By William “Skip” Deegans
Tragically, in 1905, Sine Slyman, a pack peddler and native of Syria, was shot, murdered, and robbed of $28 in Pocahontas County. Similarly, A. Salome, a Syrian pack peddler (see photo) who had taken to farming in Summers County was shot twice in the back with a high-powered rifle. He left a wife and two children. They were called pack peddlers because they were merchants who carried their merchandise on a back pack and traveled throughout rural West Virginia selling their goods. As they accumulated capital, they would travel by horse and wagon to carry more merchandise. These merchants were commonly from Syria or Lebanon.
Nathan Haddad, who immigrated to the United States from Syria in 1909, had better fortune than Slyman and Salome. He was a pack peddler in Boone County, WV, and settled in Clothier where he opened a store. His son, Fred Haddad, joined him in the mercantile business and together they operated a successful clothing store in Madison, WV. In 1959, Fred Haddad, and three other Boone Countians, brothers Thomas and Lester Ellis (also Syrian-Americans) and Douglas Cook started the HECKS discount store chain in 1959. By the 1980s, HECKS had 127 stores (including one in Lewisburg) and 8,000 employees. At that time, it was the only West Virginia business that was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. However, as a result of competition from Wal-Mart and other issues, HECKS slid into bankruptcy in 1987, and the company was sold. The stores never rebounded and the last ones closed in 1990.
Reflecting on his life as a peddler, Nathan Haddad said, “Most of us came with no education, no knowledge of the language, and no money. We didn’t expect to reach the top ourselves, but we certainly meant to give our children every chance to do it.”
Sources: Greenbrier Independent, The Independent-Herald, Boone County Community Foundation, Aramco World, WV Encyclopedia.
