I have been reading a lot on CNN and MSNBC about how to tell if the economy is getting poor by how many big rigs you see on the road. They also talk about watching cargo trains, like in Elkhart, IN, to give a clue to the economy.
Well, in my hometown of Tawas, MI, we have another way of doing it. My dad used to work in an open pit gypsum mine in Tawas. There are actually three gypsum mines in the local area, but I believe the National Gypsum Mine is the only one still in operation. Anyway, I was talking to my brother-in-law, who works at the mine, (and also used to work with my dad), and he told me how many boats they are scheduled to load this year.
So, let me give you a short background. Tawas, MI, is right on L. Huron. There is a gypsum loading dock, (we all called the "port", because it is one... ), right there that the big lake freighters would come in and get loaded with gypsum. They would take it to the Chicago area, Cleveland... I don't know all the places they would go, but some of the boats, like the Sam Laud, would hold 40,000 ton of gypsum. Another common boat that came into port was the Buffalo. The picture here is the Buffalo being loaded at the Tawas Dock. So, when I was a kid growing up, we would always drive down to the port when dad was loading a boat so we could see those big freighters. It was awesome.
Anyway, when my dad was alive and loading boats, like in the 80's and 90's, the National Mine would load anywhere from 30 to 40 boats a year with gypsum. This was all shipped to places to make building material, mostly sheetrock, or dry wall, whatever you may call it.
The sign of the time is: this year they are scheduled to load anywhere from 4 to maybe 8 total.
It is much easier than counting semi's on the highway.
