the words are : the boarding house reach.
In my life it has meant when the food is on the table in bowls and platters etc. each person reached for one and started heaping their plates as eache platter and bowl made its way around the table and when you wanted anything you basically just reached for it. This is opposed to a platte being served with the food already on it.
The boarding house reach (or boarder house) was probably common in big families, in mess halls in mining towns or wherever large gatherings would take place. I always found that you got more of what you wanted that way and only took what you liked so no food was wasted.
The song mentions coal dust so it's possible that it refers to a coal mine or a mine where the smelters were fuelled by coal and then it was loaded onto rail cars. Railway workers would probably eat in a common mess hall atmosphere where "boarding house reach" happened.
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