SHARING THE PAST
Foreword -R.G. Tomlinson In November 1997 a spokesman for Ku Klux Klan said that they were coming to Boerne. He said, “We were wanting a rally and membership drive around Thanksgiving and Kendall County members had expressed some interest in it.” Authorities asked that local residents not come to the rally, to be held on the steps of the Kendall County Courthouse. There was a heavy police presence but only one arrest. The rally fizzled and ended early. The following is memoir of that day by Brent Evans
Kendall County elected Henry Hodge in 1997, the first Black sheriff in Texas since Reconstruction. So, the Klan announced they were coming to Boerne to protest. There was a lot of talk in town about going to protest the Klan’s protest; as such, Henry Hodge’s Sheriff’s Department would have to protect the Klan from residents.
Then my daughter Laurel and her friend Brook Tremper said they wanted to hold an anti-Klan rally at the Cibolo Nature Center. Now, we had just moved the 100-year-old building out to City Park to become our Visitor Center. Good friend and wood worker David Pipes had been hand-crafting new walls and doors and railings. Along with other volunteers, Pipes had poured his blood and sweat into this old house, and now I imagined the whole thing being burned to the ground.
The Klan was known for being crazy violent. But here were these sincere kids looking into our eyes with puppy eyes, with such hope. We had to ask our board about this thing that was not exactly in our mission statement.
The board decided that if our mission was preserving diversity in the local biological community, then that should include diversity in the local human community. So, we said do it, and do it at the same time as the Klan rally. But we asked the kids to call it “Diversity Day,” and to not have loud-mouth speakers irritating irritable people.
They agreed. In fact, we agreed there would be no speakers, and to just have a day of our community playing together in nature. The kids designed a flier which they handed out at Boerne High School and all over town.
Next, I called the Police Department to ask for an officer to be present to discourage any bad actors, but was told, “No way; we are going to have our hands full with crowd control at the courthouse steps.” The Sheriff’s Department also declined to provide protection for the same reason.
The next few nights were sleepless. I imagined the worst; violence against property or person or who knows what. Our children massacred. Our old building going up in flames. I could smell it.
But the day came off beautifully with a large and peaceful gathering at the nature center, while a rowdy shouting match went on at the courthouse. Meanwhile in the park, folks were flying kites and playing Frisbee. Romances were blooming along the trails. Kids running about, elders strolling. And they were all different colors and shapes and persuasions. Even Mayor Patrick Heath showed up to show his support.
But the main comfort I received that day was from the 9mm pistol concealed in my back pocket. Thankfully, my flaming fantasy failed to ignite. And the 9mm did not go off and shoot me in the butt, which was just one of the possible nightmare outcomes.
It was a good day. And I have never been prouder of our little nature center than on that sunny November day in 1997.
When Laurel applied to Antioch College and needed an essay for the admissions process, she wrote up the Ku Klux Klan story — and what do you know? She received a $25,000 scholarship in recognition of her local citizenship.
I figure the Ku Klux Klan helped pay for my daughter’s college education at one of the most radically liberal institutions in the country.
“Sharing the Past” is a series organized by the Kendall County Historical Commission
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