Road name ruckus resurrects the past

REBECCA COOK, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OLYMPIA -- When a state lawmaker noticed the stone highway marker near Washington's border with Canada, he wondered: Why would Washington state, of all places, have a highway named after Confederate President Jefferson Davis?

So Rep. Hans Dunshee, a Snohomish Democrat, sponsored a bill to rename the highway for William P. Stewart, a black Union soldier who settled in Washington. He had no idea what he was getting into.

"I thought I had found something in the attic that just needed to be taken out," Dunshee said. "I got a live snake in my living room."

His proposal sparked debate, protests and even threats -- reminding Washington residents of their own uncomfortable link to the Confederate heritage.

Dunshee said he believes Washington state should not honor Davis, who led the South in the Civil War and defended both secession and slavery. The marker belongs in a museum, Dunshee said, and he has threatened to rip it out himself.

"It is critical we remove that stamp of approval," he said.

For that stand, Dunshee has received letters such as this:

"People of the black race such as yourself, YOU are the reason this country is going downhill... You, yourself, are more than likely a lazy SOB that does nothing but try to imitate MLK, your idol ... Have you ever had a child illegitimately by more than one woman? My guess would be yes."

Dunshee, who is white, said the most vicious letters came from Southerners; in-state response has been more balanced.

Dunshee has removed his home address from his Web site and asked the State Patrol to watch over his family.

"The e-mails I received convinced me that this was more than just a rock," Dunshee said of the marker.

Opponents

While Dunshee's bill is widely expected to pass, some legislators won't get on board.

"At the time Jefferson Davis believed in what he was fighting for," said Rep. Tom Mielke, R-Battle Ground. "Right or wrong, it's not for me to decide."

The House Transportation Committee passed the bill Wednesday, with Mielke the lone "no" vote. The full House will vote on it next.

State Route 99 in Washington was dubbed the Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway in 1939 -- the same year the Southern-nostalgia movie "Gone With the Wind" was released. A group called the United Daughters of the Confederacy placed stone markers at either end of the state -- in Blaine and Vancouver, Wash.

The marker in Vancouver, near Mielke's district, was removed a few years ago by city officials who found it offensive. Mielke objects to the marker's removal, and to the people who did it.

"There were racist motives of the two individuals who did it: The city manager was a black and the city councilman was a homosexual," Mielke said.

"Diversity is really a sore spot with minority groups," the legislator added by way of explanation.

The United Daughters of the Confederacy are women with Confederate soldier ancestors, dedicated to preserving Southern history and heritage. During the 1930s they pursued a nationwide campaign to create a Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway across the country.

Many locals don't want to see the marker go.

"They put up the memorial for a reason," said Tim Johnson of Bellingham, near the border. He grew up in Blaine and remembers playing around the monument in Peace Arch park.

"You don't see them moving the Jefferson or Lincoln memorials, do you?" Johnson said.

The Bellingham Herald chided the legislator: "Dunshee is making an issue where none exists. It's not like this is the Deep South and there's a highway dedicated to Ku Klux Klan founder Nathan Bedford Forrest."

That history is not as far removed from the Pacific Northwest as residents may think. Washington is 2,500 miles from the Deep South, but the Klan once held sway here.

The Ku Klux Klan experienced a national rebirth in the 1920s, targeting racial minorities, Jews, Catholics and immigrants. About 40,000 Washington residents joined the Klan by the mid-1920s -- 3 percent of the state's population at the time.

"It wasn't just a Southern phenomenon," said Dan Whisenhunt, a Bellingham historian. "We're not pure here. Racism exists everywhere."

KKK rally

A 1924 Klan rally in Issaquah drew 13,000 people; a Stanwood KKK rally attracted 10,000. In 1926 the Klan paraded through Bellingham; news accounts admired the white-robed members' pretty float. In 1929, the Klan had its statewide convention in Bellingham, during which the mayor graciously presented Klan leaders with the key to the city.

"We think we're this great tolerant and diverse community, and it turns out that we have this ugly past," said Dunshee.

The Klan lost power by the mid-1930s, beset by internal strife and scandals. Meanwhile, a pro-Nazi group called the Silvershirts grew to claim 1,600 Washington members by 1939. A 1939 issue of Life magazine on "Facism in America" featured photos and stories from Silvershirt meetings in Chehalis and Seattle.

The Klan's past prominence in Washington doesn't surprise Marian Harrison of Arlington, a descendant of William P. Stewart. After volunteering and fighting for the Union Army, Stewart settled in Snohomish County and became a successful farmer. His family still lives there.

Harrison, 71, knew of Klan "mischief" while she was growing up, but didn't worry about it.

"You milked your cows two times a day and fed your pigs and chickens -- we didn't have time for controversy," she said.

While she said she was not offended by the Jefferson Davis memorial, she said she thinks it's time for a change. She believes a memorial honoring her ancestor, a local hero, would better fit the region and the times.

"He's what freedom stands for," she said.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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