Falling Loons

There has been occurring in central Wisconsin this last week (and maybe this week given the weather) a phenomenon of which I never heard of before--falling loons. Last year, I did a post about loons on a lake in northeast Wisconsin and the trials they have of surviving predators--eagles, racoons, mink, northern pike, muskie, and a whole host of other animals attack the egg, the young, or even larger birds. That post is available here.  As if loons did not have sufficient trials and tribulations living in their natural habitat on a lake, or coastal waters, they are now, falling from the sky. Yes, literally falling from the sky!

Loon nest with egg, June 2022

Loons breed in far north Wisconsin and points north. They migrate across the nation and generally settle in coastal waters during the winter. Flying high in the sky, the loons are now migrating, but the cold temperatures this spring have caused ice to form on their bodies, the weight becomes too great and they fall out of the sky. This has occurred around Antigo and other areas of Wisconsin, and with cold temperatures this past weekend, probably was still occurring, and maybe even this week. The lucky loons are those that a human can find and take to a proper sized lake for rest, rehabilitation. They can then take off for points further north. The unlucky ones may land in small bodies of water, farm fields, or forests where no one may find them. I can see those poor loons being ripe for predators.

Loon Habitat and Migration Zones

What a sorry situation. The loons need a weather forecaster. Loons also need a decent sized water body to survive, since they cannot waddle or walk--they can only swim and fly. Hence, the one found in a cow pasture near Antigo was hopefully rescued and put on the right path. Loons need about a quarter mile (1,320') "runway" of water to get airborne. Actually, I am surprised it is not longer as I have seen many loons take flight and it takes a great deal of length. Once they take flight, they fly really well, with some being tracked at 70 mph. While an outlier, one loon is said to have traveled 670 miles in a 24 hour period of time. Their flight distance from winter home to breeding grounds in Minnesota and Wisconsin were tracked and it was found they travel from 1,170 to 1,470 miles. 

Wings contribute to flight, and loons have a good wingspan from 41 to 52". They weigh from 6 to 14 pounds. They have a keel on the bottom of their body which helps with their swimming capability. Their legs are setback on their body which allows for great swimming, but causes an inability to waddle or walk. Loons mate and nest at or near shore, or in some cases small floating man-made islands. Loons can live about 20 to 30 years, and travel to the same lake.

Not a good place for a loon
Source: CBS news

The loon population in Wisconsin has dropped 22% in the last 25 years, and researches have yet to figure out what has caused the decline. They do need a good deal of fish and small aquatic insects. Chicks and juvenile loons are particularly vulnerable. Hence, the last thing the loons needed was to fall from the sky.

Proper place for a loon
Author photo

The loon population is already in decline and I cannot imagine the effect the loon fallout will have on the already delicate loon population. I can't blame the loons, the temperature was in the 70's and 80's and then rapidly changed such that the high one day later was over 40 degrees cooler than the day before. People have been asked to scour their property for fallen loons to see if any need to be rescued. I hope when camping up north we will still hear the cry of the loon. It would be a shame for them to have fallen from the landscape.

Hit a Truck

From last week Wednesday afternoon well into the next morning, I felt like a hit a truck. I biked into the back of a Jeep Wrangler. This post is about that event, not because I was want to write about it, but because my wife, as is her want, said "There better be a blog post about this." Every time I do something out of the ordinary, my wife says "There better be a blog post about this." I cannot disobey my wife, so here is the post. 

The last thing the wife said to me, as I headed out for a ride last Wednesday afternoon, was to be careful. I thought of giving my typical response, but since my fall last June 14, I have decided I should not tempt fate using my former comeback that Careful is my middle name. Here is how the events transpired. I left for my bike ride and a few minutes into the ride I heard a clicking noise. I was looking down and behind me as I rode to see if I could get a sense of what was causing the noise. I knew a car was ahead, but I thought I was too far behind to take a look, and bam, next thing I know I feel my face being planted against the back of the vehicle. My first reaction was about my glasses, as they were crooked, but fortunately not broken. It was difficult getting up as my left hip and right leg hurt a great deal, I think I fell on the hip. A woman who was going by stopped to ask if I was alright and said she could give me ride, but I noted I would call to my wife. I thanked her for asking, and she noted she had done the same thing awhile back. I called, and my wife asked what happened, and I responded it is a long story. I told her I was a few houses up from the river. I stood in the driveway and waited. Looking at the mess of my bike. As my wife was driving southwest on Exchange Street, she came across, about two blocks from my location, an ambulance, two police cars and a gurney. 

