Elden Glenn Hester was a White Knight in Franklin County, Miss., when he was recruited into the Silver Dollar Group by Raleigh Jackson “Red” Glover, head of the Silver Dollar Group.

Hester, reportedly a quiet man, was considered eccentric by his Klan associates. Acquaintances said he was “easily led.”

Glover entrusted Hester with the storage of explosives used for SDG bombings. For this reason, Hester was known by two nicknames – “Junkman” and “Scrapman.” Glover often referred to Hester – outside of his prescience – as “Big Nuts.”

At one time, Hester stored the portrait of Confederate President Jefferson Davis at his home outside Meadville, Miss. The portrait once hung in the lobby of the Jefferson Davis Memorial Hospital in Natchez but was stolen by Klansmen after integration. Klansmen could not stand the thought of Davis looking down at the mixed raced status of the hospital lobby.

In 1967, a dispute arose within the Silver Dollar Group when Glover gave Hester a chainsaw belonging to James “Sonny” Taylor, another SDG member. Taylor later discovered that Hester had his chainsaw and went to Meadville to get it. Approached by Hester’s father, Taylor was told that he could have the chainsaw back only after Taylor paid him $6 – the cost paid incurred for the repair of the saw. Taylor paid the $6 but was furious. After becoming an FBI informant, the bureau persuaded Taylor to cause tension within the Silver Dollar Group by accusing Glover of thievery in the theft of the chainsaw.

Elden Hester also owned a house in Louisiana that was vacant. Glover used the attic of this dwelling to store explosives.