Occupations

Key Workers

When the mines were working steady, there were three 8-hour shifts with the two day shifts being for production and the night shift for maintenance. Night shift was a smaller crew who did such jobs as repairs, pumping, timber supplies and track laying. Others did nothing but rock dusting by hand which could take the full shift. Dusting calcium chloride (limestone) was necessary to keep the coal dust down to prevent explosions. Later dusting was done mechanically.

Bratticeman

The bratticeman was responsible for erecting and adjusting the brattice to allow for proper air flow.
Brattice is sackcloth made of jute that has been waxed or tarred thus impregnable to air flow. It was movable and used as barriers to direct the air to where it was required.
When barriers were to be made permanent, the brattice was removed and wooden stoppings put in with doors. Stoppings were used between crosscuts to ensure the flow of fresh air from the fans.

Bucker

The bucker’s job was to ensure the coal ran freely from the face where the miner’s dug the coal to the bottom of the chute and into the waiting coal car. The chute was metal and because of the pitch, gravity was used to move the coal down the chute. The coal chutes at the base of the miner’s rooms were blocked by planks to prevent the coal from dropping until a car was placed under the chute. When the mine car was in place, the block was raised and coal filled the car.
Some times the coal jammed in the chute. The bucker, who was usually well up the chute, released the jam by prodding it with a heavy stick or, more often, by sitting in the chute, clinging to the sides and pushing with his feet in a bucking motion.

Bucker Boss

The bucker boss would be responsible for coordinating the buckers which included coal car loading and which chutes to empty in order to keep a good flow of coal.

Carpenter

The mine carpenter was an outside worker who was responsible for any required carpentry work to support the flow of coal and an efficient working situation.

Company Man

A company man was any official at the mine. The term was used to differentiate company men from union workers.

Driver

In the early days before compressed air locomotives came into use, horses were used to transport the coal cars in and out of the mine on the level.
In the Crowsnest Pass the high seams allowed the use of large horses, usually Clydesdales. The horses wore padded leather helmets and breast collars that bore a lamp.
When their working days were over their driver often gave them a retirement home in a green pasture and sunshine.

Driver Boss

Underground worker. Has charge of all drivers, chutes loaders, spraggers, trappers, and others engaged in hauling coal.

Electrician

Qualifications for a mine electrician:

• Must be at least 21 years of age
• Must have at least 2 years electrical experience in a mine
• Or must have at least 4 years practical electrical experience, at other electrical work together with 6 months electrical experience in a mine;
• Or is a holder of a degree or diploma from a recognized electrical school approved by the Board and 2 years practical experience, 6 months of which has been in a mine.
  

Knowledge of the following subjects:

• Coal Mines Regulations Act
• Theory
• Practical Work
  

Examiner

An examiner was a company man like the pitboss and fireboss. The examiner was not necessarily a specific position but part of someone’s job.
An examiner was a “holder of a first, second of third class certificate, appointed to inspect the working places in the mine and the roadways and approaches, and other accessible parts of the mine and to see that such are safe before a shift is allowed to enter such working places or other parts of the mine; shall make inspections and carry out duties as to the presence of gas, ventilation, state of roof and sides and general safety and such other duties as are required by Act and Regulations made hereunder; when making his inspections before work commences, chalk his initials and date of inspection at the face of every working place in the district under his charge and shall see that all entrances of any place which may be found unsafe are fenced off.”

Fan Man

Also Fan Boy
Outside worker. Kept ventilation fan operating.
Salary not known.

Fire Boss

Originally the fireboss was considered a safely person but the job was gradually expanded.
A fireboss was the representative of the miners to the company, sort of a foreman underground. He was like a section foreman in charge of production and safety, looked after his own designated section of the mine with his own crew. The terms, fireboss, overman and examiner were interchangeable.
A fireboss was a company employee who required a third class certificate in order to qualify for that position. Qualifications for holder of Third Class Certification of Competency:

• Must be a least 23 years of age;
• Must be a holder of a Mine Rescue Certificate; a certificate from a medical practitioner showing that candidate has taken a course in first aid and ambulance work.
• Must have a least 3 years practical experience in a coal mine, and is the holder of a miner’s certificate;
• Or holder of a diploma or degree in scientific and mining training granted by an educational institution approved by the Board and at least 2 years experience working in underground coal mining , 1 year of which has been at the working face or work equivalent thereto.
• Knowledge of:
  • 1. The Coal Mines Regulation Act
  • 2. Ventilation
  • 3. Practical work
  • 4. Safety Lamps

The fireboss’ responsibility included doing all the safety checks before the men went into the mine. He had to go to the face of the working areas using a specially designed miner’s safety lamp to check for gas and other problems. At the end of his shift, he would post his report on the “board” indicating any concerns/problems in the mine for the next shift.

