Hillary Zimmerman Breaks Her Leg at Ku Klux Klan Demontration, 1924

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on April 23, 2018

Imagine huge crowds gathering to participate in Ku Klux Klan demonstrations in rural areas of the Lykens Valley and beyond- and to observe out of curiosity what was going on and support neighbors and friends who were Klan members. In the mid 1920s, crowd control and participant safety was not high on the list of priorities. Inevitably, many attendees were injured and had to rely on the local medical system – which, for most injuries was the local country doctor. Few of these episodes were reported in the press, but in 1924, at an Klan event in Muir, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, a member of the Zimmerman family fell and broke her leg.

This post is a continuation of the reporting on hate groups that were active in the Lykens Valley area in the years following the Civil War. It was a widely known fact that the Ku Klux Klan had a significant presence in the Lykens Valley and adjacent valleys during the early years of the 20th Century. This iteration of the Klan was strongly white supremacist and was opposed to equal rights for African Americans, Catholics, Jews, and immigrants.

From West Schuylkill Herald, 12 September 1924:

Breaks Leg at Klan Demonstration

While standing in a field south of Muir on Saturday night, watching an open air demonstration by the Ku Klux Klan, Mrs. Hillary Zimmerman stepped in a post hole and in falling fractured one of her legs. She was removed to her home where the fracture was reduced by Dr. David J. Hawk.

The Klan meeting drew hundreds of witnesses from all parts of the valley and other near by towns.

More information is sought about about the injured woman and the participation of her and her family in the Ku Klux Klan.

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