KKK in Castleton New York 12033 Circa 1928

I will be pushing off to England next week and I wanted to get this blog down cause you never know. Got two digs going at present but this one has been sticking in my gut for quite a while.
With the recent discovery of an interview I did a number of years ago on this topic I think it high time I wrote something down to preserve these memories for they are essentially forgotten in the Town of Schodackas with the rest of the nation. I will leave the history of the Klan in the 20th century to other histories such as Wikipedia etc. The fogginess of the event made reasearch difficult. I suspect people who remembered these events felt a sense of shame or let sleeping dogs lie as one women in Schodack Landing said to me. Certainly acceptance of such events has greatly changed in the intervening 80yrs.
I am still not as sure as I would like to be on various areas sometimes because of contradictory memories people had of the event and I suspect the Great Depression and looming war erased a need to remember. So much else to occupy ones thought process. However , lets put down some of what I know before it's all forgotten.

1. Why did the Klan have a rally in Castleton NY. ? The Presidential race that year was between Herbert Hoover and Al Smith. Al Smith was of the Catholic faith. There were strong anti Catholic feelings in the country at that time. Similar fears were seen in the 1960 election involving JFK. This rally was to protest Al Smith as a Catholic running for the office. Several rallys were held of this nature in America at the time. Have read microfilm accounts of these type of events near Boston Mass.

2. Where was the Rally held. Main street of Castleton is right along the Hudson River. This event was held on the Heights above the Main Streetof Castleton exactly where is the problem.Onthe southern end of the village or the northern end.I have searchedHudsonstreetnorth along the Castleton ridgeline to Boltwood. It is my considered opinion that it took place near Boltwood & Seaman Avenue in the towns North Hill area. It was referred to as the North Hill back in those days by many residents. One of the deciding factors was the view from this area overlooking Albany NY , the States Capitol. This is where Al Smith himself resided.

2. Why was small Castleton NY a choice for a rally. Lack of police wasoneeason. Castleton at the time did not even have a uniform Fire Dept. It was split between the Northern and Southern sides of town. Also the Catholic church sits above the Main St. at the time with a large Catholic Cross on top of the spire. This could be easily seen from the train station located on MainSt.. An
inviting target and a beacon for those who's fear and loathing was on the surface. It was also easy to gather people for this rally , train brought many some by car . Rt.9j which runs along the main street was a major road to places south including NYC. in those times of poor roads.

3. Did they burn a Cross? No it appears they built a large Bonfire....perhaps big enough to be seen as far away as Albany. Remember there were much fewer streetand building lights back then so a large blaze could be seen for quite a distance. It could also serve as an addition factor of intimidation to those in the surrounding areas.

4. How many people were involved? One of my sources was Peter Stohl formed teacher at near by Maple Hill High School. He said that it was the biggest Klan rally held in NYS. I can't independently varify that but a reasonable estimate was 250+. Yes of course local people were involved but so were many others from around the country. Of course this was not something one admitted to a then young interviewer asking strange questions about personal involvement in such a Rally. But gleaning what I could allows me to make a fairly reasonable assumption as to size.

Final thoughts : The Town of Schodack was a rural outpost back then , Schodack just beginning to aquire paved roads .No central school system existed. Little access to modern medicine as a matter of fact birth at home with a mid-wife was not uncommon. There were several out houses still within Village of Castleton. Many more in the farm areas of Schodack proper. Our major innovation of running Town snowplows through the night during storms would not start untill the next year. There was no town police force only the occasional State Trooper. So.....come in and raise a rally exploiting peoples fears of a minority religion or a change of political thought was easier then one might think. We are a media rich society , they were not. But in thinking this piece of history over , it seemed a painful topic when I explored it for a political science paper many yrs ago. I did not want to leave it behind though , as an example of what can happan so I leave this in my obsure blog so it not be a totally forgotten moment.

Sources : Peter Stohl , Former teacher Maple Hill High School
Vivian Ingalls: Former teacher MHHS
Charles Tobias Harris Town Resident
Douglas Hudson Former NYS State Senator
Lewis V. Hudson Former Supervisor Town Of Schodack
Pauline Jennings Former Resident Town of Schodack
Elmer Henniger Former Teacher MHHS , Former Schodack Town Justice
A.Downey: Fromer Resident Town Oof Schodack.
George Andrews: Former Resident Town of Schodack
Ronald P. Kunicki Former Resident Town Oof Schodack