Thursday, August 19
An interesting new book on Notre Dame history:
Notre Dame vs. The Klan: How the Fighting Irish Defeated the Ku Klux Klan
I had never heard of this incident: apparently there was a 1924 riot in South Bend between Klansmen and the men of Notre Dame. The sample chapter was very engaging:
Bill Foohey was in his dorm room studying chemistry when the call to arms sounded again. It was a Monday night, around 9:15. After Saturday’s thrills, the young men of Notre Dame were settling back down into the weekday routine of classes and studying. Sophomore Hall had been quiet until the telephone at the end of the hallway rang, setting off a burst of activity. Doors slammed open and shut and feet pounded excitedly up and down the hall. Foohey closed his textbook, walked to the door of his room, and stuck his head into the hallway. The sounds of frenzied young men reverberated off the thin walls of the drafty building they called “the Cardboard Palace.”
“They’ve got one of the boys downtown!” shouted his friend I. I. Probst, who had apparently taken the report on the dormitory’s only phone. He seemed more ecstatic than upset. Who could they have? Foohey wondered. Most of the men who lived on campus were probably getting ready for the next day’s classes or heading to bed. Maybe it was one of the many upperclassmen who lived in town. Even though they were technically subject to the same lights-out rule as the men on campus, everyone knew they went out most nights to play pool and smoke cigarettes, which was forbidden on campus. The Ku Klux Klan might have grabbed a random Notre Dame man off the street to avenge the whipping they had taken on Saturday. Foohey could see his peers through their open dorm room doors hurriedly tying their shoes and throwing on jackets. Through the window at the end of the hallway, he could see the shadows of men from Freshman Hall running across the quad toward town. It appeared that the freshmen had a head start. The men of Sophomore Hall were getting ready in a panic, terrified that they might miss the fight.
“We’re going to have to teach them another lesson!” someone yelled as he flew down the stairs. A general cheer of support followed. Probst punched Foohey on the arm as he ran past him.
“You’re coming, aren’t you?” Probst asked.
Read the rest of the chapter here.
Notre Dame vs. The Klan: How the Fighting Irish Defeated the Ku Klux Klan
I had never heard of this incident: apparently there was a 1924 riot in South Bend between Klansmen and the men of Notre Dame. The sample chapter was very engaging:
Bill Foohey was in his dorm room studying chemistry when the call to arms sounded again. It was a Monday night, around 9:15. After Saturday’s thrills, the young men of Notre Dame were settling back down into the weekday routine of classes and studying. Sophomore Hall had been quiet until the telephone at the end of the hallway rang, setting off a burst of activity. Doors slammed open and shut and feet pounded excitedly up and down the hall. Foohey closed his textbook, walked to the door of his room, and stuck his head into the hallway. The sounds of frenzied young men reverberated off the thin walls of the drafty building they called “the Cardboard Palace.”
“They’ve got one of the boys downtown!” shouted his friend I. I. Probst, who had apparently taken the report on the dormitory’s only phone. He seemed more ecstatic than upset. Who could they have? Foohey wondered. Most of the men who lived on campus were probably getting ready for the next day’s classes or heading to bed. Maybe it was one of the many upperclassmen who lived in town. Even though they were technically subject to the same lights-out rule as the men on campus, everyone knew they went out most nights to play pool and smoke cigarettes, which was forbidden on campus. The Ku Klux Klan might have grabbed a random Notre Dame man off the street to avenge the whipping they had taken on Saturday. Foohey could see his peers through their open dorm room doors hurriedly tying their shoes and throwing on jackets. Through the window at the end of the hallway, he could see the shadows of men from Freshman Hall running across the quad toward town. It appeared that the freshmen had a head start. The men of Sophomore Hall were getting ready in a panic, terrified that they might miss the fight.
“We’re going to have to teach them another lesson!” someone yelled as he flew down the stairs. A general cheer of support followed. Probst punched Foohey on the arm as he ran past him.
“You’re coming, aren’t you?” Probst asked.
Read the rest of the chapter here.
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