“Pennsylvania’s Coal and Iron Police: Patch Town Law Enforcement” was presented Wednesday in a lecture by Spencer Sadler in McVitty Auditorium in Sprowls Hall.
This lecture was part three in the Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Show Lecture Series that will continue until mid-November.
Sadler, a freelance writer, was drawn to the tales of Pennsylvania’s Coal and Iron Police.
Coal and Iron Police “were hired to protect the property of their respective coal companies and the homes of coal company officials. They were used to intimidate and break up striking mine workers” according to Carl I. Meyerhuber, Jr. on mcintyrepa.com/coalandironpolice.htm.
Sadler also talked about the many legal acts (including Act 228 of 1865 and 1905 Legislation) and union strikes (including The Homestead Strike of 1892 and The Great Strike of 1902) of the day by the coal miners.
His PowerPoint was filled with pictures of miners and official documents declaring laws and regulations. His presentation, and book, covered 1865-1931.
Flipping through a book a few years ago, Sadler first learned of the Pennsylvania Coal and Iron Police.
He knew nothing on the topic but was fascinated so he began to write his book, “Pennsylvania Coal and Iron Police” which will be released in stores Nov. 2. When asked where he found all his research for his book, Sadler said, “historical societies, private collectors, personal interviews, telephone calls ... IUP was a huge help.” It took Sadler two years to research and one and half years to write his book.
This topic of coal miners in Pennsylvania hits a lot of residents on an emotional level.
“It relates to our family history ... [things] that we didn’t know before,” said 14-year-old Nicholas Kloszewski.
Kloszewski and his mother first heard about the University Museum’s exhibit through the University Museum’s Web site, iup.edu/museum/, and decided to attend the lecture. “I liked it,” Kloszewski said. “I learned about the police force.” Kloszewski had a grandfather and great grandfather who worked in the mines.
The next lecture will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday at McVitty Auditorium in Sprowls Hall. History professor Elizabeth Ricketts will give the presentation “I Sold My Soul to the Company Town: Company Control in the Coal Patches of Western Pennsylvania, 1910-1930.” The lecture is free and open to the public.
The series is in collaboration with IUP Museum’s exhibit of “A Walk Through Time: Pennsylvania’s Coal Culture, Featuring the Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company Collection.”
The University Museum, located on the first floor of Sutton Hall, is open from 2 to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; 12 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday; and 12 to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
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