Alfred Nicholls was born in Cornwall, England, coming to Michigan's Central Mine in 1882 as a miner. He worked in the mine until an accident left him without the use of his arm, costing him his livelihood as well. He decided to become a teacher, and as a grown man sat in on the grade school classes in Central Mine. He then left his wife and two children in Central Mine while he attended college. Upon graduation he returned home, becoming a teacher, principal, and eventually a superintendent in the Copper Country. In the 1920s Nicholls was known for his regular newspaper stories about Central Mine and his romantic look at the town in its working days. He is also credited as having conceived the idea of a "homecoming" for the former residents of Central Mine who had relocated when the mine was closed in 1898. The first reunion was held in 1907, a tradition that is still standing.