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West Virginia miners were supposed to be at least fourteen years old, yet few were required to prove their age. Boys as young as nine joined their fathers underground. There were no restrictions on where or how many hours children could work.

Cecil Roberts: I started work with my father as a hand-loader. If he got two cars, I’d get the third one. Oh my goodness, it was rough, it was hard. Every shovelful of coal you picked up was heavy and hard. There was nothing easy about it.