Bent fork on my old bike

When she arrived I told her what happened, and I think she immediately shook her head, her red hair flowing side to side even with the strong wind. I was all achy and my neck hurt and shoulders hurt a great deal. I got home and put some ice on my hip and then the neck, but since my head hit I thought I should be seen by a medical professional. A trip to the Urgent Care in McFarland, noted that due to my age, head injuries and neck injuries should have a CAT scan, so off to Stoughton Hospital we went. It was my version of Gilligan's Island of a three hour tour. The bad news was I was fully inflamed, the good news was, much to the surprise of the wife, is that I did in fact have a brain. 

Perhaps the most exhausting part of the whole scenario was the lecture I received on my way home from the crash. I cannot recall everything that she said, but one thing was about how with the kids grown she thought we would be done with injuries, but I "had more than risen to the occasion" in that matter. I don't think she meant it as a compliment. Although the thought passed my mind to thank her for the compliment, but I thought it best not to be a smart ass with her at that time. She concluded that the reason I did not mention what happened was I would be too embarrassed. That night we took the bike out of the back and the next day looked at it, and reloaded it in our vehicle.

I loaded it up to take it to a bike shop in Fitchburg, where they noticed how bent the fork was. After a quick look, they decided that it would be up near half the cost of a new bike to repair. The person also said, I was actually lucky the fork bent like that otherwise my injuries would have been much worse as the fork took the brunt force, and I would have gone over the handle bars into the back of the Jeep. I then started to look at new bicycles. Knowing my oldest son is a bike guru, although at work, I thought I would take a chance on a text to ask him about advice on a couple bikes. I used a thread, which I did not intend, from the prior night that included both he and my wife. 

With my new bike

I get a text, which I thought was from my son, saying comfortable seat and handle bars should be a priority, and fatter tires will give more stability. It turns out it was from my wife. I tried out the comfort bike that Trek had on sale, the Verve 2. I rode it, with the salesman who was on another bike I would try, more like my old Specialized Crossroads. We rode part of the Capital City Trial, which I was instrumental in planning. He made a few adjustments to seat and handle bars. We switched bikes and just five minutes on the other, the comfort of the Verve was unmistakable. I thought my muscle memory would have me prefer the other bike, but perhaps because I was still stiff, it felt difficult to ride. 

I rode the Verve on my first bike ride of any significance on Friday, April 14. It does not feel like I go as fast as on the old bike, and I was switching gears more than I did on the old bike. On Saturday, I did most of my standard bike route. On the route there is a speed level counter. I used to get about 20 mph on my old bike in 14th gear. Disappointingly, today I was able to get to 22 mph in 24th gear. Part of me likes the more comfort position, but I also miss bending low and putting my forearms on the handle bars to increase speed. However, with the new bike I can ride with one hand on the handle bars more easily in my older age than on my older bike. Perhaps I can get back to riding without hands (my wife is now shaking her head even more). The tires are also much wider, allowing better grip on the road, but also for off paved surfaces. I still have to figure out how fast I can take a turn.

Bicycling can be a fun activity, but I have heard of many local persons about my age who have sustained serious injuries while biking. With the condition of my feet, I have been unable to walk much. I am hoping the feet improve such that I can also walk some days instead of biking. If I walked into the back of a park vehicle, I don't think I would hurt as bad.

The First Church

This past weekend was Easter Sunday. It is a day when Christians take time off from Easter egg hunts to reflect on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the Catholic Church there is a three year cycle of Gospel readings. The Sunday reading was from John's Gospel, and Monday's reading was from Matthew. Both provide an interesting insight that, I never before thought deeply about. The first person(s) to visit the tomb, was not a male disciple, but rather, depending on the account, was a woman, or two women. As a priest at St John's Abbey wrote: "Mary (Magdalene) is the first to experience the resurrection and she is the first to proclaim this great news." The proclamation of the great news was not reserved for a male disciple, but for a female.

