Now Here’s a Duluth Job Opportunity

Once again, the City of Duluth has posted a job opening for the position of Aerial Lift Bridge Operator.

I’ve always thought that if I had this job, I could go around calling myself “Mr. Duluth.” It is, from an outsider’s standpoint at least, pretty much the classic Duluth job.

19 Comments

Jim M

about 13 years ago

Nights, weekends, long hours, lots of  responsibly, enormous stress, etc.. A classic Duluth job.

Barrett Chase

about 13 years ago

Don't forget exposure to the elements.

hunter

about 13 years ago

It's a pretty good paying job for the right person. I would just like to know if there is a degree for lift bridges (heh) or probably just some mechanical degree?

Paul Lundgren

about 13 years ago

I think they should just hire a coordinator and everyone in town should have to take turns filling one-hour shifts. It would be like jury duty ... an obligation of citizenship.

I'm kidding, of course, but it would be cool if that were indeed a practical solution.

drifter

about 13 years ago

What if we had a live webcam on the harbor, and an internet voting system controlling the bridge?  Then people around the world could look at whether or not there is a ship coming and then vote on whether it should go up or not.  If a majority of respondents click "raise," it goes up and stays up until a majority click "lower."

TopOfTheHillMan

about 13 years ago

Oh now come on PDD'ers!  Do I have to say it?!?!  Did no one else see the set-up?!?!  OK here I go...

This job would have its ups and downs. 

And here I thought you guys were smart?

Tony D.

about 13 years ago

Top o' Hill, perhaps the omission of that cliché was out of respect to operators, as the following from X-comm's "Crossing the Canal: An Illustrated History of Duluth's Aerial Bridge" might suggest:

"Larson may have thought the task of replacing Douville was difficult, but luckily he had another former Navy man on the bridge: Ryan Beamer. If you ever meet him, though, don't start by joking, "I bet your job has its ups and downs." The joke has been directed at bridge operators for years, and lazy copyeditors have relied on it as a headline grabber since at least the 1940s. But Beamer knew the joke long before he ever set foot on the bridge; prior to going to work on the span, he had served in the Navy as a submariner. Beamer spent five years as an electronics technician on the USS Kamehameha, a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine."

The book contains a list of everyone who has ever worked as a bridge operator and bios of the supervisors, so if you are truly interested in the job, you might learn something about it before you interview! It helps to have a background in electronics, engineering, and a Naval experience seems to improve your employability on da bridge.

doubledutch

about 13 years ago

My boys are absolutely certain the lift bridge operator lives in the little "house" on the bridge - as was I, once upon a time.  If that were one of the perks of the job, I'd apply.

vicarious

about 13 years ago

Job Instructions:

Press "Up."

Press "Down."

Yell at stragglers for dawdling.

Barrett Chase

about 13 years ago

Actually, while I don't see any qualifications included in this job listing, past listings for the job included fairly extensive qualifications. It's more like:

Press "Up"

Press "Down"

Climb to the top and weld something.

Diagnose and fix engine that runs the bridge.

Yell at stragglers for dawdling.

Timk

about 13 years ago

You ever notice that red light on top of the main "arch?" Yep, changing that bulb is part of the job.

Vicarious

about 13 years ago

Barrett, I was going to list the technical qualifications (of which I have none) along with the "up, down, yell" thing, but that would have decreased the level of unnecessary snarkiness I was trying to convey.

doubledutch

about 13 years ago

Job requirements begin on page 11 of this application:

Bridge Operator Application

Barrett Chase

about 13 years ago

That WDIO story calls it the "ironic and historic aerial lift bridge." Poor treatment of a proper noun aside, what is "ironic" about the Aerial Life Bridge?

The only thing I can think of is maybe they mean it is made of iron? That isn't a correct usage of "ironic."

Tony D.

about 13 years ago

Barrett: No idea why they say "ironic." It's another story by a young reporter who doesn't know anything about Duluth. The Aerial Bridge was not a lift bridge until 1930, and by 2005 forty-nine people had served as bridge operators, not "less than 40" as reported. I know these are "petty" issues to most folks, but I'm getting pretty tired of historic misinformation put out there by young, ignorant "passing-through-town" reporters. Perhaps, when they get to town, the first thing they should do is learn something about its past and its people before they try reporting on it.

When my book about the aerial bridge came out, the young reporter who interviewed me for KBJR didn't even know we had a ship canal, and she worked in a building in the Canal Park Business District just a few blocks from the bridge. What did she think the bridge crossed? Why would you interview someone without first getting some background on the topic (or, in this case, at least reading some of the book)? Why didn't someone at the station -- say, an experienced anchor or experienced news director/investigative reporter -- get her up to speed on the topic, which is also an icon of the city?

OK, descending the soap box ...

Barrett Chase

about 13 years ago

That story was 142 words long. I counted 12 errors.

Tony D.

about 13 years ago

Barrett:

I traded email with Steve Goodspeed. Apparently in Renee Passalt's video piece, she says "iconic." Whoever then transcribed the story changed that to "ironic" and I'm guessing is likely the same person responsible for all the other grammar/punctuation errors.

bluenewt

about 13 years ago

Rats. Now they've corrected it. I was enjoying living in a city with an ironic landmark.

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