KKK in vidor (Houston, Beaumont, College Station: lawyers, home, asbestos)

[roxiemack]

..i had heard there is an active participation of the KKK in vidor...so much that recruits try to get people to join on the on ramp/ off ramp of the hi ways...i would like to hear if it is true...also....why???

[rb4browns]

Originally Posted by roxiemack

..i had heard there is an active participation of the KKK in vidor...so much that recruits try to get people to join on the on ramp/ off ramp of the hi ways...i would like to hear if it is true...also....why???

I think you can sign up too at the local Kroeger's market.

[tstone]

Most people in Houston probably wouldn't know this? The town is just as far from Houston as College Station (95 miles), so most people do not leisurely pass through every day, and intimately know what's going on. This thread belongs on the Texas forum.

Anyway, I work in the area and have only passed through Vidor a few times on I-10, but have never once seen what you are talking about. (Is this something just out of CNN??) If it's happening it's likely as covert as a drug deal. I can say there is no shortage of blue-collar, white males with clean shaven heads in this town. You can ask a lifelong native of the Beaumont-Port Arthur metro and he/she will tell you everything about all the little white 'bedroom' towns in the area. However, it is apparent Vidor still has a bad rep among some of the locals.

The two metros (Houston + Beaumont-Port Arthur) make up "Southeast Texas," but traveling from one place to the other you pass over a pretty distinct cultural boundary. I've heard it said many times here that Houston = 'Texas' and the Golden Triangle = 'The South'.

[Oildog]

I lived in the golden triangle and there are some racist elements present. However they do not 'recruit' on the freeway exits or supermarkets etc. If thats something you want to be involved with I'm sure you can find it. Vidor used to be home of the KKK, and there is still a presence. Most black folks choose not to live there. They tried integrating in the 90s (yes 90s) and it was short lived. The Vidorians I met were good people, and the actions of a few shouldn't paint a community.

[CDeb]

The younger folks I've met from Vidor are pretty embarassed about their community's reputation.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by roxiemack

..i had heard there is an active participation of the KKK in vidor...so much that recruits try to get people to join on the on ramp/ off ramp of the hi ways...i would like to hear if it is true...also....why???

I have no idea, but where exactly is Vidor? Isn't it near the Louisiana border?

You'd be better off asking in the general Texas forum.

[AlexTx]

I had to google Vidor to see where it is. I had never heard of it, though I'm sure I've passed through the couple of times I've driven to Louisiana.

It's East of Beaumont. Like TStone said, it's over 90 miles from Houston and not a place most people in Houston are probably familar with.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by CDeb

The younger folks I've met from Vidor are pretty embarassed about their community's reputation.

It's no coincedence most of the younger folks w/ 4-yr degrees not from Lamar University hightail it out of the Golden Triangle and never look back. Though I do hear it's a good place for hotshot lawyers, rumored to be as big of a lawsuit hotbed as the Rio Grande Valley.

Anyway, just thumb through this C-D website for stats on towns like Vidor, Groves, Port Neches, Nederland, etc. Look at the most common industries, education levels, ethnic makeups, etc and then look at the principal towns of Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange. Those stats by themselves speak volumes.

[Oildog]

Originally Posted by tstone

It's no coincedence most of the younger folks w/ 4-yr degrees not from Lamar University hightail it out of the Golden Triangle and never look back. Though I do hear it's a good place for hotshot lawyers, rumored to be as big of a lawsuit hotbed as the Rio Grande Valley.

Anyway, just thumb through this C-D website for stats on towns like Vidor, Groves, Port Neches, Nederland, etc. Look at the most common industries, education levels, ethnic makeups, etc and then look at the principal towns of Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange. Those stats by themselves speak volumes.

You are correct, when I lived there, Jefferson and Orange county were two of the most favored counties in the country to have a trial by the trial lawyers association. I think its where the asbestos suits were settled. It was very difficult to get a jury of 12 that didnt have some background to working in a 'plant' environment. Now to diversify the industries they have added Prisons to go along with Ports and Petrochemicals.

[Spade]

Originally Posted by AK123

I have no idea, but where exactly is Vidor? Isn't it near the Louisiana border?

You'd be better off asking in the general Texas forum.

Nothing is literally there. I pass it all the time on I-10 going to Florida. There was a story about the place on 20/20 back in the 90s. It's on youtube. I bet most of the younger population is pretty much embarrassed by their reputation. does not surprise me one bit.