A gang of hooded men abducted a Vancouver minister the night of June 8, 1922. The thugs tied him up, blindfolded him and shoved him into a waiting car that sped away to a secret location in Portland. The hostage, Charles Cecil Curtis, was pastor of the First Christian Church.
One might imagine that Curtis feared his abductors would kill him. Instead, they wanted to give him $100. At first, Curtis refused the cash, but his captors continued forcing it on him. Relenting, he took it, and they released him. Reports don’t say if the men were Ku Klux Klan members. Given the offering and Curtis’ actions later, they probably were.
With few African Americans in the Northwest, the Klan turned anti-Catholic instead. To ingratiate themselves with the Protestant public, the Portland Ku Klux Klan members bedecked in full regalia visited churches on Sundays and gave cash donations to ministers in front of their congregations.
Curiously, Curtis was the only area minister kidnapped and given money. Something else was afoot. Soon, Curtis was heading the Clark County Klan lodge, Columbia Klan No. 1, dressed in the Exalted Cyclops’ hood and robes. His kidnapping was his recruitment.
