring the world’s greatest night parade, true ideals of Americans, American drama of life and action.”

Matinees were scheduled at 2 and 4 p.m. both days and evening shows were at 7 and 9 p.m.

But The Gleaner of April 15 disclosed there had been a special showing at 10 a.m. the previous day for people invited by Klan organizer James Beard. Those attending included Mayor Clay F. Hall, City Commissioners Hart and Johnson, City Attorney F.J. Pentecost, Police Chief Alex H. Posey, police officer Eli Muckenfuss, the Rev. E.J. Willis of the First Christian Church, grocer Thomas L. Todd and former city commissioner Haag.

“The mayor, commissioners and Pentecost went into a conference after the showing and it was announced that they saw nothing objectionable in the picture.”

I’ll be writing again about the Klan on May 26, describing the huge Memorial Day barbecue held at the old fairgrounds off South Green Street, but meanwhile I’ll touch on Klan happenings during the last half of April 1924 and the first few weeks of May.

The April 18 Gleaner noted about 50 men were initiated into the Klan at Cairo; the ceremony included, of course, the burning of a fiery cross. “The Boys’s Band accompanied the Klansmen. They formed a square where the initiation took place.”

Oscar Jennings, before he died, told me he had been a member of that Boys’ Band. He also told me it had been sponsored by the Ku Klux Klan.

The Boys’ Band also performed when the KKK made an appearance in Corydon, according to The Gleaner of April 25. “One unique feature that attracted much attention was a band of women in robes, as it was the first time in this county that the women members of the organization have ever participated in demonstrations while wearing the robes of the order.”

The Gleaner of April 26 noted “a large crowd” gathered in Sunset Park to hear KKK organizer Lougher speak from a barge. A fiery cross was erected across the river.

“The speaker stated that permission had been denied for the meeting to be held in either Central Park or at the courthouse.”

That was soon to change.

The Gleaner of May 13 said Henderson Fiscal Court had granted use of the courthouse to KKK organizer Beard, who told the court Jailer Rod Davis had earlier evaded him when he sought use of the building.

The jailer came into the room at that point and denied he had evaded Beard, which caused “a tilt” between the two men. Davis said he had told Beard to seek the permission of the county judge or circuit judge because “he had heard of trouble at Klan meetings in Lexington, Owensboro, Paducah and other cities and he did not want any trouble in Henderson.”

Both judges denied having any authority over the building. At that point, fiscal court unanimously approved use of the courthouse by the Klan.

Other Gleaner stories involved donation of provisions to a destitute family in the May 16 edition; donation of $500 to the building fund of the Clay Street Methodist Church (which went toward construction that year of what is now Bennett Memorial United Methodist Church); and an undisclosed amount to the Spottsville Baptist Church.

That last donation, which was reported in the May 27 edition, featured about 50 robed Klansmen filing into the church and handing Rev. Warren Swertzfegger a letter and an envelope full of money. Swertzfegger was rendered speechless and was unable to read the letter until after the Klansmen and most of the congregation had left.

Apparently, although the pastor was unaware, they had coordinated their appearance with the order of worship.

“When the choir began ‘There is a stranger at the door, let him in,’ the hooded band appeared.”

75 YEARS AGO

The Gleaner carried several stories the last half of April 1949 about the possibility of creating an all-weather airport here. An 800-foot dirt strip had been in operation since 1945.

The first story on April 15 held few hopes for state funding, especially since the April 17 issue said it would cost the city $189,927.

Eddie Meyer, one of the owners of the air strip, had a letter in the April 20 issue laying out his proposal that would cost much less. The April 21 issue said the state was sending advisers here, while the April 27 Gleaner said the total cost would be $32,000, although the city’s share would be only $17,372.

It took a while for that to come to fruition, though. On June 16, 1958, the city and county governments formed the Henderson City-County Air Board and the all-weather runway of 2,100 feet was dedicated Aug. 30, 1958.

50 YEARS AGO

Members of the Black community met with city officials and aired their concerns about the dilapidated W.C. Handy Pool and the need for a gym/multi-purpose room at the nearby John F. Kennedy Community Center, according to The Gleaner of April 17, 1974.

The gym – officially named to honor the Rev. Austin Bell – opened in 1986. The pool, however, was razed the first week of May the same year after the Henderson City Commission had agonized for months about what to do with it.

25 YEARS AGO

Member/customers of both the Henderson-Union Electric Cooperative Corp. and the Green River Electric Corp. voted to merge, according to The Gleaner of April 16, 1999.

The merger became effective in July of that year and the newly created entity is known as Kenergy Corp. It serves about 59,000 residences and businesses in 14 counties in Western Kentucky.

Readers of The Gleaner can reach Frank Boyett at YesNews42@yahoo.com.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Henderson history: Ku Klux Klan consolidated its position in mid-1924