One of the heroes of the Havens & Geddes fire: this information from Wabash Valley Profiles:
One hundred years have passed since a massive fire ? triggered by an exploding incandescent
lamp ? destroyed the Havens & Geddes Co. department store on December 19, 1898,
claiming four lives. Yet the compelling story of a heroic Santa Claus who sacrificed his own life
to save numerous others that evening has been retold each Christmas season since.
Eighteen-year-old Claude Herbert was a veteran of the Spanish-American War who returned to
Terre Haute to begin his adult life. He found a job as a Santa Claus at Havens & Geddes on the
northeast corner of Fifth St. and Wabash Ave. When the fire broke out, Herbert guided the many
children around him to the exit. He then re-entered the inferno several times to rescue other store
patrons. Herbert was not the disaster?s only casualty. Terre Haute fireman John Osterloo, store clerk
Katie Maloney and volunteer Henry Nehf also perished. Eight others were seriously injured.
A memorial to Herbert?s bravery was dedicated
Aug. 2, 1905, but was destroyed by a vehicle, as was its replacement. To protect it, the third
memorial was moved to the Vigo County Courthouse grounds in 1980. There are plans to return
the stone monument to a secure site at the intersection next year.