Nippers (sometimes called “trappers”) had to open and close the heavy wooden door that sealed the mine. This was usually a boy’s first job inside the mine itself and it was a difficult and dangerous one. The mine door had to remain tightly closed, except when coal cars came in and out. Otherwise, the fresh air being pumped down to the miners would escape.
When the tunnels were built on a slope, coal cars came hurtling down the track. The nippers had to listen carefully for their rumbling because it was the only signal to open the door and let the cars race through. If they didn't hear the cars coming in time, the cars would crash into the doors. Sitting alone in the dark silence made falling asleep almost inevitable for many nippers. One sleepy nipper woke up just as the coal car was approaching. He jumped up to open the door but didn’t make it in time. He was crushed to death as the four-ton car crashed through the door.
Positioned in such a quiet spot at the head of the tunnel, the nipper was often the first to hear the groaning noises that came from the rock just before a cave-in. It was up to him to warn the miners below so that they could escape. Nippers were paid sixty-five to seventy-five cents per day.