Job Description:

Trimmer Operators

Photo of seven workers posing inside a mill, 1910.

Mill interior, 1910. 
Minnesota Historical Society Photograph Collection, Location no. HD5.5 r29

"This employee usually occupies a pulpit located several feet in front of the trimmer and immediately over the conveyor. He accomplishes his work in different ways, depending on the construction of the machine. Some have cords properly attached with ends hanging in front of the operator, who pulls the cord representing the saw which he desires to bring into operation...."

—U.S. Department of Labor

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wages and Hours of Labor in the Lumber, Millwork, and Furniture Industries, 1890 to 1912 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1913).