Fred Miller: Firefighter, longtime Santa Claus to be honored with sign in Honesdale

Honesdale Rotary Club plans to put up a sign honoring the life of the late community servant Fred R. Miller at the pavilion previously named for him near the Park & Shop Lot on Main Street.

Miller worked for a utility company and was known widely for his charitable work, fire prevention activities in Honesdale and playing Santa Claus. He died in 1985.

Three years later, the pavilion was erected, paid for with donations, and was dedicated in Miller's memory. Honesdale Borough owns the pavilion. It is a popular spot for community events. For several years, Honesdale Rotary has taken on the tasks of cleaning and otherwise maintaining it.

Councilor James Hamill reported about Rotary's intentions at the Honesdale council meeting Sept. 18. Hamill is also a Rotarian. He said the sign will tell of Fred Miller's contributions to the community.

Rotary will work with the Borough Department of Public Works to have it installed. The sign is 36 by 24 inches and will help beautify the spot where the electrical service box serves the pavilion, Hamill said.

Councilor William McCallister said he remembers Miller, who was a wonderful singer. McCallister served on Rotary when the pavilion was put there. Hamill suggested that the sign could be unveiled at Harvest & Heritage Days in October, or at the Winter Wonderland event on Thanksgiving weekend. The latter, Hamill added, would be appropriate since Miller played Santa.

Honesdale Business Association was the prime mover, assisted by various organizations, to establish the 40-by-20-foot pavilion. The fund was handled by the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce. The ground was broken in May 1987. Arthur Fasshauer and Gerald Weniger chaired the project.

Frederick Reed Miller (1901-1985) was a district manager for P.P. & L. and was active at Central United Methodist Church in Honesdale. A Honesdale firefighter, he was nicknamed "Mr. Fire Prevention" for his many talks at schools, summer camps, hospitals, nursing homes, industries and other places about being safe from fire. He was a member and former president of Protection Engine Co. No. 3.

Miller is probably most fondly remembered, however, by generations of former children, many of whom may have never known that the Santa Claus they loved to see was, in fact, Fred Miller. He played this role for at least 61 years.

In an article by this writer in 2020 reminiscing about Fred Miller's Santa role, many people contributed their fond memories. Stan Pratt said that one of his special memories of Fred Miller as Santa was when Fred appeared on the balcony of City Hall and sang Christmas carols to the gathering crowd below. The Christmas tree, donated each year by the fire company, stood out in front. Fred would throw popcorn balls to the delighted crowd. He was known as the "Singing Santa."

From 2020: Former kids recall Fred Miller, “Mr. Santa Claus”

More: Fred R. Miller was "Mr. Santa Claus"

As Santa, he entertained and won the hearts of children at many locations, such as at fire companies, at the Lyric Theater at the Rotary's annual community Christmas party, churches, schools, nursing homes and Wayne Memorial Hospital.

He was married to Dorothy (Miller), who died in 1995. They had a daughter, Dorothy (Wilcox).

Peter Becker has worked at the Tri-County Independent or its predecessor publications since 1994. Reach him at pbecker@tricountyindependent.com or 570-253-3055 ext. 1588.

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Honesdale community servant to be honored with sign at pavilion