Made in October 1980; Boise, Idaho Interviewed by Frances Odoms; Excerpt
of James Goins’ Oral History.
This
is a transcript of an excerpt of James Goins’ words about
discrimination against blacks in Idaho. This section focuses
specifically on the Klu Klux Klan. The complete audio cassette and
transcript are available at the Idaho State Historical Library.
Interviewer: I wanted to
ask you about your cleaning. That was Eddy. Eddy told me that one
time while you were cleaning, you found a book which identified the
Klu Klux Klan.
Mr. Goins: That’s right.
James Goins
/Photo Citation 74
Interviewer: Don’t ever know what happened to that book?
Mr. Goins: That happened to be, I don’t know what happened to it, but that named some of the people there. A lot of the people, a lot of them were wealthy people that were members and their kids were members of the Klu Klux Klan. And they burned a cross on our lawn in the place called Alameda in 1925. They burned a cross on our front lawn.
My father had always been a real, well he’d just become a real good Christian and decided then, he said, that they’re going to do this, go this far he said then I’m going to protect my family and he bought a gun. 38 caliber gun and let them know that he had it. They used to march up and down in front of our gate, our fence. We had a yard and it was fenced. They would walk up and down there and say, they would sing this song. I remember the words and I never, that why I have a difficult time with, even today with a lot of white people because of that ingrained, I mean it was just built in. They used to walk up and down, they would say the devil made the nigger, he made him in the night, he made him in such a hurry he forgot to paint him white. They would sing that up and down and you see I still remember the words after all these years. And then they would sing another one, they would say,
nigger nigger never die,
black face shiny eyes,
crocked nose, crocked toes,
that the way the nigger grows
...and they would sing it up and down in front of the gate. Every day. When the big guys would catch me outside the yard going to school or on the way home from school, one of them would grab me by the top of the hair and let the other guys hit me in the face with their fist.
Interviewer: You lived in Alameda?Mr. Goins: That’s where we lived when we went to grade school. They gave us such a bad time in Pocatello it self that we moved to Alameda. We were the first, only and last family that lived in Alameda. But they used to march up and we didn’t give up, we stayed right with it and constant harassment. I mean every day.
One day my dad came along and he had heard through the grape vine that I was in a big fight. He had a chance to come and see me, first hand you know, and so they used to, well put the chip on my shoulder and have the other guy hit, knock the chip off and start fighting, so I said, no, you ought to see if you put it on his shoulder and let me start the fight. Instead of just putting the chip, I hit him right in the mouth and the chip would fly and I had won the fight right away. I’d hit him right in the mouth and I’d see the blood come and then hit him in the nose, the eyes, every place just to see that blood and Ed and I both became, well, they called us the bullies after while, you know after a few years because we didn’t let these people beat us.
Then suddenly my brother Ed fought this kid by the name of Ranstrom, Pat Ranstrom was his name. I guess there are a lot of them left around. Anyway, Ed beat him at school and they expelled Ed from school, but Ed had enough witnesses to what had happened so he got back in school this Pat Ranstrom’s dad came over with his kid, with Pat and said you whip that nigger and came out and Ed whipped him again. He flattened him out on the ground that time. This was off the school ground. We had fights on the school ground, we had fights everywhere.
Interviewer: Did you have any sisters that were close to your age that you had to take to school, that were a part of all this?
Mr. Goins: My eldest sister Ramona, yes.
Interviewer: How did that affect her?
Mr. Goins: Well, it didn’t affect her any because they didn’t bother her at all. They didn’t bother Ramona.
Interviewer: What stopped the incidents of the Ku Klux Klan traveling around?
Mr. Goins: Well, first of all, ….that lived in what was called the Y. The Y was a place between the gas plant, where they used to make gas and let’s see I guess it would be First Street, that area there. Used to have an old ball park there years ago. They used to have an old ball park, that was call The Y of Pocatello. Then right over across the street was North Pocatello and then on the other side was Alameda or Fairview. That’s what it was known as first, Fairview. And then they changed the name to Alameda. Saw a lot of changes there but, o.k. in the Y, there’s a family let’s see maybe I have this McClendon’s or Callahan’s or something.
