Museum Confronts Klan History Exhibit Doesn’t Try To Sugarcoat The Racist Past Of Astoria, Ore.

The eyes that peer through the fraying holes of a Ku Klux Klan hood make Mark Tolonen uneasy.

As curator of the Clatsop County Historical Society Museum, Tolonen is custodian of the freshly laundered hood that once was a powerful symbol here in northwestern Oregon.

The museum’s permanent exhibit on the KKK is meant to show how racist attitudes once flourished in Astoria.

One corner of the small museum displays photographs of KKK events and explains that in 1922, Astoria’s mayor, four city commissioners, the county sheriff, a state representative and a state senator all were members of the KKK.

In July 1924, the KKK sponsored the first runner-up for Miss Astoria. A month later, the KKK in Oregon had its annual convention in Astoria, attracting nearly 10,000 people. The mayor gave a speech, parades wound through Astoria and Seaside and 150 new members were inducted, museum director Jeff Smith said.

Many visitors tell Smith and other museum staff members that the exhibit is a good reminder that history isn’t always quaint.

But not everyone feels the same way when seeing the large black letters “KKK.”

Vandals occasionally scribble graffiti on the exhibit, and labels often are torn off, Tolonen said.

The 31-year-old curator takes the preservation of Astoria’s heritage personally. He’s half-Finnish, and members of his family have lived in Astoria for almost 100 years. He lives in the home his Finnish grandfather built, where his father was raised in a tiny upstairs bedroom.

Tolonen, however, grew up on the East Coast and moved with his wife to Astoria from Connecticut in 1990. But when he asks his relatives what it was like when the KKK took over the town, they say they don’t know what he’s talking about; they say they don’t remember anyone who was involved with the group, Tolonen said.

Smith and Tolonen soon will expand the KKK exhibit to include a mannequin in full KKK regalia that will greet visitors.

The museum also is working to expand its collection to include items from the Greek and Hispanic communities in Clatsop County, Smith said.

“History was written by the winners; the dominant culture gets the most press and gets the most stuff,” Smith said.

The museum aims to document racism for future generations - a difficult task because prejudice rarely is as obvious as a white hood.

“A lot of our contemporary history is still locked up in people’s houses,” Smith said. “We, as the keepers of collective memory, have a responsibility to reach out.”