Talk:Cordwood Pete

Fakelore!? Say it ain't so!
Cordwood Pete was the only thing I had going for me in this crazy world, and now I can't even count on him any more... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.142.172.26 (talk) 18:43, 5 May 2012 (UTC)

Deletion
Cordwood Pete appears to be a very recent invention, with all references stemming from a single source. 97.126.8.83 (talk) 10:09, 2 February 2022 (UTC)

Pictures
I removed the following two pictures as they seem to portray local lumberjacks and there is no clear relevance to the subject.

Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus&#124; reply here 12:48, 5 February 2022 (UTC)

File:Cordwood Pete.jpg
Would be good to verify this picture is not a hoax. The description is "From Minnesota Historical Society's art and photograph database Negative 97476 For use in Cordwood Pete wikipedia page Publishled prior to 1923". There is no link. Ping uploader User:Ray.lowry - can you tell us where did you get this picture? Where is the official caption and who confirmed this photo portrays this person? Was CP a fictional character or a real person?? Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus&#124; reply here 12:50, 5 February 2022 (UTC)

Fakelore?
This has been categorized under Category:Fakelore by User:Dimadick but while I agree this story is dubious we can't call it fakelore or a hoax without reliable sources for such criticism. We can't have such a category without a reliable source for such a classification. Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus&#124; reply here 12:58, 5 February 2022 (UTC)

I'm guilty
I created this page more than a decade ago. I stopped at the Cordwood Pete Museum/Giftshop in Fosston, MN, to use the restroom. I looked up Cordwood Pete on my phone while literally sitting on the toilet, and was amused at what I read. I created the page when I returned home. It was not my intention to create a hoax. I was just repeating a myth created by folks in a small Minnesota town. Anyone familiar with the Paul Bunyon "legend" knows that it was created by a real estate advertising campaign in the early 20th Century, and is total bunk. This is pretty much the same. If you read the 2020 version linked below, you will see that it is clearly identified as fiction, and there is a paragraph on whether it constitutes folklore, fakelore, or total nonsense. Someone made substantial changes in 2021, making it appear as though it was a legitimate legend. This individual also deleted several citations. The only thing I really see wrong with the 2020 version is that a generic photo of a lumberjack is specifically labeled as Cordwood Pete (other generic photos are identified as generic lumberjacks), and that citation #5 no longer links directly to the obituary of former Fosston Mayor Arvid "Clem" Clementson, who is identified in the story as a possible originator of the tale. Again, not my intention to create a hoax or a fuss. If you go to the Folklore or Fakelore pages, virtually every character listed is completely fictional, most of fairly recent origin. If the page is deleted, my feelings will not be hurt. Indeed, if you google "Cordwood Pete" there are a dozen or more pages whose text comes directly, often word-for-word from the Wkipedia page I created, so old Peter will live on in internet land. Here is the 2020 version, which basically was on Wkipiedia for more than a decade. Though once very active, I no longer am, and really don't know how to make the changes suggested above. But again, if you choose to delete the page, this is all moot.

[ https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cordwood_Pete&diff=997265095&oldid=997264562 ]

Wikipedia is a national treasure, and I thank all of you who have made it possible. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Ray.lowry

Cordwood Pete news report
The Vimeo clip below is an old local news report about Pete. He is all over the internet, in multiple languages, and his Wikipedia page links to dozens of other Wikipedia pages. The 2020 version of the Wikipedia page clearly identifies him as fiction, and gives sourcing regarding the differences between folklore, fakelore, and total fiction. If you look at all google search information (and watch the video below), it is clear that Pete is a fictional creation, though possibly based upon a real person or persons. My suggestion would be to revert to the 2020 version in Wikipedia, delete the inoperative citation #5 for the obituary of Mayor Arvid "Clem" Clemmentson, and change the photo identifing Pete to something such as "A typical lumberjack from the days of Cordwood Pete." Of the thousands of contributions I have made to Wikipedia,, I have never seen such a fuss. Let the people in small-town Minnesota have the myth they worked so hard to create.

News report of Cordwood Pete: https://vimeo.com/channels/1428613/307371016

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Ray.lowry

Hi Ray, that vimeo link is broken for me. I initially stumbled upon this page because I have a genuine interest in American folklore and was researching lesser-known ones. I started questioning things due to the lack of verifiable historical details here. Now, and this is an *important distinction*, the historicity of Cordwood Pete as a person is a secondary concern for me -- I'm primarily interested in how, where and when *the legend* (the literal stories themselves) came to be. This is where things get murky as I'm sure you'll agree.

My intention was never disparage you as an editor (I looked at your page, you have many great contributions!) and the last thing I want to do is be the fun police for something that's not really a big deal. But I think it's important to try to get history right as much as possible, even in the small details.

Also, I'm open to all possibilities regarding the future of this page -- I've been wrong before. Toogs (talk) 03:47, 8 February 2022 (UTC)

Cordwood Pete gets cancelled
The Vimeo link listed above is NOT inactive. It is very much alive out there on the internet. I see someone declared themselves to be the fun police long enough to cancel poor Cordwood Pete. Is big brother Paul the next to get the axe? What a world of scolds we live in. I took it upon myself to put the original 2010 version of the Cordwood Pete story - the one which declares Pete to be a fictional tall tale character probably created by someone in Fosston, Minnesota - onto the page for Fosston, Minnesota. I also deleted the photo specifically identifying a generic lumberjack as Cordwood Pete, and I replaced the inactive link to the obit of former Fosston Mayor Arvid "Clem" Clementson (the likely creator of the tale) with a link that is active. Cordwood Pete is included on the "see also" list on the Paul Bunyan page, and is also on the list entitled "About Imaginary People" on the Tall Tale page. If someone feels the need to cancel questionable legends, there are nine individuals on that list who can get the axe. User: Ray.lowry 10:01 AM, April 2, 2022