It is not known whether the Ku Klux Klan would have survived in the Lykens Valley area without the support of major institutions, including religion, government and the schools. This example of a Klan event was reported by a Tower City newspaper, which indicated that the schools of the area were officially closed following the morning roll call so that the students could attend a picnic sponsored by the hate group. Also noteworthy from the brief article is that the official band of Orwin was a featured attraction at the event.
From the West Schuylkill Herald, 18 September 1925:
Klan Picnic Thursday
The Ku Klux Klan of this valley held a picnic in Thompson’s Grove on Thursday. The schools of Tower City and Porter Township were closed for the day following the roll call The Orwin Band led the parade to the picnic grounds, being the first musical organization to parade over the new concrete highway on Grand Avenue.
This post is a continuation of the reporting on hate groups that were active in the Lykens Valley area in the years following the Civil War. It was a widely known fact that the Ku Klux Klan had a significant presence in the Lykens Valley and adjacent valleys during the early years of the 20th Century. This iteration of the Klan was strongly white supremacist and was opposed to equal rights for African Americans, Catholics, Jews, and immigrants.
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News clipping from Newspapers.com.
This post was first published on The Civil War Blog on 2 May 2018.