The Moran Herald, Morans official newspaper for the first half of the 20th century, was like most others of that era, filled with local items of varying levels of newsworthiness, club reports and other bits of gossip.
Occasionally, through the prism of history, some articles stand out more than others.
Mitch Bolling, owner of Moran Locker, unearthed one such Herald edition, dated March 19, 1925, while helping clean out a vacant house in downtown Moran recently.
Conspicuous on the front page is a report of a political rally of sorts from two days prior.
The rally came complete with a municipal band performance, young ladies dressed in their finest gowns serving as ushers and an address from the Rev. Carpenter (first name unavailable) of Ottawa. The Peoples Theatre was packed to hear what the good Reverend had to say.
Rev. Carpenter delivered a masterfully (sic) address which was widely commented upon, the article read. He is a fine speaker and has a big voice which was readily heard and understood to the rear of the room.
The event, it should be noted, was organized by a group describing itself as the Allen Kounty Klan, an offshoot of the Ku Klux Klan.
The event, and its local coverage unveiled a noteworthy, but largely hidden, part of Allen Countys history.
PERHAPS most noteworthy about the KKKs short-lived rebirth in the 1920s was how politically active the Klan became, across Kansas and the country, and how those arguments were framed, from both sides.
The Heralds coverage, for example, took many of the Klans claims to heart.
This meeting was one of the largest that has been held in Allen county (sic) for some time and shows that the people are awakening to the cause and are of a more open mind than ever before, the article said, concluding that more meetings were planned for Moran with many new members expected.
The Iola Register, conversely, took a considerably more skeptical view of the Klan.
In the 1924 gubernatorial race, Register publisher Charles F. Scott campaigned publicly for William Allen White, publisher of the Emporia Gazette, whose independent campaign was largely waged against the rise of the Ku Klux Klan.
Both the Democratic incumbent, Jonathan Davis, and his Republican challenger, Ben Paulsen, had received support from the KKK.
I refuse to forfeit whatever reputation I may have in Kansas for moral and intellectual integrity by endorsing a party policy which is in direct contradiction with convictions the whole state knows I entertain, Scott wrote.
Whites candidacy ultimately proved unsuccessful, he drew less than a third of the 600,000 votes cast (Paulsen was the victor).
