The KKK had hammered a cross into the ground and set it ablaze outside Mercy Hall. The women were instructed to stay away from windows and not to turn on any lights, so as not to draw attention. Many students were worried about the possibility of the Klan members breaking into the building. Jerome was there to help contain the situation. Living with the women were Father Carmody and Peter McGlinchey, a worker who resided in the basement. They remember hearing loud voices of men outside, the men protesting the religion that guides this school.Īt this time, the school housed women, the Sisters and two men. They heard the loud sound of hammering echoing through the windows and down the halls. Students remember hearing a commotion outside in the darkness. In the end, Hoover won the election, but the protests remained on everyone’s mind. Misericordia, a Catholic school, was targeted for that reason. The Ku Klux Klan expressed their displeasure about a Catholic running for office by burning a cross on the meadows. Smith was a Catholic nominee running for the Democratic party. President Coolidge decided not to run for this second term, so the world patiently awaited the election of Al Smith and Herbert Hoover. It happened on a cool and breezy November night, just before the election. Almost 90 years ago, this campus had surprise visitors in the middle of the night, and they left memories that would last a lifetime. The Klan has stirred up some trouble on this campus more than once, but the most memorable and recounted event happened Nov. The Ku Klux Klan has spread its hateful message in this area for long before this school came to be, and perhaps shockingly, our beautiful campus has had its encounters with the KKK. Misericordia is a place where so many of us feel safe and at home, but history tells us it hasn’t always been that way.
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