Jesus praying in the Garden

Dark still covered the springtime landscape of Jerusalem on that morning following the Sabbath, when one or perhaps two women made their way to the tomb where Jesus' dead body had been laid to rest following his crucifixion on the previous Friday afternoon. John's Gospel (20:1) has Mary Magdalene going to the tomb and saw that the stone was removed. Matthew's Gospel (28:1) has Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary" walking to see the tomb. In John, Mary Magdalene runs to tell the disciples who are holed up in the upper room, likely the place of the Last Supper. In Matthew, an angel appears and says to them, "He is not here for he has been raised, as he said. Come see the place where he lay. Then go quickly to tell his disciples, He has been raised from the Dead." 

As they leave, according to Matthew, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary met Jesus and they greeted each other, and this is where Jesus instructs them to tell his the others to meet him in Galilee. Mark's account is similar with Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Salome, taking spices to the tomb, and encounter a man in white. Luke also has two women going to the tomb.

Cell at Caiaphas' residence

The details may vary but there is agreement among the four Gospels that the first person(s) to the tomb were Mary Magdalene and likely with another Mary. All the times I have heard the Gospel readings it never struck me until the Friday before this past Easter Sunday, when someone, in an on-line study of the upcoming Gospel reading made note of the importance of this. For the fifteen or twenty minutes it took the woman to make their way from the tomb to the upper room, they were the first members of the Church. For it was to these two women that the Paschal Mystery of the Life, Death and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ was first reveled. It was two women who held that most joyful mystery in their hearts until they reached the upper room and proclaimed the good news to the others. For that period of time they were the first Church.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre 

The first Church was not a male disciple. The men were resting, or cowering, in the upper room. Instead it was two women, with perhaps one, Mary Magdalene, possibly being formerly of ill-repute, although that has been discounted by some modern research. Let us say that Mary Magdalene came with some baggage, something that we all bring when we present ourselves. We are not perfect.

Mass at Jesus' burial spot

The Paschal Mystery was essentially revealed to two women that first Easter. Even with that, the decision making in the Roman Catholic Church has been by males. Many in the hierarchy are intent on keeping it that way. John Paul II, did his best pretzel gymnastics to keep it that way. Although, he did not ban female deacons. 

Via Dolorosa, the path Christ took carrying the Cross

With a single all-male-discipline for clergy, the Church is unable to properly minister to its flock. We see it in Africa, the Amazon and even here in the United States. I think of my uncle's funeral where a deacon said the prayer at the funeral home, and no one knew if he would even arrive. A priest said the funeral mass, but a different deacon was at the internment. The Church has floundered its ability to accompany people in times of grief, and even in times of joy. is it any wonder that the pews are emptying quicker than one can say "single all-male priesthood"?

Garden of Gethsemane

Given that God entrusted Mary Magdalene with proclaiming the good news should that not be the starting point for discussion of women's roles in the Church? If a woman is acceptable to be the first to realize the Paschal Mystery, is the first to proclaim the good news that Christ has written, why has man, yes man, prohibited woman from proclaiming the good news in future generations? 

Plaque Commemorating the Upper Room 
where the Last Supper was held

If it had not been for Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, how long would it have been before the men had come out of their fortress to find an empty tomb? Would we be celebrating the resurrection not on Sunday, but on Monday?  It was a female who told the men that Christ had risen, they did not discover it for themselves. For a short time, women were the first church.

Photos by author, 2013.

 

KKK Force Migration?

People move all the time. Presently, on average a person in the United States will move 11.7 times in their lifetime. On St Patrick's Day, a comment on the radio got me thinking about the migration of my grandparents from the deep soils of northcentral Iowa to Sun Prairie, WI. In a blog post of January 16, 2021 about my Grandmother Ida (nee Pitzenberger) Hovel, I explored some hints for why the family moved from Iowa to Wisconsin. My grandparents were living in northcentral Iowa during the 1920's when the second KKK was forming and being active. Married in 1914 in Winneshiek County, IA, my grandfather had already taken on the farm purchased by his father southeast of Manly, IA. Except for a time in Los Angeles, they lived on that farm until permanently moving to Sun Prairie, WI in 1930. This post will explore the possible role of the KKK in my paternal grandparents decision to move from Manly, IA to Sun Prairie, WI.

