History Spotlight #3 - The Santa of the Coalfields

The Santa Claus of the Coalfields

            Fred Broad was a large gentleman, said to top the scales at 250 pounds. He was referred to as Santa Claus by many, not for his size, but for his generosity. In the early 1900’s, Broad gained notoriety as a heavy weight boxer. He ran a saloon in New Kensington and operated a real estate business in the Allegheny Valley.

On May 15, 1919, the bituminous coal miners went on strike in an effort to obtain better wages and working conditions. The strike closed down the coal mines of western Pennsylvania leaving the workers with no work or money. Mr. Broad’s mother-in-law, Fannie Sellins, was a union organizer for the United Mine Workers of America. In addition to her union activities, Fannie also helped the families of the striking miners. She visited the women and children and provided food, clothing and medical care during the strike.

The owners of the coal companies refused to recognize the union and hired men to harass the miners and their families. The “Coal Police” were feared throughout the mining towns. On August 1, 1919, Ms. Sellins was on the picket line with the striking miners at the Allegheny Coal & Coke Works in Natrona. A car full of men pulled up to the strikers and began beating them with clubs. When Sellins tried to intervene, she was clubbed by the men and fell to the ground. As she lay on the ground, she was shot in the back. Fannie Sellins and one other man were killed that day and five others were wounded. Many people believed that Ms. Sellins was targeted by the mine operators because of her union activities. No one was ever charged in her death.

On April 1, 1927, the coal miners struck to protest wage reductions and poor working conditions. Once again the dreaded Coal Police terrorized the miners and their families. As the strike continued through the summer, the coal miners struggled to survive. Fred Broad was troubled by the plight of the miners and their families, and remembered how his mother-in-law, Fannie Sellins, lost her life helping them. He organized 65 businessmen from New Kensington to send food and clothing to the striking miners in the Allegheny Valley. The group also sent letters to Pennsylvania Governor John Fisher describing the abuse of the miners and their families by the Coal Police. In response, the governor sent in the State Police to try to control the situation.

The coal companies refused to relent, and in July they received an injunction from a judge giving them permission to evict the miners from the company housing if they refused to return to work. The court order also gave the coal companies permission to auction the miner’s personal property to pay for back rent. From July through December, 12,000 people were evicted from the company owned housing throughout the area. With winter approaching, the miners and their families had no place to live, so the United Mine Workers Union built temporary wooden barracks near the coal mining towns where they could find shelter. In October the coal companies began auctioning off the miner’s personal possessions. Fred Broad was outraged by the actions of the coal companies and went to the auction at Harmarville. He spent $9,400 of his own money buying the miner’s possessions and then returned it all to the miners. He asked for no receipt or IOU from the miners, only that they pay him back if and when they were able to. He next went to the Republic Mine at Russellton and spent $7,594 to buy the miner’s possessions and promptly returned the items to the rightful owners. He then went to the Renton Mine and bought back the belongings of 122 families at Renton. He did the same for the miners at Kinloch, Curtisville and Harwick.

Mr. Broad spent over $30,000 of his own money to save the possessions of the area coal miners. He mortgaged some of his real estate holdings to cover the cost. Just like Santa Claus, Fred Broad helped to make Christmas in 1927 a little merrier for the striking miners and their families.