Marker salutes Lilly’s resistance to KKK

Locals will gather here at 5 p.m. today for the dedication of a monument depicting the courage of a small town where residents took a stand – and may have changed history.

It is being placed at the corner of Cleveland and Railroad streets at the site of the tracks where two trains arrived carrying 400 gun-toting, hooded men. Their goal was to frighten and intimidate this mostly Catholic town.

The dedication of the Ku Klux Klan monument is the seventh in a series of eight planned monuments depicting the historical milestones or elements of importance in the Lilly-Washington Township area, said Jim Salony, founder and president of the Lilly-Washington Historical Society.

The KKK monument shows 15 hooded Klansmen armed with torches and two joined hands holding back the surge.

The Klan attack occurred April 5, 1924, and is considered to be the largest display of ethnic intimidation in the Johnstown-Altoona region, an area where Klan activity was increasing.

The interlopers marched through town to a hill overlooking Lilly, where they burned crosses and set off explosives in hopes of advancing Protestant supremacy.

But as they marched four abreast back through town, an angry citizenry turned the fire hoses on them.

Gunshots broke out and two men were killed, including Phil Conrad, 25, an innocent bystander.

“This event was the beginning of the end of the spread of the Klan into the Northeast,” said Salony.

The impact was so significant that the memorial should be a state-funded historical marker, said Hugh Conrad, a Lilly resident and nephew of Phil Conrad.

On the personal side, the attack left a family changed.

“The death of my Uncle Phil had a devastating impact on my family,” Conrad said.

Because of scheduling conflicts, Conrad will be unable to attend today’s ceremony. But descendants of Frank Miesko, the second man gunned down as lead man on the fire hose attack, are expected, Salony said.

The monument was created by Altoona artist Michael Allison, who has participated in development of nearly all of the monuments.

The cost of the monument is about $10,000 and donations toward the cost can be made to the Lilly-Washington Historical Society, c/o First National Bank of Lilly, 600 Main St., Lilly, Pa., 15938.