Decorah Journal article on the KKK
6 Aug 1924

On St Patrick's Day, a radio announcer noted that the Fighting Irish nickname for the University of Notre Dame was in part due to Irish attendees of the University fighting the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana. That took my mind back to my brother's comments about overhearing a conversation between my grandfather and his brother Ed discussing KKK activity in Iowa. That weekend, I did some more research. A few years ago an older brother commented that the Netflix Damnation television show rekindled his memory of Rudy and Ida talking with Rudy's brother Ed about the KKK in Iowa. While Damnation takes place in the 1930's, KKK activity was starting to subside in Iowa by about that time. As we will see, the KKK was active in the 1920's. As an interesting aside, Ed Hovel is the first recorded baptism for Sacred Heart Parish of Manly, IA. Ed was baptized in 1882 in a school house on the north side of town. It remains the only Catholic Church in the 402 sq mi of Worth County, IA.

The build up of the KKK in the 1920's is known as the Second KKK. It actually dates back to 1915 with the release of Birth of a Nation which built on the "Lost Cause" interpretation which followed the Civil War. Let me specifically deal with the Klan in the Midwest. Professor James H Madison from Indiana University noted some general information on the Klan in the Midwest from a talk he presented at Grand Valley State University. First, the Klan in the Midwest was not, he said, composed of those in the despicable class, but generally those of solid middle class values. They viewed themselves as 100% American, white (pure white), Native born, Protestant and Patriotic. In the Midwest the Klan's main activities were presented against Roman Catholics. Secondary focus was on Jews and African-Americans. Catholics were more prevalent in the rural Midwest than the other two groups. Prejudice was strong against Roman Catholics in the nation. It grew worse as Irish, and Eastern and Southern European immigrants arrived setting off a firestorm in the predominantly White, Anglo Saxon Protestant (WASP) population dynamic. Fr Jim Martin, in a 2000 article said that historian "Arthur Schlesinger Sr. called anti-Catholicism 'the deepest-held bias in the history of the American people.'" Such that, we see today that anti-Catholicism is the last acceptable prejudice.

Klan in Manly, IA. Decorah Journal 

The anti-Catholic movement in the nation led to the second KKK. Josh Zeitz notes that "immigrant Catholics faced the brunt of Protestant America's rage." The Klan retained and built on this anti-Catholic fervor. Prejudice against Catholics was well before the Know Nothing party in the mid-19th century. In fact, it was prevalent in the founding of Jamestown and became widespread in most all of the American colonies. The revival of the Klan, according to Josh Zeitz was due to Roman Catholic and Jewish immigrants. He recalls how "No Irish Need Apply" was the common sign at places of employment in Boston and New York. The US was agreeable to immigrants as long as they were WASP's. Madison notes that congress essentially codified immigration favoring northern European and Protestants in its 1924 immigration act. The second KKK was heavily involved in politics, and this was one of their successful measures. 

KKK at St James Lutheran Church, Verona, WI

They did not like Catholics being in the public schools, but also did not like Catholic parochial schools. Apparently Catholics were not to be educated. Catholics rightly found that the public schools were too sectarian and demeaned Catholic school children. Many Catholic parochial schools were established to educate Catholic children due to the extreme prejudice in the public schools. Catholic Schools, per Zeitz, "traced its roots to the politics of 19th-century backlash against immigration." It is also interesting, that it was the Catholic school education that allowed the Catholics to assimilate within the larger society, generally starting in about the 1940's and 1950's. With the dominant Protestant class in the nation at the time, Catholics could not win. 

Dorothy Schwieder's monograph "A Farmer and the Ku Klux Klan in Northwest Iowa" tells the story of one man's role with the KKK. The dislike for Catholics is readily apparent, as she writes: "Several themes regarding Klan activity in northwest Iowa emerge from John's letters. Most evident is that the Klan's attention there was directed toward Catholics. John left no doubt that he viewed Catholics as the Klan's main target and saw them as people he could not trust." (p287). The town of John Smith was not unlike Manly, founded by the railroad and had, at the time, a strong rural economy. She also notes other than cross burnings and other vandalism, the Klan in Marathon, IA completed very little of note, at least according to letters from John Smith. The Methodist minister was reported by John Smith as a member of the KKK. Meetings were held at that Church. Schweider suggests that distrust developed in the community. People were walking on eggshells.

