The Ku Klux Klan was a secret organization begun by six men in the South during the winter of 1865. By the 1920s, however, it numbered hundreds of thousands of members and had spread across the United States.

Believing in white supremacy, the organization held utter disregard for a wide variety of people – African Americans, Jews, Muslims, immigrants, Catholics and homosexuals. Its members supposedly went unnamed, their identities hidden beneath long white robes and white pointed hoods with masks that concealed their faces.

Yet when they were not carrying out violent assaults or gathering in ceremony to burn crosses, no secret was made of who the members were, specifically when one was married or buried.

The very first Ku Klux Klan wedding in Rhode Island was held in Grant Field in the town of Johnston. On the evening of Sept. 9, 1925, about 2,000 people gathered to celebrate the vows exchanged between a 22-year-old North Scituate man and an 18-year-old Johnston girl.

The couple dressed for the occasion in a fashioned dressing room on the property before marching toward the altar through a double line of 150 robed Klansmen. The flower-laden altar had been constructed with a radiating electrical cross upon it, as well as an American flag and a banner designed with a Christian emblem. A red-hued light illuminated the darkened area.

Ahead of the bride and groom marched two young flower girls with bouquets of calla lilies, and two older girls carrying dahlias. Behind the couple, walked the hooded clergyman, who would perform the wedding ceremony.

He began by reading a Bible text from John. Two Klanswomen then sang a duet before he continued with another Bible passage, the fifth chapter of Ephesians, which instructs us all to walk in love and not allow others to deceive us. The couple were soon declared man and wife.

Hundreds of white roses were tossed into the air by the guests, falling to cover a large area of Grant Field. A collection of over $133 was then taken up and presented to the newly married couple.

A national speaker for the KKK was on hand and he presented a lecture to the guests, explaining the causes of the organization. Patriotism and abstinence from alcohol was a must, along with a willingness to defy anything which was not white, American or Protestant.

For those who were interested, there were initiation fees and membership fees to pay, ceremonies and parades to attend, rallies and revolts to take part in, and a costume to be worn in order to maintain secrecy. The main recruiter of the KKK, known as the Kleagle, then addressed the attendees, urging those who were not yet members to sign on the dotted line. Three-hundred people did so.

The groom, a diminutive man, had been raised since his infancy by an aunt and uncle, despite the fact his parents were still living. When he passed away years later, his obituary noted the many worthy organizations he had taken part in throughout his life, but his involvement with the Klan had been previously left behind.

During the 1920s, there were approximately six million KKK members throughout America. Besides Klan weddings in Johnston, there were Klan funerals in Westerly and Pawtucket. There were cross-burnings in Exeter and robed meetings in Providence.

It is estimated that the number of KKK members in the country is now about 3,000. Fortunately, it is unlikely that Rhode Island will ever again see parades of white-hooded humans filing into cemeteries or erecting wedding altars in fields, with any sense of normalcy.

Kelly Sullivan is a Rhode Island columnist, lecturer and author.