This path was created by Alex Merrill.
Safety
Mallery, Timothy J. The Jam above the Bridge at Grand Rapids. n.d. Photograph.
Logging was a very dangerous profession at the turn of the 20th century and is still ranked among the most deadly professions even today. According to OSHA (Occupational Health and Safety Administration), "By many measures, logging is the most dangerous occupation in the United States.The hazards are more acute when dangerous environmental conditions are factored in, such as uneven, unstable or rough terrain; inclement weather including rain, snow, lightning, winds, and extreme cold and/or remote and isolated work sites where health care facilities are not immediately accessible." This was even more true in the early 1900's since workers often did not have the proper clothing equipment or lodging when logging, and freezing to death was a real threat.
Logjams, as shown above, could contain immense amounts of wood that pose very real threats to everything downstream from them. Safety was not taken into account when breaking a log jam. The methods used were often primal, with workers having to carefully jump from log to log and use a stick or metal bar to try to pry the logjam open. If that worked, the worker would make a dash back to dry land but one misstep could easily mean death, and for many it did.
Getting paid very little for the amount of risk involved, people were expendable to the large corporations that were only looking to make a profit. This was especially true in lumber mills where people would lose fingers and hands almost constantly, as there was little consideration for safety.
