6A SUNDAY, APRIL 14, 2024 THE GLEANER The Ku Klux Klan rented the largest theater in town a century ago to air a recruiting called Traitor With- which was for, owned by and controlled by written about the 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 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Press story in The Gleaner of Nov. 17, 1946, in which Attorney General Eldon S. Dummit noted the state charter had been revoked Sept. 4 and that little Klan activity had been seen recently.
of the klaverns that 20 years ago in such hotbeds of Klan activ- ity as Paducah, Henderson, Owensboro, Covington, Newport, Frankfort and Lex- ington, have become he said. The public indication of a local Klan presence during the 1920s ap- peared in The Gleaner of Dec. 7, 1921, when the KKK donated $100 to the local YMCA. The Dec. 23 and 24 editions fol- lowed with stories about KKK donations to Christmas activities for the needy.
The 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 control and security. I wrote Jan. 14 about the two compet- ing police forces that came about after the 1923 election. two city commissioners were John Cunning- ham and Frank Haag, who were defeated in November 1923.
Their replacements J.W. Johnson and J.H. Hart ran a large advertisem*nt in The Gleaner of Oct. 28, 1923, which il- lustrates one of the main points of con- tention during the KKK controversy. 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 They were talking about the Catholic church, of course; the KKK was virulently anti-Catholic.
The ad went on to point out the in- cumbent commissioners they were run- ning 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. Wil- son, as the assistant city physician. The Grand Theater showed Trai- tor April 14 and 15, 1924, but it was not the time the KKK had made use of that theater. The Klansmen had gathered in the shadows before they made their 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 that began the night of March 9, 1933.
The Klan bought a large advertise- ment 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 ac- companying methods of the Ku Klux Klan! The greatest of all Ameri- can pictures! Featuring the greatest night parade, true ideals of Americans, American drama of life and 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 Eli Mucken- fuss, the Rev. E.J.
Willis of the First Christian Church, grocer Thomas L. Todd and former city commissioner Haag. mayor, commissioners and Pen- tecost went into a conference after the showing and it was announced that they saw nothing objectionable in the pic- be writing again about the Klan on May 26, describing the huge Memorial Day barbecue held at the old fairgrounds South Green Street, but meanwhile touch on Klan happenings during the last half of April 1924 and the 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 cross. Band accompanied the Klansmen.
They formed a square where the initiation took Oscar Jennings, before he died, told me he had been a member of that Band. He also told me it had been spon- sored by the Ku Klux Klan. The Band also performed when the KKK made an appearance in Cory- don, according to The Gleaner of April 25. unique feature that attracted much attention was a band of women in robes, as it was the time in this coun- ty that the women members of the or- ganization have ever participated in demonstrations while wearing the robes of the The Gleaner of April 26 noted large gathered in Sunset Park to hear KKK organizer Lougher speak from a barge. A cross was erected across the river.
speaker stated that permission had been denied for the meeting to be held in either Central Park or at the 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 between the two men. Davis said he had told Beard to seek the permission of the county judge or cir- cuit judge because had heard of trou- ble at Klan meetings in Lexington, Ow- ensboro, Paducah and other cities and he did not want any trouble in Hender- Both judges denied having any au- thority over the building. At that point, court unanimously approved use of the courthouse by the Klan.
Other Gleaner stories involved dona- tion 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 report- ed in the May 27 edition, featured about 50 robed Klansmen 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 af- ter the Klansmen and most of the con- gregation had left. Apparently, although the pastor was unaware, they had coordinated their ap- pearance with the order of worship.
the choir began is a stranger at the door, let him the hood- ed band 75 YEARS AGO The Gleaner carried several stories the last half of April 1949 about the possi- bility of creating an all-weather airport here. An 800-foot dirt strip had been in operation since 1945. The 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 share would be only $17,372.
It took a while for that to come to fru- ition, 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 and aired their concerns about the dilapidated W.C. Handy Pool and the need for a ti-purpose room at the nearby John F.
Kennedy Community Center, according to The Gleaner of April 17, 1974. The gym named to honor the Rev. Austin Bell opened in 1986. The pool, however, was razed the week of May the same year after the Hender- son City Commission had agonized for months about what to do with it. 25 YEARS AGO of both the Hen- derson-Union Electric Cooperative Corp.
and the Green River Electric Corp. voted to merge, according to The Gleaner of April 16, 1999. The merger became 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 hoo.com.
Ku Klux Klan consolidated its position in mid-1924 The Ku Klux Klan was a major force in Henderson in the mid-1920s, as attested by its ability to use biggest theater in 1924 to show this recruiting GLEANER ARCHIVES News Frank Boyett Guest columnist OPINION.
