Did JFK have a ball in Duluth?

Well, this is a pretty big anniversary. Not two months after his 1963 stay in the Hotel Duluth, Jack found a bullet, or three, in Dallas. I’ve been reading up on the frothy array of differing assassination opinions and greatly look forward to another go around with the subject this week on PBS. The more you get into it, the deeper and messier it gets, the more suspects there are, and on and on. I doubt the fine bloggers of PDD are closer to the truth than anyone, but please, offer your ideas or memories.

Jim Heffernan’s Blog: “A Kennedy affair to remember — even in Duluth

The Swinging Bridge at Jay Cooke

It’s back, as of Nov. 1.

This week: marijuana, mountain movies and Monroe

  

Here’s a sampling of what you have to look forward to this week on the PDD Calendar.

Tonight there’s a discussion on the medical use of marijuana in Minnesota at UMD.

There is still lots of theater going on in town with Guys & Dolls opening at Marshall on Thursday and Memory of Water opening on Friday at UWS. Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Frozen, and Last Summer at Bluefish Cove continue their runs.

Hartley Nature Center celebrates its tenth anniversary on Thursday with an open house.

Give to the Max Day is Thursday to encourage people to give to their favorite charities. Any you want to promote? Link it in the comments below.

Chris Monroe opens a new exhibition, “Look Again,” at Red Mug Coffeehouse on Friday.

The Banff Mountain Film Festival comes to town with two different presentations on Saturday and Sunday at Marshall.

So what are you doing this week? Can we tag along? Any upcoming events that you want to promote? Let us know.

10 November

“Awareness Now”

I’m looking for information about a public activist campaign from the 1960s called “Awareness Now,” or something like it, possibly co-sponsored or sponsored by the Duluth chapter of the NAACP.

If you can help, post below or email!

Milk Prices

First of all, it’s a little ridiculous that milk costs different prices at different fat contents. This is not standard throughout the rest of the state (I do, however, find it quite humorous that most of us are willing to pay more for better tasting beer, but not better tasting milk). Does anyone know why 2% has been so much cheaper than other kinds of milk lately? Usually milk here gets progressively more expensive at higher fat contents, but the past few times I have gone grocery shopping 2% has been almost a dollar cheaper per gallon than even skim milk.

Wood rings?

Does anyone know of a local jeweler/craftsperson who makes wood engagement rings? A friend has a loose diamond that he’d like made into a ring for his sweetie, preferably in wood.

Miss Dorothy Crawford’s Duluth Adventure

There’s a fun piece on the Glensheen Blog called “No Outdoor Sports Until it Warms Up to Zero.” It’s a 101-year-old letter from a Vassar College student named Dorothy Crawford, who traveled to Duluth to visit her classmate, Helen Congdon, and stayed at the Congdon mansion. She writes about the comforts of Glensheen, going to the bonspiel, going to a show at the Orpheum (now the NorShor), eating caviar sandwiches at the Hotel Spaulding, skating on the lake, etc., and concludes with a tobogganing party at Chester Bowl.

Chipotle and Qdoba coming to Duluth


Chipotle Mexican Grill | Qdoba Mexican Grill

Apparently it’s really happening.

  • Chipotle will open at Miller Hill Mall.
  • Qdoba has announced it’s coming, but not when or where.
  • Big Burrito will be locating in the BlueStone Lofts area by UMD, according to the Statesman.

Update: The UMD Statesman report seems to have been in error. Numerous other sources have reported it is Qdoba that is locating in Bluestone Commons. Both Qdoba and Chipolte are expected to open in summer 2014.

So here’s one more post where folks can comment about how having chain burrito joints come to Duluth either completely fulfills us as people and as a city, or how everyone who gets excited about it is some kind of rube. Get it all out of your system now, if you haven’t already on Facebook.

Duluth News Tribune: Chipotle, Qdoba restaurant chains plan to open locations in Duluth
Fox 21 News: Qdoba and Chipotle both coming to Duluth
Eyewitness News: “Two burrito chains coming to Duluth
Northland’s NewsCenter: Chipotle to open at Miller Hill Mall in March of 2014

Perfect Asian Restaurant: Hanabi Japanese Cuisine

Duluth was a late adopter to sushi. Although sumptuous vinegared rice rolls showed up as a special menu item at a few places around town in prior decades, it wasn’t until 2006 that Zen House opened on the city’s border, technically in Hermantown, and became the first consistent, daily sushi source. Zen House added a second location in Downtown Duluth in 2009, but Hanabi Japanese Cuisine opened at the start of 2010, immediately becoming Duluth’s sushi king. It’s also the best Asian restaurant in town, having garnered 36.6 percent of the vote in Perfect Duluth Day’s poll.

Duluth Woodworking Club

There is a small woodworking club here in town that started last fall. It had a good amount of interest and we had a handful of meetings and demos over the winter. There was a hiatus over the summer and now it’s time to get things going again.

The Never-ending Duluth ISP Problem

Charter is getting nastier. I’m getting frustrated. In the vain hope that something has changed in the world of ISPs in Duluth, I did a web search from a link in a previous PDD post from a few years ago.

Surprise Surprise. Something has changed.

Does anybody have any experience dealing with Air Fiber? From their website they don’t seem to be as big of jerks as the other guys. And that they might actually give me what they say they will.

Thoughts?

The Louie Show

Minnesota-born comedian Louie Anderson starred in a CBS sitcom in 1996 that was set in Duluth. It didn’t last long. Six episodes were produced; five were aired. None of the episodes were shot in Duluth, but the opening theme featured Louie in a sweatshirt with “Duluth” across the chest and some transition footage was shot in Duluth. The show is not available on DVD or streaming on Netflix, but thanks to old VHS copies floating around town we’ve been able to pull together excerpts from four episodes (see below).

Perfect Vegetarian Menu: Duluth Grill

Duluth doesn’t have an exclusively vegetarian restaurant, but there are a number of places that go out of their way to cater to the non-carniverous. Among them, At Sara’s Table / Chester Creek Café and Duluth Grill stood out in Perfect Duluth Day’s polling, and in the head-to-head matchup Duluth Grill came out on top with 64.2 percent of the vote. It is Duluth’s best restaurant among vegetarians.

Recommendations for Duluth moving companies?

I’ll be leaving Duluth later this month, moving to Minneapolis, and next week will begin to get quotes from local companies. My plan is to have the movers pack and move everything from my small apartment. Can anyone recommend any particular company for me to look into?

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