1940s Mining Life

Housework took up a lot of time in a mining district, because there was so much dust and dirt from the pit in the atmosphere. In the kitchen this type of shovel was used for cleaning the hearth. A miner's wife would use the shovel to lift dust that she swept up with a brush. Coal fires tended to be very dirty and produce a lot of dust from the ashes. There were few electrical appliances to help the women in the house keep it clean.