Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Update
Last May I wrote a blog piece about Texas A&M University and the Kream & Kow Klub. In the piece I mentioned that the 1926 edition of the school's yearbook pictured the Kream and Kow Klub in full sheets. I was wrong about the dates, but not about the sheets. Thanks to an anonymous contributor, here are scans of the 1906 yearbook cover and the KKKs at Texas A&M:
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5 comments:
I don't understand why it's a big deal that members of the Kream and Kow Klub decided to dress up like klansman
For your consideration... The Kream and Kow Klub was the Dairy Science Club. Those kids dressed up that way as a joke. That said, the Klan of 1906 was a far cry from the Klan of the 40's-60's.
It's also unfair to judge them in today's context.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ciEj33Kqt8k/Tb9IRjiicFI/AAAAAAAAAyI/wGc6F9x7hQo/s1600/aggie%2BKKK.jpg
I can vouch for the Dairy thing. My grandfather was William Frank Ellis, Captain in the Army, and he is pictured in the 1942 (or close to that year) version of the Longhorn yearbook in the Chemical Warfare section. The students are all featured in weird white robes, but no hoods. It does clearly say Dairy Science. I always thought it was weird, because the KKK was bold. Next time I'm back at my parents I'll have to scan it for you. Thanks for the blog and reminding me of that weird page I always wondered about in that yearbook.
OK, clearly the post before mine was from the same era as my Grandfather. Perhaps I'm remembering the photo wrong. Damn I wish I was back at my parents to check this.
I am submitting this comment here as well as on the 2011 blog about the Kream and Kow Klub, I have looked up at random several members of the club in the 1943 and the 1948 yearbooks. All of the individuals I looked up were majoring in Dairy Science or Dairy Husbandry. In short, what you have uncovered is a club for people who want to be dairy farmers and cattle ranchers. In fact, in looking at the 1948 annual, only one member of the KKK is in uniform; all the other members are in civilian clothes, because they are veterans returning from the war, as my father did, and thus not subject to the required military training. Do you really think that these veterans of the Pacific and Europe had nothing better to do than to join the KKK on their return to the states?!? How ridiculous. Notice that there are no engineering majors, or English majors, or architecture majors, or chemistry majors--just majors in various aspects of the dairy industry. Do you not think it strange that only dairy majors had a hankering to join that secret racist society? Such foolishness the internet produces! Now, it is entirely possible that when this club war formed in the early part of the 20th century, some prankish, immature students chose as its name some words with a scandalous allusion. Today they might have named the club Farmers Union Cattle Klub (note the initials). The name of the club is a poor attempt at humor, and nothing more. The latter half of this blog should be removed; I would think that the university, the members of the club still alive, and their descendants would have a good case for libel.
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