Morgan Finke
Published: November 12, 2008

DUBUQUE — Mike Adams has been working in the oil industry nearly his entire life his father got him involved in the business.

“I’ve been in business for thirty-six and a half years, I started in 1972 with my dad, my dad passed away six months after we came here and I took over,” says Mike.

Mike was forced to close down gas sales in May, due to his boss having health issues, and it was difficult for Mike to end that part of his business.

“It tore me up at first, I had customers that had been with me the whole thirty years and to tell them that I couldn’t sell them gas anymore, it hurt a lot,” Mike explained.

Just down the road at Conoco, you will find Mike’s cousin Dave who is also struggling during this year’s oil rollercoaster,

“You see a lot of people not as willing to spend a buck on anything just because they have to spend it somewhere else like gas to get somewhere, its unchartered territory we’ve never seen anything like it before,” says Dave.

Although the current gas price is low, Dave is still in shock about the past year.

“It’s just mind boggling to see what gone on in the past year and a half, it used to be a big deal to see gas price go up two cents in one day, now it’s nothing,” says Dave.

Mike is skeptical that the low prices will last.

“Typically gas goes down around this time of year until the first of February then it starts to go back up,” says Mike.

Morgan Finke can be reached at Morgan.Finke@loras.edu