The Cedar River runs right through the middle of Gladwin, past the park and under the bridges, with big shade trees leaning over it the whole way. Hojo's Tree Service works this Gladwin County town and the country lanes that fan out from it. Tree removal, tree trimming, and pruning fill most days — a crown reduced over a garage, deadwood pulled from an old maple, a hazard trunk dropped in a yard that leaves no room for a mistake. Storm damage cleanup starts before breakfast on the mornings after: limbs off the drive, the sidewalk clear, the wood cut to length and stacked. A river town keeps its shade only as long as the trees along it stay sound.