[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 126 (Monday, September 12, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 12, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
         TRIBUTE TO MEN AND WOMEN WHO WORK IN IRON ORE INDUSTRY

                                 ______


                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 12, 1994

  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the many men 
and women who have dedicated their livelihoods to the iron ore industry 
in the Great Lakes region. September 19, 1994, marks the 150th 
anniversary of the discovery of iron ore in the Lake Superior region 
which includes Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Western Ontario.
  Iron ore, a valuable component to the industrial machine which drives 
America, was discovered in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 1844. The 
discovery led to the creation of hundreds of iron ore mines in the 
region, sparking the settlement of a large portion of the upper 
Midwest. Furthermore, it advanced the industrial revolution in the 
United States, led to the development of the magnificent Soo Locks, and 
boosted the industrial economies of cities from Chicago to Pittsburgh.
  Iron ore from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, 
and Ontario was used to build the United States war machine. Virtually 
everything, from tanks to bombs, bullets to guns, was constructed from 
iron ore mined in the Lake Superior region. The discovery of iron ore 
has undoubtedly changed the lives of millions of people not only in our 
region of the country but around the world as well.
  For 150 years men and women of the Great Lakes region have tirelessly 
toiled to extract this valuable resource from the rocky earth. Iron ore 
from the Lake Superior region has been used in steel to make everything 
from skyscrapers and railroads, to guitar strings and piano wire, and 
thousands of industrial and consumer products in between. Not only has 
it touched the lives of millions of Americans over several generations, 
iron ore from the Great Lakes region has played an integral part in 
building America's industrial base.
  Mr. Speaker, the men and women who work in the iron ore industry 
rarely receive the recognition they deserve. On this special occasion, 
the 150th anniversary of the discovery of iron ore in the Great Lakes 
region, I would like to thank all the people over the years who have 
labored in forging America into the great Nation it is today. 
Congratulations, and best wishes.

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