West Mine, West Frankfort, Illinois. Now abandoned. This mine has been down about a year. General caption: Many of the miners displaced by machinery in the larger mines are left stranded after mines are abandoned; have opened shallow primitive workings on the coal seam where it occurs close to the surface. The output of these shallow mines, known locally as gopher holes, is processed by a crude method and sold to truckers at about half the price of deep-vein coal. Many of the gopher holes have no storage in the tipple, and the miners underground are idle when no truck is waiting at the chute to load coal. Wages of gopher hole miners run from seventy-five cents to five dollars per day, and many miners earn less than WPA (Works Progress Administration) workers. Some of the larger gopher holes, such as Blue Ribbon Number 2 at Spillertown, Williamson County, are better equipped, pay better wages, and produce as high as 40,000 tons a year. Sourced from the Library of Congress.