Robert Bone:  

Hello friends, Well I guess I've put this off long enough, I was pleasantly surprised when a few of you asked me to write my story, so here we go. If you haven't seen me around the old neighborhood for the past 28 years or so, here's the reason why. Back in 1981 I was operating heavy equipment in Rockwood Michigan, at a Sand Quarry called Ottawa Silica Co. I was employed there about 6 years when the economy began to go south, do you guys remember our last recession? My parents had just returned from vacationing around the U.S. and bragged about this place they visited called Tyler, Texas. They just fell in love with the town, and the people in it. While they were there, Dad toured the Carrier Air Conditioning Plant considering work there, and the next thing you know they're going to sell their home in Michigan and move to Tyler, Texas. I was doing pretty well at Ottawa Silica job wise, and was living in a nice apartment in Rockwood, but this sounded to me like a good way to bust out of the Downriver area, and venture out to greener pastures. Besides, I was seriously concerned about the future of the auto industry and Detroit's long term future regarding good paying, secure jobs. To make a long story short, I took the plunge and left Michigan to find work in Texas, The New Frontier. I wasn't alone, I'm sure you all remember the bumper sticker that said, "The last one leaving Detroit, turn out the lights." I mean things were getting bad, and there were a l...Expand for more