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When Coal was King In the days when coal was “king” in this area, the hard fuel not only provided heat for the furnace and stove but also employment for many. In fact. it’s not possible to talk about O’Fallon history without acknowledging the impact of the mines and miners on everyday life. As a reminder of what life was like in the “days of coal”, here’s what might be called a coal tale reported by The Progress Dec. 18, 1919. At the time, the mines in the area of Booster Station (just south of present day Hartman Ln. and Route 50) had been idle due to a strike. Some of the miners were prepared and some, whether or not through fault of their own, were not. Miner Joe Kolda of Booster Station was not. His neighbor and fellow miner, Elmer Burns, was. Burns claimed that Kolda’s children made frequent visits to his coal shed and helped themselves because they had no fuel left of their own. He went to Belleville and asked Justice of the Peace Lautz to issue a warrant charging Kolda with larceny. It seemed a clear cut case. Lautz, however, refused to arrest Kolda and said, “Perhaps Kolda did not lay in sufficient coal to tide him over but that was the case with many who felt that the strike would not last long or who did not have the money to lay in a large supply. Furthermore, I want to advise you that you should be true to your brother miner. You and he are fighting for a cause common to both of you and one should help the other to the limit of his power. I refuse to issue a warrant against a person stealing coal at this period.”
Burns said he would take up the matter with the State’s Attorney, but Lautz had made his point.
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