A tactic of the Ku Klux Klan to intimidate and to gain membership in the “order” was to “invade” church services while dressed in full regalia and to give a token donation to the church for some project of the church. Not all these Klan intrusions were reported in the newspapers. Here’s one outside the “borders” of the Lykens Valley area but within the anthracite region that got coverage in the Pottsville Herald, March 2, 1926.
Klansmen Visit Hazleton Church
A robed delegation of Knights of the Ku Klux Klan surprised the worshipers and pastor of Zion’s Evangelical Church, Hazleton, during the regular service Sunday night. The visitors marched down the aisle of the church. One carried a Bible, another a cross and a third the American flag. The spokesman of the delegation complimented Rev. W. J. Scheiffley, the pastor, on his work and pledged him their support. They also made a donation to the evening’s offering. Rev. Scheiffley replied that while the visit was a complete surprised to him, he hoped that every person under a robe was a Christian. The delegation departed while the service was still in progress. They left as quietly as they entered.
The Pottsville Herald was widely read in the Lykens Valley area, so the effect of the incident went well beyond Hazleton, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania.
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News story from Newspapers.com.
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