Detroit Axle RIP

[Detroitej72]

Just to update this thread a bit...

Last Summer, I had the opportunity to work a couple weeks at this plant for a guy who was contracted to remove some of the machines for shipment to India. I thought of this as an adventure of sorts, for me it was personal. My grandfather used to work next door at the former Lynch Road Assembly, and I saw it as an opportunity to get a feel for the conditions that my fore-fathers worked in.

It was hard, back-breaking labor in the heat, temps were around 90-plus inside,[[I could only imagine how hot it would have been with the ovens running) and the conditions weren't very safe. One day on the job, one of my co-workers was almost electrocuted while attempting to disconnect some electrical boxes that were supposed to be dead, but obviously were still hot. I was standing next to him and jumped when his wrench flew from his hand and grabbed his wrist when he was thrown back, as he would have feel about 12 feet onto solid concrete. He collected his pay, walked out and quit the next day.

In the end, I'm glad I took the job. It was well worth it, I had experiences I'll never forget, the workout was great, and I made some money to boot. What was sad, was walking around the plant, seeing all the silent machines, strolling through the abandoned halls of the offices, and staring at the empty parking lots. I thought about my grandpa, and all the people like him who walked through the doors for almost 100 years, all hoping for a better life for themselves and their children. It was a moving experience, to say the least.

Last week, late one evening, I drove passed the plant and it was lit up like daylight, and demolition was taking place. It brought a tear to my eye...