In today's "Made in Michigan," NBC25's Kevin Usealman heads to West Branch to a century-old mill that is still in operation. The mill has a historic connection with Frankenmuth.
I'm standing on a dam that, when it broke in 1955, sent a 30-acre lake flowing into the Rifle River and brought the wheels of the West Branch flour mill to a halt. They're not making flour anymore, but they're still making the feed. And the owner is doing it pretty much the same way it was done 118 years ago.
"Everything in this building is gravity," said owner Don Jarrard. "Everything goes up and then it comes down."
Jarrard is the eighth owner of this historic mill and relies on customers who come for the history and not just the product.
"It's not like a modern elevator, where they dump it and they go," Jarrard said. "They're here for four or five hours dumping, then they go because all the cups are smaller.
"It's the oldest, continuous business in Ogemaw County."
Jarrard runs the mill himself, making mostly animal feed and regularly climbing four flights of stairs to repair belts and direct feed into different bins.
Then, there's the corn. But these days, the corn is used for more than feed.
"This is a green way to heat their home," Jarrard said. "A real cheap way to heat your home other than fossil fuels."
Flour might be a thing of the past here, but its history is alive in Frankenmuth. Star of the West bought the equipment when the Nickless-Hubinger mill was rebuilt in 1980. But Jarrard is left with plenty of history in West Branch, where he proudly displays his state pride.
"I try to handle a lot of made in Michigan things," he said.
As for the hometown warmth of the mill store ...
"Ogemaw County is my home," Jarrard said. "I've found a lot of people that don't mind being here. And the history of the mill, I can't change it. That's the speed it goes and it's kinda cool. Lotta history buffs."
Next week, Kevin will show us a Saginaw company that began in a garage in the 1960s and now ships food service equipment to high-end restaurants and hotels all over the world.