Interviewer: We do, there’s two there the Callahan’s, was that out in the country?
Mr. Goins: Yea, that was right out there in the Y.
Interviewer: The Callihan’s lived out in the country. And then there was a family named McClendon.Mr. Goins: Yes, McClendon o.k. Yellowstone Jack was related to them. There’s also a family called the Lewis family. Lewis was their last name. O.K. Yellowstone Jack lived in that area, had his own little shanty there, little house, was real small house and probably old railroad car or something and he lived there and he was a man of light complexion. I remember and they called him Yellowstone Jack and his skin would look yellow and they would call him yellow nigger and so he got fed up with the Klu Klux Klan marching down on First Avenue, up and down First. They would march up and down there and on Second, then on Third and they would march up and down.
Interviewer: Were they in robes? I mean face covered up?
Mr. Goins: Oh, yes, oh yea definitely, you bet! Had their white garb on yea! They marched up and down those streets and we left Pocatello and moved up into Alameda, We thought Alameda would probably be better. But it wasn’t. Worse, year, we went from bad to worse. But they would march up and down those streets in those robes so Yellowstone Jack took his little shot gun and fired his shot gun over their heads. He didn’t shoot right at them but shot over their heads and they scattered. I mean they scattered. So the police went up, they heard who it was and they got some of information so they went over to see Yellowstone Jack and he was in his house and so they wrapped on the door and they said, Yellowstone Jack, come on out said we know you’re in there. He said, yes, I’m in here, come on in, come on in. They didn’t bother him. They took off and the Klu Klux Klan didn’t march as often. Every time they did, somebody else would fire a shot over their head. But Yellowstone Jack he said, no, they’re not going to do this. In Pocatello we couldn’t even, well, we couldn’t go in the Crest, we couldn’t go in Woolworth’s or J.J. Newberry’s, all those little nickel and dime stores, we couldn’t go in there and have a milk shake or malt or root beer float or anything, with the other kids. And they had signs up and all this stuff you know. Don’t serve colored here. Don’t serve colored there and all this stuff you know and you would go in the….
Interviewer: What years was that?
Mr. Goins: Oh, this is even during my high school years in Pocatello. In 1930’s. Late 1930’s. Before I came to Salt Lake. And they had all these signs and you couldn’t go in a restaurant and eat. You couldn’t even go inside and get a bag to take out or a little lunch to take out. They wouldn’t give you any take out service, nothing. You’re just barred period. If you are hungry, you just starve. And I mean that’s all over the city. That isn’t just one or two restaurants, this is all over. Then we had one, we had a place where we could eat and that was Joe Hamilton’s . Ran a night club there on First Street and so I started going in Joe’s to eat and consequently I, that where I learned how to shoot pool and all that kid of stuff you know and that was the only place you could go eat. Either Joe Hamilton’s and then we had another guy by the name of Dave Hudson. Had a club there, I think on Fourth, Third or Fourth.Interviewer: Was that the same, did that include Greek’s? They had Greek establishments.
Mr. Goins: You were barred; you couldn’t go in any of them. Couldn’t sit down and eat. Couldn’t even have a milk shake. Not even a piece of pie or dish of ice cream. No, they wouldn’t serve you period.
Interviewer: What grade school did you go to?
Mr. Goins: I went to Roosevelt, out there in Alameda.
Interviewer: You were the only family again, black family going to that school?
Mr. Goins: Yea, Oh and the Smith’s. The Smith kids went to that school. Um hum, they went to that school.
Interviewer: And then when you went to Jr. High?
Mr. Goins: Went to Franklin. It’s now Bonneville, I guess. Yea, went to Franklin Jr. High and Pocatello High. But Franklin Jr. High was horrible.
Interviewer: Why is that?
Mr. Goins: Because of the racial issues there. Went to school with Greek kids and all these other kids you know and when they got ready to go someplace, they could go when we couldn’t go.
Interviewer: I was goon ask you what was your social life if you were going to dances? How was the dances at school?
Mr. Goins: Just aren’t there. Didn’t go. You were just put out to one side period. You didn’t go to dances, you didn’t associate with them after school at all. And that made it very difficult.