Remember When: Legacy of two families, Part I
A boy was born April 30, 1902 in the Hocking County village of Murray City to John and Hannah Slater. His parents, born in England, emigrated to the U.S. in search of new opportunities. They settled in Hocking County’s coal mining area where John was a foreman for a coal mining company. The boy, Albert, was one of five children and would become a football player and OSU student.
A girl (the third of three daughters) was born Jan. 26, 1905, in Lancaster to Daniel and Effie Dickson. Days before she was born, the new baby’s father had just completed a splendid new residence for his family at 815 N. Columbus St. “Mr. Dickson is a prominent young lumber merchant and operates a sawmill on the West Side. He is an expert judge of lumber and...for twelve years has been saving only the choicest pieces of quarter-sawed oak with which to finish his house when he got ready to build, and his splendid, modern equipped house just completed is a model of beauty and convenience...” Daily Eagle (13 Jan. 1905).
This girl, Henrietta Dickson, was a student at Ohio State University by the fall 1922. The Daily Eagle (24 Feb 1925) reported Henrietta was by then a teacher at Amanda High School and coach of the girls’ basketball team. The announcement of her marriage to Albert E. Slater, 23, appeared in the Daily Eagle (27 Feb 1925). They were quietly married at the home of the bride’s parents. The groom was a senior in the department of mine engineering at OSU. Because of her marriage, the bride resigned from her teaching position at the end of the school year.
The newlyweds were living with Henrietta’s parents at 815 N. Columbus in October 1925. Alfred was employed as a draftsman at the Herman Tire Machine Co., and was earning some extra money playing tackle for a professional football team in Glouster, Ohio. The newspaper reported he was injured by a tackle during a Sunday game and suffered a ruptured kidney. He was taken to Grant Hospital; one kidney was removed and he did recover.
Sadly, Daniel P. Dickson died at 62, Feb. 17, 1927. He had been a prominent lumber dealer, owning property west of town where Van Buren Ave. runs South of W. Fair Ave., along the C. and O. railroad track, and perpendicular to 7th and 8th Avenues. By August 1927 the West Side Coal Co. was located “on W. 7th Ave.” or “Just off W. Fair Ave.” or as another ad described its location “Located at Dickson Lumber Yard.” The ads listed “A. E. Slater, Proprietor.” Before long, Albert Slater was known as “Bob” Slater in his ads and newspaper articles.
“Burning Question?” was the title of a series of ads used by Bob Slater in the 1927 Daily Eagle. The second “Burning Question?” appeared 23 Aug. 1927. It stated that with the labor conditions in the Hocking Valley mines unlikely to reach a settlement, with the first cold snap the price of coal would go up. It was best to buy now while he had four delivery trucks available. He also had three big coal bins full. “These bins, newly constructed, in the Dickson Mill Yard...have a capacity of 80 tons each.” For Christmas 1927 customers would receive a FREE Xmas tree delivered with each load of coal from West Side Coal Co.
By 1936 “Bob” Slater was stating that in addition to coal, they offered truck-mix concrete, used and new building brick, face brick, lime, cement, metal lathe, building tile, sewer pipe and various other building materials. “Practically everything for a new home can be secured at our plant except the lumber,” stated Slater. They had become a “builders’ supply center.” In 1942 March 28 E-G Bob Slater stated: “The concrete building blocks manufactured by the West Side Coal and Builders’ Supply Co. are just as good and perfect as modern machinery, skilled and experienced labor and the best of materials can produce.”
“We all must make sacrifices during the war—may we have your help?” asked Bob Slater (12 Sept. 1942 E-G). The government had ordered retail coal dealers to reduce their mileage 25% in the delivery of the same volume of coal as delivered in 1941. They could not make small or special deliveries, and they had to plan and combine routes.
After about 20 years, the Slaters were ready to sell West Side Coal, and they did as of Nov. 1, 1946. The family went on to open Slater Hardware & Paint Store at 406 S. Maple in 1947, a store at 560 E. Main St. in 1951, and their store at 1141 N. Memorial Drive in 1960 that recently closed. Family members were lost in 1954--Mrs. Effie Dickson, 1982 -- Bob Slater, and 1991-- Henrietta (Dickson) Slater.
The West Side Coal Company was sold to William H. Cann in 1946. Part II will follow the Cann family as they carried on the legacy begun by the Slater family.
Readers may contact Harvey at joycelancastereg@gmail.com
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Legacy of two families, Part I
