CACHE: Park and Grab
Growing up in the North Branch and Columbiaville area meant there were times you were at the mercy of the Flint River. Heavy rains and the winter thaw were the main causes of trouble. Some years it flooded so bad people were stranded at their homes for a few days. We just knew when our yard was flooded, Barnes and Castle Roads were impassible. We barely made it through the water on M-24 at times. Two years in a row back in the 1970's, I remember coming to this bridge with my uncle to deliver items to family who lived on the other side. He'd bring his boat as it was flooded almost all the way down to Mowatt Road. One of those days my aunt came back over and we took her to work in Lapeer. The bridge here goes over Squaw Creek. The creek ties into the Flint River over near M-90. Due to the constant flooding, Millington Road to the north of here dead ends, it used to go all the way through. Even in mild flooding, the old road bed is under water. We are often at water's mercy, as it knows no real boundaries. It'll go where it wants to unless we've managed to find a way to maintain it. As a farmer, this flooding always hurt my uncle's crops for the year, sometimes, depending on the crops, they'd rebound and he'd take few losses, yet he said the following year the crops would flourish unless it flooded again. He made a comment once that he'd never do a rain dance, there's enough farmers praying for rain, if too many in North Branch do it, we're in for a real mess.