Work as a chucker in a mine, cooling off drills when they became hot
Hall describes his job as a chucker in a mine, cooling off drills when they became hot.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with Dock E. Hall, January 7, 1976. Interview H-0271. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
- BRENT GLASS:
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You did work underground?
- DOCK E. HALL:
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Yes, part of the time, yes. I worked down there.
- BRENT GLASS:
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What were you called? What was your job underground?
- DOCK E. HALL:
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I was called a chucker.
- BRENT GLASS:
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A chucker?
- DOCK E. HALL:
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Yes. They had these air drills, steam drills, and a man to run the
machine. And I'd throw water and all when it'd get
hot, and stuff like that: throw water and work with him. I just worked
with one man. And we'd be cutting what we called a level. And
the headroom would be up like that, you see, and we'd be
boring holes in that. And I'd take out bits and put in bits
for him, and all that, and change it whichever way he wanted to. If we
wanted to get over there, then I'd change the collar on the
shaft (the up-down piece), and he'd go
ahead and start it up (he'd just crank it a little up).
- BRENT GLASS:
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How was the air drill run? Wouldn't it run off
electricity?
- DOCK E. HALL:
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No, it was run by air or steam. It was mostly air at the Coggins when I
was there, but they used to run them by hand. I have worked at different
mines down there—Coggins's not the only one there
is around there. In a ten mile radius there's at least (I
could call the names of them) six in a ten mile radius around.
