Saginaw Forest history tidbits

I learned several things this morning from an emeritus professor of the school. One thing is that in 1963 (which I can definitely say that I don't remember), the front lawn of Saginaw Forest was (apparently) drug central in Ann Arbor.

Also, there used to be a light beacon on top of the caretaker's house -- used by the pilots flying in to Willow Run airport in Ypsilanti. Of course, 40 years later, the trees surrounding the caretaker's cottage have likely grown higher, making such a use of less utility.

I learned, too, that when the PALL property used to belong to Gelman, there was an offer to hook up the property to Ann Arbor water and sewage (which would have solved some of the problems we now face with the property). However, the University decided that this was not something on which they wanted to spend social capital. Yet, it is something to remember (the presence of a "nearby" hook-up to A2 water and sewage) if changes take place with the property.

With regards to the bathymetry of Third Sister Lake, I learned that -- typical of kettle lakes, it is cone-shaped, with the deepest point near the middle of the lake, and roughly 45 feet in depth. However, the actual bathymetric maps have (since the time of the survey) been lost; a victim of the years. The relatively recent increased level of sediment transport has likely changed the bathymetry and it would have been really nice to know what it used to be so that we might be able to look at what level of change has taken place over the years.

Finally, I learned that the concrete constructions in the creek are weirs that were used to study discharge from the creek, and weren't built to be flood control devices. However, even if that's the case, the large splash pool that has been made below the bottom weir (the other two being bypassed over the years) does act as a "final" flood control mechanism.

Talking to emeritus professors is so very rewarding in so many ways. It's always wonderful to learn new pieces of information -- so casually inserted into one's understanding -- about a place or concept.