Talk:1886 St. Croix River log jam

The Clam River dam etc.
This caught my eye for a few reasons: The spring of 1886 was very dry, so the water level was too low to transport logs, until the rivers rose in heavy rain in June 1886, the Clam River dam was blown up and dams on several other tributaries were opened.

1. The Clam River dam was blown up?! I thought surely that must mean something I don't understand, but nope, according to the Minneapolis Tribune, a local hermit named Davidson blew up the dam with dynamite. Maybe it was because the spring had been so dry? This story doesn't say, but the logjam appears to have been an ongoing story and surely the dynamiting of a local dam received coverage so maybe it's out there. Also the Trib's article supporting the Clam River thing seems to say the other dams were opened after the Clam River dam was blown up, possibly they were opened because it was opened?

2. I think your current hook is a good one, but there's got to be another one in the Clam River dam being dynamited by the hermit, Davidson.

3. The sentence is long and contains 1886 twice, I wondered if maybe you'd intended two sentences?

"Dynamite bomb" -- I see that's what the newspapers of the time were calling it. I've never heard anyone call a dynamite charge a 'dynamite bomb'; it's possible this is obsolete language rather than American English.

In Clearing the log jam, it says 'but also released most of the water' -- from where? I think this means the explosion moved so much water that it temporarily lowered the water level in the river until rain replenished it? I can't get to that Jam of all Jams source (although OMG I know the author of that book! I'm emailing her to see if she'll come take a look.) --valereee (talk) 13:19, 3 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Hi, thank you so much for taking a look! As I understand it, the Clam River dam was there just for logging purposes, holding back water in order to better transport logs when it was opened. But I can check whether the Clam River Dam or the hermit Davidson occurs anywhere else. I've split the sentence in two (as a German I still have difficulties writing short sentences) and removed one 1886, thanks for that.

I'm following the sources (Curry and the newspaper she must have used as her source) in calling it a "dynamite bomb", and am wondering whether should include more of the story of the brave man who went back to re-fuse the bomb when it didn't explode at first. But perhaps using "dynamite charge" is better except in a direct quote.

Small world that you know Edna Curry -- I spent about a pound on an ebook version of the Jam of all Jams, as I couldn't get a complete version of the earlier article. She uses a Taylors Falls newspaper quite a bit that I couldn't get hold of. It would be lovely to get comments or improvements from her.

Thanks again! —Kusma (t·c) 13:43, 3 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Curry and I are (were, in my case) members of Romance Writers of America. I wrote a couple of Harlequin romance novels back in the 1990s, and she was at the time trying to sell to Harlequin. Dealing with Harlequin for two books killed fiction writing for me. --valereee (talk) 14:08, 3 December 2019 (UTC)
 * I see. My other half is busy writing a novel, but isn't at the "publishing" state yet. I have only published scientific articles... Anyway, you had the right intuition about blowing up the Clam River dam, that absolutely wasn't a normal occurrence and there was a court case about it (see sources below). —Kusma (t·c) 14:32, 3 December 2019 (UTC)

Some more newspaper sources re: start of the jam and Davidson



 * HAHAHAHAHA the latest blowing up of the dam? The hooks are writing themselves here...--valereee (talk) 14:46, 3 December 2019 (UTC)
 * It gets better.
 * May be somewhat incidental to the log jam, but there are some great stories to be found here. —Kusma (t·c) 15:18, 3 December 2019 (UTC)
 * May be somewhat incidental to the log jam, but there are some great stories to be found here. —Kusma (t·c) 15:18, 3 December 2019 (UTC)
 * May be somewhat incidental to the log jam, but there are some great stories to be found here. —Kusma (t·c) 15:18, 3 December 2019 (UTC)


 * OMG we need an article on this guy! A living example that dirt does not kill anyone! --valereee (talk) 16:39, 3 December 2019 (UTC)

Move to 1886 St. Croix River log jam
Per St. Croix River (Wisconsin–Minnesota)? Because we don't want it moved while it's on the main page. --valereee (talk) 16:57, 3 December 2019 (UTC)
 * , I think you're right, every single Foo river is "Foo River", also in article titles like I-35W Mississippi River bridge. I'll move the page. —Kusma (t·c) 17:06, 3 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Oh...you know, I think there's a bell ringing about not moving the DYK nom, even if the page moves...I think it might do something weird that then needs fixing or something. ? --valereee (talk) 17:28, 3 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Sorry, Vanamonde, I forgot you were probably still busy. ? --valereee (talk) 17:29, 3 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Yes, you should not move the nomination page, even if you move the article, if that's what you're asking. Gatoclass (talk) 00:14, 4 December 2019 (UTC)
 * , ok, won't move it. Only reason why I'd want to move it is the following: Look at the top, where Did you know nominations/1886 St. Croix river log jam is transcluded, the intro incorrectly claims the text is transcluded from the redlinked Template:Did you know nominations/1886 St. Croix River log jam instead and features an incorrect edit link. Moving the nom page seems easier than figuring out what all of the DYK templates do... —Kusma (t·c) 17:21, 4 December 2019 (UTC)