Drawing on never-before-seen materials, author John E. Kinville unfolds the complex legacy of Women's Klan no.14 aka the Grey Eagles of Chippewa Falls. In the xenophobic atmosphere of the 1920s and 1930s, Ku Klux Klan activity spiked in Wisconsin and gave rise to Women’s Klan no. 14, also known as the Grey Eagles of Chippewa Falls. Against a national backdrop that saw the male and female Klan hurl its collective might into influencing presidential elections and federal legislation, quotidian matters often stole the attention of the Grey Eagles. For every minute spent upholding Prohibition and blocking Catholic Al Smith’s path to the White House, they spent two raising funds for their order and helping neighbors in need. What unfolds in Kinville's work is the complex legacy of these Chippewa Falls women who struggled to balance their noble intentions against the malicious ideology of the Klan.
John E. Kinville is a local historian who teaches American government at Chippewa Falls Senior High School. He earned his BA in broad field social studies education at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire and MA in history education at the University of Wisconsin–River Falls. Kinville is also the founder of Flags4Fallen.org, an educational organization designed to honor his school’s forty fallen American soldiers. He resides near Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, with his wife, children and three cats.