VCU Map of KKK in Mason City, IA area
No Klan is shown in Manly, although the Klan is
reported to have been in Manly, by a Riceville newspaper

We have a tendency to think of the KKK as backwards, but they were on the cutting edge of messaging through use of radio and marketing schemes in the 1920's. They were active in recruiting at State Fairs, and often tried to make inroads with the local Masonic chapter. Miguel Hernandez, in a PhD thesis at the University of Exeter, noted that: "This study will also discuss how the Klan interacted with other fraternities, particularly the Freemasons. These two fraternities shared a complex relationship with elements of both cooperation and conflict, and their interactions will help us comprehend how the Ku Klux Klan managed to become the foremost fraternal movement of the 1920s." 

The second KKK activity in the Midwest was generally not violent, per James H Madison, as he noted only two cases of known documented violence in the Midwest. However, he did note that their main tactics were threats and intimidation generally by burning crosses, soaping window and door screens with KKK, or other messages. But, the larger question is were activities purposely undercounted? For example, the KKK disavowed knocking over headstones in a Catholic Cemetery in Iowa. They may or may not have done such, but even today, without cameras or eyewitnesses it would be hard to prove. I suspect much of their activity was underhanded it would be difficult to prove the level of total activity. Further, given how they were active among the strong middle class of Protestants, would such violence be reported and acted on? The KKK had a strong presence at the funeral of a Dane County law officer, at St James Lutheran Church in Verona. I believe the makeup of the KKK resulted in their activities as being underreported, much less acted on. Their actions in northcentral Iowa must have been sufficiently prevalent and threatening to bring about discussion years later by my grandparents and my great uncle Ed Hovel many years later. Not only that, but the discussion between them was sufficient to have made an impression on my sibling, and for him to take notice of the conversation sixty or more years later. 

1939 Air Photo of Hovel farm, Sun Prairie, WI

My grandfather's family lived near and around Manly, Iowa predominantly in Worth and Cerro Gordo Counties. Manly saw exceptional growth between 1910 and 1920, seeing its population increase from 346 to 1,476 persons. Rapid growth and change sometimes causes different anxieties. My grandfather, in the 1920's was farming land his father had bought and broke the prairie sod in the late 1870's just southeast of Manly, IA. The family was Catholic, with my great grandfather having arrived in the United States in 1868 from Bohemia. My grandparents first date was to Vespers at the local Catholic Church in Manly. Their first child, my Dad, was born in 1918. Five years later the Klan was organizing in Iowa. (Decorah Journal 7 Feb 1923.) By April 25th, 1923 the Decorah Journal reported that, according to the "Riceville Recorder", "the Klan has reached Manly." Riceville sits about 30 miles east of Manly. The Klan being active in Manly, is also verified by Iowa PBS in this statement: "But it had followers in smaller communities too—Centerville, Manly, Cherokee and Red Oak." 

A few sources provide information on what life was like in Manly in the 1920's. That same PBS report had this to say about Manly: "In the little town of Manly in north central Iowa where blacks and Catholics had come to work on the railroads in the years before World War I, the Klan tried to intimidate both groups. Others in the town fought back, ridiculing the Klan." My second cousin married an Irish Catholic who worked for many years with the railroad in Manly. In 1922, when my Dad was about 3 or 4 years old, there was a national railroad strike and William Maddix reports that: 

When the strike ended, the Ku Klux Klan remained as a political force in Manly that was anti-Catholic as well as anti-black. Klansmen often appeared in public, a dozen or so at a time, wearing hoods and robes. Many whites were intrigued by the Klan and attended cross burnings, not necessarily because they sympathized with the Klan, but because they were attracted by the inevitable fistfights that occurred between white Catholics and the Klansmen.

