[Rockhounds] The cold, dark history of the Grand Rapids gypsum mines

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Buried beneath 85 feet of Grand Rapids soil and
bedrock lies a labyrinth — a maze of man-made and forgotten tunnels from
the city's old gypsum-mining industry.

Sealed off at the surface, the mines are mostly abandoned. But at Michigan
Natural Storage, a freight elevator burrows into the Alabastine Mine,
connecting a modern warehousing operation to the city's deep, dark past.

"In many ways, we're a Michigan basement. What do you do with a basement?
You put stuff down there," said Ron Kragt, the owner of the
third-generation family business.

In 1946, Kragt's grandfather, Bert, bought the property from the
then-bankrupt mining company for its above-ground warehouse space.

But a few years later, the city of Grand Rapids — wanting to divert traffic
away from downtown — relocated its wholesale produce market next to
Michigan Natural Storage.

Suddenly, what lay far below Bert Kragt's feet — six miles of deserted
tunnels, shielded from the elements and naturally held at a constant
50-degree temperature — became the perfect starting point for an
underground fridge.

https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/grand-rapids/lost-labor-the-cold-dark-history-of-the-grand-rapids-gypsum-mines