Inspector

Includes Chief Inspector, Assistant Chief Inspector, Assistant District Inspector & Electrical Inspector. Inspectors shall visit every mine in his district as often as his duties permit and the exigencies of the case require.
Salary not known.

Machinest

Outside worker. Qualified tradesman.
Salary in 1916: $3.40 to $3.85 for a 10 hour day.

Manager

Originally the head man at a mine was called the superintendent or, at times, an overman. Later he was called general manager or manager. He was a company employee who hired, fired and negotiated with the union, but his main task was the planning and over-seeing the development and exploitation of the coal seams. He was assisted by the pitboss and other senior officials.
The qualifications required to acquire a first class certificate to become a mine manager were:

• Must be at least 25 years of age;
  
• Must be a holder of a Mine Rescue Certificate of Competency; have a certificate from a medical practitioner showing candidate has taken a course in first aid and ambulance work.
  
• Must have at least 5 years experience in underground mining of which at least one year of work at the working face or in work elsewhere in a mine of such kind which in the opinion of the Board is sufficient to give him a practical knowledge of coal mining;
  
• Or 4 years underground as noted above and, in addition, at least 1 year in a machine shop or engineering shop or electric engineering shop;
  
• Or holder of a diploma or degree in scientific and mining training granted by an educational institution approved by the Board and at least 3 years underground coal mining experience and worked in coal mining in Canada for at least 2 years of that period, and not less than 1 year engaged in work at the working face or in work elsewhere in a mine of such kind which in the opinion of the Board is sufficient to give him practical knowledge of coal mining.
  
• Must posses knowledge of:
  
  • 1. Coal and Mines Act Regulations Act
    
  • 2. Gases, shot-firing and Safety Lamps
    
  • 3. Theory and Practice of Ventilation
    
  • 4. Practical work, First Aid and Mine Rescue Work
    
  • 5. Machinery
    
  • 6. Surveying, Leveling Geology
    

Mine Carpenter

Underground worker. Accompanied coal trips to mail haulage tunnel.
Salary not known.

Miner

Some miners worked as company miners, who were paid a salary rather than being paid by the amount of coal dug. According to former miners, these workers often worked closer to the entry than contract miners.

Miner - Contract

Only about one third of the total workers employed in the mine were actually miners. Other workers were considered support workers and were responsible for getting the coal out of the mine and to its destination, usually the CPR for their steam trains. Contract miners usually worked in pairs. Under the union contract they were paid mostly according to the amount of coal they produced, but were also paid for putting up timbers, laying down chutes and the like required to get the coal from the face to the waiting coal cars under the chute. They generally disliked some of these chores as they earned their money digging coal. When the mines were working everyday, they could often earn more money than any other workers, including the fireboss who worked as a company man and was paid a salary. To become a certificate miner, one had to work with a certificated miner for up to six months depending on the situation. It was then one could earn his miner’s certification.

Miner - Wet places

Underground worker.
Salary in 1914: Received an extra $.50 a day while working in wet areas.

Overman

Person in daily charge of the underground workings of any mine or any portion of a mine, next in authority to the manager or assistant manager.
Salary not known.

Pit Boss or Pitboss

A big mine had several pit bosses, who were company employees, responsible to the mine manager. The pitboss was responsible for the general running of the mine underground workings and personnel.
Qualifications for a pit boss were:

• Must be at least 25 years of age;
• Must be a holder of a Mine Rescue Certificate of Competency; have a certificate from a medical practitioner showing candidate has taken a course in first aid and ambulance work.
• Must have at least 5 years experience in underground mining of which at least one year of work at the working face or in work elsewhere in a mine of such kind which in the opinion of the Board is sufficient to give him a practical knowledge of coal mining;
• Or 4 years underground as noted above and, in addition, at least one year in a machine shop or engineering shop or electric engineering shop;
• Or holder of a diploma or degree in scientific and mining training granted by an educational institution approved by the Board and at least three years underground coal mining experience and worked in coal mining in Canada for at least two years of that period, and not less than one year engaged in work at the working face or in work elsewhere in a mine of such kind which in the opinion of the Board is sufficient to give him practical knowledge of coal mining.
• Knowlege of:
  • 1. The Coal Mines Regulation Act
  • 2. Gases, shot-firing, and Safety Lamps and Ventilation
  • 3. Practical Work, First Aid and Mine Rescue Work
  • 4. Machinery
  • 5. Surveying, Levelling and Geology

Pumpman

Underground worker. Operated and installed underground pumping systems.
Salary not known.