Manly is about a half dozen miles north of Mason City, and the Virginia Commonwealth University website notes that the Betsy Ross Klan was established in Mason City in 1923. Local Iowa papers seemed to support the KKK. The "Hampton Chronicle" favored the Klan per a snip in the "Northwoods Anchor" on 22 Nov 1922. Part of the article reads: "The Klan has done a lot of good even if some of the members do get a little too active sometimes." In a Sept 26, 1923 issue, the same paper noted how a large contingent went to Austin (MN) to "witness the initiation into the Ku Klux Klan." That same article noted that 12,000 to 15,000 persons viewed the initiation of about 400. Austin, by air, is about 20 miles north of Manly, IA.  

"Northwood Anchor" quoting Hampton Chronicle
22 Nov 1922

The "Northwood Anchor" reported on school board races, being influenced by the Klan, with the issue centering around dry and wet candidates. The dry candidates did not support the sale of alcohol and were reported to likely be connected to the KKK. The dry candidates won. An opinion in the "Manly Globe Gazette" is quoted which noted the Klan did not figure in the election, but an opinion writer in the "Anchor" thought otherwise, given, as they said, that the Klan members were first taught to deny their membership in the group. The Anchor article from 25 March 1926 may be found, under Voice of the People, here. While the election seemed to swirl around dry and wet, I suspect those were euphemisms (or actors) for other things, most likely pro-Protestant if not anti-Catholic messaging in the schools. If such was not part of the campaign, it likely would become apparent with later action.

Ida (Pitzenberger) Hovel with children, Anita and Roy
Los Angeles, CA

The timing here is instructive. My grandparents moved, or took a long trip to the Los Angeles area for a time leaving on 29 Dec 1923. My Aunt, their second and last child, was born in Los Angeles in April 1924. I have not located information that noted their return. News reports indicate that Rudy had broken his leg which delayed their leaving. We lack information on the purpose for this extended trip. Migration is made up of push and pull factors, so an interplay of the KKK in north central Iowa cannot be discarded. As noted earlier, my grandpa talked to his brother about it, and my brother also recalls both grandparents, Rudy and Ida, discussing the KKK. This was likely forty years after the events. I have to think the KKK made an impression on them to engage in discussions decades later. Both Rudy and Ida were strong Catholics, and held well to the faith. They also had strong values such that my grandfather helped organize a peace march in 1939 against the brewing winds of war in Europe. 

KKK marching on King St, Madison, WI

In  March 1929, my grandparents closed on a farm just north of Sun Prairie. However, the 28 Nov 1929 "Manly Signal" contained a piece about a pending 12 Dec 1929 auction of 64 head of livestock and equipment on Rudy's farm near Manly, IA due to their pending move to Wisconsin. Rudy's mother's family had moved from her place of birth in Jefferson County, WI to a farm also just north of Sun Prairie, WI, but a mile or so further east from the farm my grandparents bought. One reason for the move was so the children could be educated at a Catholic school, meaning Sacred Hearts. My Dad would have been eleven at the time of the move, but my Aunt just entering school age.  

Ida Pitzenberger, first communion
Festina, Winneshiek County, IA

Sun Prairie was settled by many German (also Bohemian) and Irish immigrants, who established Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Parish. While the KKK was in Madison, and Fort Atkinson I have yet to find evidence of the Klan in Sun Prairie, although I suspect some Sun Prairie residents may well have been members of Madison Klans. There were also many Klans in Los Angeles, so Rudy and Ida were not getting away from the Klan presence for their stint on the west coast. The KKK was pretty much everywhere in the US at the time. 

Winneshiek County, Iowa, however, was noted by one Iowa historian as being one of the few places to push back against the Klan. On Aug 6, 1924 an editorial in the Decorah Journal asked people to consider the ramifications of joining the Klan and if a member, to resign. It concluded with these words: "Ten year hence, we venture to predict, everyone will be ashamed he belonged." The same newspaper, less than twenty days later, had an account of a KKK meeting in the Aug 24 1924 edition. The editor was invited to attend, but while there was invited to leave. In an article on the meeting the editor noted: "If a Klan is organized here this community will suffer in unnecessary enmity and strife long after membership fees have dissipated and long after the organizers have departed for parts unknown." Governmental authorities  in Winneshiek County banned KKK parades and cross burnings. Authorities argued that by allowing the Klan, the free speech rights of others were jeopardized. Hence, they viewed these regulations as a counter balance to the KKK. My Dad's mom, born Ida Pitzenberger, was born in 1890 and raised in Winneshiek County. While she moved to Manly, IA sometime before 1914 to work in a store owned by some of her brothers, she had many relatives who remained in the Winneshiek County. Both her parents were immigrants--and both Catholic. Her father from Austria and her mother from Bohemia. 

