Strange KKK on a Ferris Wheel Photo.

Posted by Alex in Pictures on February 15, 2007 at 6:13 pm


A strange 1926 photo, from gnotalex’s photostream at Flickr:

Members of Cañon City Klan No. 21 pose on and around the ferris wheel at the site of a carnival at 8th and Greenwood in Cañon City, Colorado. Klan members were invited by W. H. Forsythe, owner of the outfit and a klansman from Fort Collins, to don their gowns and pose for a group portrait. Houses and trees can be seen in the background. At left are a flying swings amusement ride and a ticket booth.

Link - via the new shelton wet/dry and reddit



Previous post
this post? Please email this            
Next post

FROM THE NEATORAMA ONLINE STORE » more



COMMENT

7 comments to "Strange KKK on a Ferris Wheel Photo."

  1. Heather
    February 15th, 2007 at 6:55 pm

    Am I the only one who found this hysterical? Seriously, I had the uncontrollable giggles! Like, hey man, even ignorant, hateful racists like a good ferris wheel… The fact that they used it for a group photo just cherries it!

  2. ted
    February 15th, 2007 at 7:05 pm

    I thought it was funny when it said Forsythe was owner of the outfit. I thought they all owned their own outfits.

    The thing about it is, KKK are people like you and me. They have their ignorance and hate, too. Terrorists have their hate. It’s the hate we need to fight against, and not the people.

  3. Ian
    February 15th, 2007 at 8:57 pm

    Yes, this is the Big Funny. A carnival really puts the outfits (and the people who wear them) in their proper context.

  4. Shrike
    February 15th, 2007 at 9:49 pm

    You have to remember that back in the 20’s, the Klan were not only popular, but socially acceptable. I scanned 1920s newspaper articles for a nearby central Pennsylvania town’s library. The articles all were about this city’s sesquicentennial. In the descriptions of the parades, I was somewhat shocked to hear that the Klu Klux Klan had an entry in the parade, along with other social clubs and fraternal societies. This is in the North, not the deep South. The times were indeed different. If the Klan could be prominently featured in a formal parade back then, this picture isn’t that exceptional.

  5. gnotalex
    February 15th, 2007 at 11:55 pm

    Very true. The Klan’s influence went considerably farther north, as my fellow Canucks might want to keep in mind. A 20’s rally in Saskatchewan attracted some 100,000 spectators (remarkable considering the population at the time) and it had a considerable presence in other provinces.

    I found the picture some weeks ago and published it on my blog here.

  6. raincoaster
    February 16th, 2007 at 7:45 pm

    If only they could have just kept them there instead of letting them get off.

  7. samantha
    November 13th, 2007 at 11:19 am

    these guys are dumb. AND SO ARE YOU!
    I HATE KKK!!!

    ONE LOVE.


PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT

Neatorama Comment Policy
You don't have to register or login to comment, but it's easier if you do so. Comments aren't censored, but those that are abusive or off-topic may be edited or deleted.


Stay updated on the comments with Comment RSS