Rope Rider

Rope riders were employed at the top and bottom of slopes to couple and uncouple the cars from the hoist cable. They were usually young and agile as agility and fast reflexes were imperative!
The rope rider positioned coal cars whenever they had to be stopped, under the coal chute at the base of the miner’s room or wherever cars were being connected and disconnected. As the cars had no brakes, they were stopped by a process called spragging.
A sprag is a piece of wood about three feet long (91 cm) and several inches (5 cm) in diameter and pointed at each end. The rope rider would place the sprag between the spokes of a wheel, using several if necessary, to slow/stop the car when it was being uncoupled or coupled to the hoist. He never encircled the sprag between his thumb and fingers, for it invited a badly sprained, dislocated or even dismembered thumb. He kept his thumb snuggled against his forefinger as he very quickly placed the sprag.
To stop the train, he would walk quickly or lope beside it, then follow along the moving wheel with his sprag, and with astute timing, shove it between the spokes of the wheel to slow or stop the car.
The trip of cars was pulled up the slope to the level by means of a hoist. It was the rope rider’s job to disconnect them from the hoist and connect them to the dinky which would pull them along the level. The haulage level was actually sloped slightly so that water would drain out of the mine. As the cars came up over the knuckle or hump they would start to roll slowly down the level. When signalled, the Hoistman would give some slack in the hoist cable and the rope rider would push the cable down to give additional stack then pull the pin to disconnect the cars from the hoist. Since the cars were then free to roll down the level, he would sprag the first few cars to stop them. They were then connected to a dinky which pulled the load to the outside where each car was weighed then turned over and the coal dumped onto the conveyor belt headed for the tipple. Each car had a check number that identified the miners’ who dug it. The car was weighed by both a union man and company man to ensure each set of miners received proper compensation for their load.
If there was a dispute as to the weight, the weigh scales had to be readjusted and/or realigned to ensure correctness by both parties.
Empties from a previous load would be waiting at the top of the slope and the process was reversed in order to get the cars back into the mine for reloading.

Timberman

Underground worker. Person employed underground in a mine in charge of timbering operations at the working face or on any roadway or in any other place and possessed of a certificate of competency.
Salary in 1914: $3.30 per 8 hours.

Timber Packer

The timber packer’s job was to pack supplies to the miners. He took the timber, lagging, sheet iron and everything needed to do their jobs.
The timbers were 8 (2. 4 m) to 14 (4.2 m)feet long and 8 inches (20.3 cm) in diameter. They had to be hauled by hand up slopes anywhere from 15 to 30 degrees for probably 300 feet (91.4 m) or more. The timber and supplies was brought into the mine on flat cars then the timber packer took over. The timber packer’s basic tool was a timber dog which was an elongated u-shaped piece of iron with very sharp ends. The packer hammered the timber dog into the timber which could be then used as a handle to either drag the timber along, or to hold as he balanced the timber on his shoulder as he carried it to its destination.
The timber packers in charge of the other timber packers would be called the timber packer boss.

Time Keeper

The time keeper's job was to check each miner in and out of the mine, keeping track of their hours so they were properly paid. He would also help the lampman by handing the miners their lamps and/or numbered tag depending on the mine and putting their check numbers on the board. The check board was necessary to keep track of workers in the mine. If, for example a check was still left on the board after shift change, a search would immediately be started to locate the missing worker. This was a most valuable safety feature to ensure no miner was left in the mine. It was valuable during mine incidents such as coal or rock falls, bumps, explosions, etc. as it allowed mine officials to know who might still be in the mine at the time of the incident.

Track Layer

The tracklayer laid track for the transportation of coal from the face to the outside of the mine.
Boys (track layer helpers) would receive full salary at the age of 18.