COLLECTION NAME:
Colorado Coal Project
Record
Collection Name:
Colorado Coal Project
Title:
Interview with Jack and Shine Miller (transcript part 1 of 2)
Creator:
Margolis, Eric, 1947-
Creator:
McMahan, Ronald L.
Subject:
Coal miners--Personal narratives
Subject:
Labor disputes--Colorado
Subject:
Strikes and lockouts--Coal mining--Colorado
Subject:
Coal mines and mining
Subject:
Coal mines and mining--Colorado
Subject:
Columbine Mine (Weld County, Colo.)
Subject:
Industrial Workers of the World
Subject:
Interviews
Description:
Interview of Jack and Shine Miller, two brothers who started mining in 1919 and 1924 in the Clayton mine in northern Colorado. They were "handloading coal" in the early 1920s and doing their own drilling, timbering, track laying, and shooting with black powder for 76 cents per ton. Expenses like the wash-house, blacksmith fees, and shooting supplies were deducted from their pay. Their pay was docked for rock found among the coal. Any training was informal, from older to newer miners. Mines were not yet unionized so bosses could give preference to certain miners. They unionized about 1932. Before the union, they often did un-paid, non-production work (such as retrieving rails after a cave-in). One brother (Jack) is now a mine boss, but abides strictly by the union contract. Shine was president of a union local in Erie, Colorado. In 1927, the Wobblies tried unsuccessfully to organize. During strike violence at the Columbine Mine, their friend Adam Bell was beaten; Jack was on the sidelines and witnessed the confrontation, and another brother was shot at. While they strongly favor the union, they admit that some union officials are overpaid and corrupt. They complain about the use of the Taft-Hartley Act. About 1938, handloading ended with the Shaker conveyor. Machine operators got $6.30 per day; the rest of the crew earned $5.75 per day. After about 5 years, that was replaced with the joy loader. They encountered "niggerheads" which according to author Elwood S. Moore in his book "Coal: Its Properties, Analysis, Classification, Geology, Extraction, Uses and Distribution" the term "niggerheads" was a locally applied term to a type of spherical, concretionary coal. Coal markets have changed: more people heat now with gas, and industrial users (such as Public Service) want fine coal. Coal mines often closed in the summertime. They tried hard rock mining during slack seasons. They also worked for the National Park Service, building trails in Rocky Mountain National Park, where they cut and peeled beetle-killed trees. They discuss the finer points of mule-driving and mice in the mines, as well as close calls and fatalities due to cave-ins. Coal towns like Erie and Lafayette, Colorado were an easy place to pick a fight and tough places to be a scab. Jack became a foreman and had to give up union membership. His work was steadier and less seasonal. He tried to volunteer for the Merchant Marine in WW II but was "frozen" in his mining job. They describe safety lamp operation and hand mining in the Morley mine because there was too much gas for machine operations. The interview concludes with a visit to an old mine site, where they explain using spragues to stop the wheels of coal cars. They review old mine signs and the names of former miners.
Description Type:
summary
Publisher:
University of Colorado Boulder Archives
Contributor:
Miller, Jack 1919-1989
Contributor:
Miller, Shine
Date:
1978-06-16
Type:
Text
Format:
application/pdf
Identifier:
narv_coloradoCoal_transMiller1.pdf
Language:
English
Relation:
Title: Interview with Jack and Shine Miller (transcript part 2 of 2)
Relation Type:
isPartOf
Relation:
Title: Interview with Jack and Shine Miller (video part 1 of 3)
Relation Type:
isFormatOf
Relation:
Title: Interview with Jack and Shine Miller (video part 3 of 3)
Relation Type:
isFormatOf
Relation:
Title: Interview with Jack and Shine Miller (video part 2 of 3)
Relation Type:
isFormatOf
Coverage (Spatial):
Erie (Boulder, Colorado, United States, North America) (populated place)
Coverage (Temporal):
1919/1978
Coverage (Spatial):
Colorado (United States, North America) (first order administrative divisions)
Rights:
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