A century of change turns Pine River’s dam into a community jewel

PINE RIVER — It was only five years ago that the Dam Park in Pine River looked very different.

At that time, a dam with locks and archaic concrete structures that hinted at its long-gone past separated one section of the Pine River coming out of Norway Lake from the other. It was historic, but it was anything but pretty.

Still, it was a gathering place for Pine River visitors and residents.

"As a child, I remember thinking it was so cool to go down to the dam because my dad had built the old log shelter there," Jayna Crawford said. "We would sometimes go swimming, and I even took swimming lessons at that spot. As I grew older, the dam became a place my friends and I would run to after cross country practice, jumping off the platform to cool down."

On one side was a walkway over a conc