Death of Daniel Dodge…Chronology of Events
August 2nd 1938…Daniel Dodge and Laurine MacDonald (a Gore Bay telephone operator) are wed at Meadow Brook Hall in Rochester Michigan.
August 15th 1938…Late afternoon, While still on their honeymoon at the Dodge Lodge on Manitoulin Island, Laurine Dodge observes Daniel and caretaker Frank Valliquette Sr. experimenting with a handful of dynamite and caps they had brought it into the garage. She approaches the garage to take a closer look.
Two explosions rocked the garage. Laurine and another caretaker Lloyd Bryant are injured in the explosion along with Daniel and Frank. Daniel and Lloyd are the most seriously hurt. Daniel and Lloyd are taken to a Daniel's nearby boat for transport to a hospital.
Frank Valliquette applies first aid to Daniel and Lloyd Bryant. He then made a tourniquet for Laurine's injured arm. Newspaper reports state that Daniel's skull was fractured and his arm mangled (one report said torn off) from the explosions. Eyewitness reports state that he was conscious and offered instructions to Laurine on how to operate the boat..
Halfway to the hospital, Daniel was last seen standing up on the boat, one foot on the seat and the other foot on the bulwarks. He then went overboard. He could be seen in the water but 4 foot waves and high winds prevented retrieving him. He eventually sank after surfacing a couple of times. Unable to save Daniel, the rest of the group proceeded to Little Current to seek medical attention.
September 7th 1938…Body of Daniel Dodge located by local fishermen Wes Ryder and Albert Batman about a half mile from where he went missing three weeks before. Body transported by plane back to Detroit.
September 9th 1938.. Funeral services held, body entombed inside family mausoleum at Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit.
