Historic trunk reveals Klan ties

The discovery of an old trunk in a Noblesville, Ind., barn has drawn ongoing national media interest because of its Ku Klux Klan-related contents.\n"The discovery got a lot of press coverage," said Allen Safianow, a professor of history at IU-Kokomo who has conducted in-depth research on the findings. \nThe trunk contained more than 1,000 membership cards with the names of individuals who belonged to a local chapter of the Invisible Empire of the Ku Klux Klan. Klan attire and receipts from dues were also found.\nThe building contractor who made the discovery in 1995 was advised by some to destroy the contents. Others said they felt he should allow the material to be made public. Roberts ultimately chose to donate the materials to the Hamilton County Historical Society.\n"You can't burn history," Roberts later said in a July 26 press release. An appreciation for the historical significance of the trunk led to the preservation through a donation to the historical society. \n"That's what is wrong today," Roberts said. "Too many people are trying to bury history, and history is history. You may have liked to change it, but it's gone, it's behind us."\nAfter receiving the donated box, the historical society chose not to place the contents on public display. However, if an individual is interested in inquiring about the name of a specific individual, the society will accept the request and conduct the research.\n"If the general public wants to ask for a name, where they lived, and the relationship, we will look it up," said Diane Nevitt, the Hamilton County Historical Society's museum director.\nSince the discovery, professor Safianow has researched information found in the trunk to draw conclusions about local activity of the Klan and its members in the 1920s. The demographics of the members, with information such as occupation, were analyzed.\n"In the '20s the Klan was more broadly based, and the records indicate that," Safianow said. \nStill, understanding Klan motives is difficult because of changes in society in the past 80 years. The topic of racism was, however, a central priority for the Klan. \n"We really don't know why individuals joined, it's a very complex thing" Safianow said. "You have to understand them in their particular context." \nRacial separation alone was not the only issue the Klan focused on at the time. Safianow explained that the Protestant based Klan saw the Catholic Church, with ties to Rome, as more of a threat to the Klan's ideals.\nSafianow said he wants to help people understand the Klan, explaining that the way individuals think about the past may not be accurate compared to what actually occurred. \nNevitt said she sees the discovery in a similar way in regard to letting people understand their past.\n"I think it lets people know the Klan did exist in Hamilton County," Nevitt said. \nThrough understanding the context of the ideas the Klan stood for in the '20s, both Nevitt and Safianow said they feel the community can gain understanding of their history and what it means today. \n-- Contact staff writer Aaron Cooke at akcooke@indiana.edu.