THE SOUNDERS
"Sound your tops or lose your life!"
Coal miners in the hand-loading days of the first quarter of the 20th century, before mechanization, were responsible for their own safety. They laid their own track, sounded and propped their own tops and loaded their own cars. They handled their own explosives, often shooting down the coal before leaving for the day and then loading the next morning when the dust had settled.
With mechanization in the 1920s came specialization. Miners had to trust track-layers and timber-men to make the workplace safe. Cutting and loading machines brought coal dust and increased black lung disease.
THINK IN TIME
Put yourself in the position of a miner transitioning from the hand-loading days to mechanization. All your employer cares about is how good your production is. You desperately need the job to support your family and it does pay better than most other jobs. What will you need to do to ensure your own safety?
Perhaps the following stories by coal miners who lived through these times will help you to decide what you would need to do.
If you listen carefully you might be able to hear a spit of tobaccy now and again and maybe even recognize a little twinkle in their eyes.
"Sound your tops or lose your life!"
Coal miners in the hand-loading days of the first quarter of the 20th century, before mechanization, were responsible for their own safety. They laid their own track, sounded and propped their own tops and loaded their own cars. They handled their own explosives, often shooting down the coal before leaving for the day and then loading the next morning when the dust had settled.
With mechanization in the 1920s came specialization. Miners had to trust track-layers and timber-men to make the workplace safe. Cutting and loading machines brought coal dust and increased black lung disease.
THINK IN TIME
Put yourself in the position of a miner transitioning from the hand-loading days to mechanization. All your employer cares about is how good your production is. You desperately need the job to support your family and it does pay better than most other jobs. What will you need to do to ensure your own safety?
Perhaps the following stories by coal miners who lived through these times will help you to decide what you would need to do.
If you listen carefully you might be able to hear a spit of tobaccy now and again and maybe even recognize a little twinkle in their eyes.
ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWS
Perry Gilpin interview 1986 by Kevin Corley
"The only safety you got was what you made of it. They had mine inspectors but damn little work they done inspecting. They had a wreck out here at Number 58 on the main line--that was before I went to work--and they had mules. They called everybody out to clean up the wreck and the first question (the mine boss) asked was. 'Did they kill the mules?’ That's the truth. He said. 'By god, we have to buy a mule but you can hire a new man.’ Yes sir, they [the wives] didn't get many benefits when they lost a husband then in the mine, or if he got hurt" (Gilpin 15-16).
"The only safety you got was what you made of it. They had mine inspectors but damn little work they done inspecting. They had a wreck out here at Number 58 on the main line--that was before I went to work--and they had mules. They called everybody out to clean up the wreck and the first question (the mine boss) asked was. 'Did they kill the mules?’ That's the truth. He said. 'By god, we have to buy a mule but you can hire a new man.’ Yes sir, they [the wives] didn't get many benefits when they lost a husband then in the mine, or if he got hurt" (Gilpin 15-16).
John Wittka interview 1986 by Kevin Corley
“I’ve never had a roof fall on me, never was injured bad all the years I worked in the mine. My dad was a timberman, he’s the guy who takes care of the top. And he told me, I’m going to show you one time only. He got a pick, said, ‘Come with me.’ Went into one of them rooms where it’s quiet. He said, ‘How would you sound that top?’ I said, ‘I don’t even know.’ He said ‘Okay.’ Took his pick, put his hand up on the roof, and just taped it lightly. He said, ‘Put you hand up there. Now take the pick and hit it lightly up there. Feel that vibration?” “I said no. He said, ‘That’s good’. Went a little farther, he taped it again. He said, “Come here, try this.’ I said, “Yep, it’s kinda hollow like.’ "
“I’ve never had a roof fall on me, never was injured bad all the years I worked in the mine. My dad was a timberman, he’s the guy who takes care of the top. And he told me, I’m going to show you one time only. He got a pick, said, ‘Come with me.’ Went into one of them rooms where it’s quiet. He said, ‘How would you sound that top?’ I said, ‘I don’t even know.’ He said ‘Okay.’ Took his pick, put his hand up on the roof, and just taped it lightly. He said, ‘Put you hand up there. Now take the pick and hit it lightly up there. Feel that vibration?” “I said no. He said, ‘That’s good’. Went a little farther, he taped it again. He said, “Come here, try this.’ I said, “Yep, it’s kinda hollow like.’ "
"He said, ‘Alright, it’s got to be timbered.’
He said, ‘Don’t let nobody get you to go under that top.’"
He said, ‘Don’t let nobody get you to go under that top.’"
"I seen a couple of guys that went along. They had a pocket like that, dome like rock. If you hit it to hard you trigger it. CRASH--down she comes. I seen two guys done that. Both of them were underneath it. Flat as a pancake."
Duke Allison interview 1986 by Kevin Corley
"They made trip riders out of little guys and if you was fast on your feet then they made a trip rider out of you. After the loading machine loads the car, you have to switch it and you ride in between them. Couple it and uncouple it, come back in. load another car, and then switch that one out. Lot of running. They call it riding trips but it is actually running.
Now, your problem is to get out before the cars hit, before they bump. Or otherwise you got a broken collarbone or finger mashed or something like that. I got squeezed one time but nothing broke. That makes a believer out of you. If you get squeezed one time then you come out just a little bit faster than you usually have. Once I got squeezed and my boss jumped through there and kicked me in the butt--and I was still caught. The boss kicked me in the butt, he said, 'I told you about coupling on the inside of a turn'. I had been told not to do that but I thought that I could do it. I had been riding trips for quite a while so I thought I was a hot shot. But it made a believer out of me."
"They made trip riders out of little guys and if you was fast on your feet then they made a trip rider out of you. After the loading machine loads the car, you have to switch it and you ride in between them. Couple it and uncouple it, come back in. load another car, and then switch that one out. Lot of running. They call it riding trips but it is actually running.
Now, your problem is to get out before the cars hit, before they bump. Or otherwise you got a broken collarbone or finger mashed or something like that. I got squeezed one time but nothing broke. That makes a believer out of you. If you get squeezed one time then you come out just a little bit faster than you usually have. Once I got squeezed and my boss jumped through there and kicked me in the butt--and I was still caught. The boss kicked me in the butt, he said, 'I told you about coupling on the inside of a turn'. I had been told not to do that but I thought that I could do it. I had been riding trips for quite a while so I thought I was a hot shot. But it made a believer out of me."
Jesse Lake interview 1986 by Kevin Corley
'''We always carried water. There was an area in the bottom of the miner’s bucket that we put water. That's how we carried our water to drink and the top was where we had our lunch. If the miners had some kind of grievance, one of them would say, ''Well, what are we going to do? So they'd throw the water and if it would stay up in the air, well, we'd go ahead and work. If it came down and hit the ground, we'd strike.'
'''We always carried water. There was an area in the bottom of the miner’s bucket that we put water. That's how we carried our water to drink and the top was where we had our lunch. If the miners had some kind of grievance, one of them would say, ''Well, what are we going to do? So they'd throw the water and if it would stay up in the air, well, we'd go ahead and work. If it came down and hit the ground, we'd strike.'