A story which is part of our family history is as follows. I am sorry if some find the language offensive. My grandparents were Frank and Lucia (Whiteside ) Thrasher. They lived in Onarga. My Uncle Bob (born in 1915) tells of being aware of the Klan in the middle 20's and being fascinated by them - their robes, etc. He and his brother Frank ( born in 1913)were forbidden to have anything to do with them but one night they snuck out of the house to follow a march which apparently ended in town near the train tracks. They were paid some money to hold up the cross to be burned and Bob remembers a sign in front of the cross which said "niggers and chicken thieves beware." When they tried to sneak back into the house after their adventure, my grandfather caught them and asked where they had been. Bob always said that he knew to lie to Grandpa was going to get them a meeting with a belt, so they told the truth and got the meeting with the belt anyway. He said that Grandpa told them that inside people were all the same. My grandfather died when I was 12. My memories of him are of an old man who was rather confused, so I have always loved hearing this story and that he seemed to have a sense of right and wrong and wanted to impress these feelings (in more ways than one) on his children. Ernestine Wark wrote: > Hi, > > I has been brought to my attention that there might have been Ku Klun > Klan activities in the Kankakee area many years ago. Does anybody have > knowledge of this. I would like to hear more about this group and its > members if such were the case. > Thank you, > Ernestine Wark, NJ > > ==== ILFORD Mailing List ==== > **************************************************************** > RootsWeb > is entirely community-supported: your membership is crucial in > enabling RootsWeb to continue to add more genealogical data, Web > sites, and mailing lists. The degree of community support > directly affects RootsWeb's ability to grow. For details about > levels of RootsWeb membership and sponsorship, please visit: > <http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/how-to-subscribe.html>