European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 11, 1981, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Fugitives from flip Ira in by Ben Franklin new York times seven Hundred Miles from their former Parish in Rural West the Michael Curry and his driven from Curry first denominational Call by what he describes As a six month Campaign of terror by hooded Kun flux klans have begun trying to recover their the Curry arrived in the other with their belongings in a haul six weeks after leaving their parsonage and beginning a flight across the state in which they moved every four to five they said that after a period of emotional recuperation they hoped to resume their careers in where a 26yearold methodist graduated last May from Harvard divinity weve been living As out of suitcases and paper since the sunday we finally gave up and left Smithburg because the klan said i had two weeks to live and threatened to shoot me in my Curry said last Bishop William head of the methodist conference of West said in a separate interview that the Trig event that made the conference decide to move the Curry occurred on that saturday afternoon Curry was in the Church office preparing his sunday he walked to the nearby Parson age upon his fund a Large Butcher knife through the upholstered Back rest of his chair with a note written on paper from his the note said you will be even in the couple was receiving Telephone threats from Bythenia Miliar voices that Curry was being followed and will be raped while attend ing nursing courses at a nearby Curry was Given police Protection in Church on sundays and when he travelled by but then came the phone Call you have two weeks to leave Smithburg or you will and then the Butcher knife its important to realize because we have moved the we Are not running away from the Bishop Grove we Are sending a new Man in there next its been very draining living in fear for going on carry and we Are so bruised by All this that its going to take a Long time for us to we tried to we didst believe this could happen at but it would not have surprised me in the least to have found myself in a ditch with a Bullet through my according to the both Small town West their months of terror in Doddridge county began As soon As they arrived in Smithburg last june to take Over a 32mile Rural circuit of the United methodist conference of West Bishop the police authorities and Lucien the Doddridge county confirmed a Story Curry i would have found hard to no investigation is currently under Way because of Lack of the first week we were there i got a phone Call from a Man who said he was a Klansman and wanted to come into our Church and preach at sunday services and recruit members for the Curry re sitting with his wife in the office of a Friend on the Harvard i told him that he could not do that and he Well get you for that was just the the phone Calls with Anonymous threats that Well kill All you com Curry i am quite conservative but in sure i look he the Young min ister wears a closely trimmed Beard and oversized he said he had preached Only one ser Mon in could have inspired the klan threats a message on racism As a contemporary i certainly Dinh go there with any kind of crusade in he the klan had held several outdoor Cross burning ceremonies and Road blocking fund appeals in the new York Neal Aaen Schler the Michael Curry and his wife victims of klan the couple Learned after their one Church on Curry circuit had received a note saying that it would be but we even thought at first that some one must be having a vendetta against the klan and making them look bad by doing Curry we decided to keep it All quiet As we could and hoped it would go it in As the Curry were leaving a restaurant where they had had sunday their car was stopped by Robed and hooded men at what Curry called a klan toll the Curry said they declined to give and drove the Telephone threats and at 3 the following on the ramp of an interstate alone in his was stopped by another klan toll look who we have a hooded voice Curry its the Bigmouth get out of the said a Man who was holding a i no thank and he get out of the car or Well Cut your safety he had a gun and there were seven other hooded men so i got been talking bad about Haven you asked the Man with the and i no Curry someone behind me see How polite he is now and shoved pinning my arms behind so that i fell to one knee with my face against the Man with the they pushed me around and punched me several times in the then the Man with the gun turned it so that the butt was Down and made a Quick motion As if to hit my head with it but stopped just i was Able to drive away and found a sheriffs Deputy parked at a Frozen custard i told him what had happened and he we know the klan is i was terribly even after the West Virginia state police began giving us very Good although we had no names and no identify Curry he found it very unnerving when he began to suspect a klan connection in his own perhaps on the Church when i asked the boards permission to put a tracer on my Telephone that would disclose the calling the threats started coming from pay where you could hear traffic when i told the Board i was installing a tape recorder to make voiceprint of the the Calls simply copies of klan literature distributed in the Smithburg area Bear the imprimatur of James head of the National knights of the Kun flux klan Curry described the literature As less racist than to whats amazing is that they could Vio late every fundamental right of As and get away with Scot Curry the Federal Bureau of investigation wanted to help and they said they would have if the klan had used the mail and invited a Federal but they said they could not do surveillance of the klan without violating the klans civil february 1981 the stars and stripes Page 13