KKK in Mason City, IA, Apr 1924
Source: See last source noted at end of this post

After review of the evidence, I do think that the KKK in Northcentral Iowa played a part in my grandparents moving their family to Sun Prairie. It may not have been the only reason, but I have to think it played a part. A brief review, may be in order. First, it is documented that sympathetic if not actual KKK members were elected to the Manly school board in 1926. While debate may have focused on liquor, other actions of the KKK would also come into play as the board moved on its agenda. The KKK actions may have only further added to their desire to send the children to a parochial school. My grandfather had relatives in Sun Prairie. Sending their children to Catholic schools allowed their children to integrate well into the fabric of the nation. Second, the KKK must have made a strong impression on my grandparents. After all they discussed the issue with my grandfather's brother, Ed, in the 1950's or 1960's. The conversation was sufficiently notable that my brothers memory of the event was triggered by the series Damnation. Third, KKK activity was reported in Manly, and persons from that part of Iowa were among the 12,000 to 15,000 persons who attended the induction of 400 Klansmen, and some may well have been the inductees. The KKK was active in Manly, and in nearby Mason City. It would be hard to accept that the KKK did not undertake some questionable activities given their strong presence in Northcentral Iowa. Fourth, the KKK was a secretive organization and imbedded in the community such that many of their activities were likely underreported, and even not reported. Fifth, given my grandparents values, I have to think they did not like the climate that was developing in Iowa due to the KKK. My grandfather was 42 years of age, and they had a strong well developed farm enterprise. The move could not have been made without significant calculation and thought.

In, or about January 1930 my grandparents departed the deep prairie soils of the family farm (farmed by two generations for 52 years) in Manly, IA for Sun Prairie, WI. A typical migration decision is not based on one factor, but generally involves a series of competing push and pull factors. Definitive reasons for the move do not appear to exist, or have not been found. However, family lore has the move to Sun Prairie for the children to attend Catholic schools. The presence of the KKK in Manly, and their presence on the school board may well have been two push factors.  Whatever the reasons for my grandparents decision of migration, one can say it set the family on a different path. While I cannot definitively say the move was due to the KKK, the presence and actions of the KKK in Northcentral Iowa cannot be ruled out. 

Sources: 

https://decorahnewspapers.com/Content/News/Local-News/Article/Forgotten-Northeast-Iowa-social-history-1914-34-what-went-wrong-and-what-went-right/2/10/44983

https://labs.library.vcu.edu/klan/

Hernandez, Miguel, 2014 "FIGHTING FRATERNITIES: THE KU KLUX KLAN AND FREEMASONRY IN 1920S AMERICA" PhD thesis, University of Exeter.

Maddix, Wm 1982 "Blacks and Whites in Manly: An Iowa Town Overcomes Racism" Palimpset, Iowa State Historical Society, v 63, no. 5. Found at: https://pubs.lib.uiowa.edu/palimpsest/article/id/25412/

Schweider, Dorothy, "A Farmer and the Ku Klux Klan in Northwest Iowa" Annals of Iowa. The University of Iowa

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/09/when-america-hated-catholics-213177/

https://www.iowapbs.org/iowapathways/mypath/2587/story-ku-klux-klan-america-and-iowa

Page 4 of Decorah Journal, published in Decorah, Iowa on Wednesday, February 7th, 1923
Page 7 of Decorah Journal, published in Decorah, Iowa on Wednesday, April 25th, 1923

Page 1 of Decorah Journal, published in Decorah, Iowa on Wednesday, August 20th, 1924

Page 10 of Decorah Journal, published in Decorah, Iowa on Wednesday, August 6th, 1924

Page 10 of Northwood Anchor and Index published in Northwood, Iowa, on Thursday, March 25, 1926.

Page 7 of The Northwood Anchor And The Worth County Index Consolidated, published in Northwood, Iowa on Wednesday, September 26th, 1923

https://de.traces.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/article-about-Klan-in-1920s-Iowa.pdf