At the age of 13, a slate picker was advanced to "door boy." The door was put there to circulate air to the face of all workings and there was air pressure against the door at all times. This huge wooden door was in the main gangway and the door boy had to be on the alert for men coming and drivers with cars of coal. There was no signal to warn him and he had to watch through a peep hole in the door. If the door wasn't opened in time, a "trip" would crash through the door and he could be killed. His job was a very active and dangerous one and this ballad was sung by the mining minstrels of years ago. This sketch by Leo J. Ploppert depicts a door boy at the Wm. Penn colliery, circa 1911.
THE DOOR BOY'S LAST GOOD-BYE

In the mine depths' gloom and silence,
Void of sunlight though 'tis mid-day,
There a fearless little door boy sat alone;
Unseen dangers hover round him
At his post upon the gangway,
While he works, and thinks of mother sick at home;
Without warning there's a cave-in,
Rock and timber downward crashing
Hurl the lad moaning to the rocky floor;
But his pale lips framed this message
As his breath was quick and gasping,
"Good-bye mother, Heav'n protect you evermore."
  CHORUS . . .

In her dreams the mother fancies
She can hear him softly calling,
She can hear him beck'ning from the starry sky;
Soon her lips will close forever,
And the bitter tears cease falling,
She will meet him where they never say good-bye.
Just a door boy in a coal mine,
A brave-hearted manly fellow,
Who lays dying 'neath the wreckage where he fell;
Deathly gasses are his mantle,
Splintered roof rock is his pillow,
Just a door boy, but a hero, fare thee well.
  CHORUS . . .

Minstrels of the Mine Patch - George Korson

CHORUS
All his thoughts were of his mother,
All for her his broken pleading
As he lay there, dying, at his shattered door:
Bright-winged angels caught this message
As his life was quickly fleeting,
"Good-bye mother, Heav'n protect you evermore