January 2021 Posts

Clark House Hotel, West Superior Street circa 1870

This uncredited photo, presumably shot by Paul B. Gaylord, shows the 100 block of West Superior Street in Downtown Duluth looking northeast. The Clark House Hotel, in the foreground at left, was Duluth’s second hotel, opening in July 1870.

Paula Gudmundson – “Partita in A minor”

Dr. Paula Gudmundson, associate professor of music at the University of Minnesota Duluth, performs J.S. Bach’s “Partita in A minor” in this music video shot throughout Duluth on Sept. 16 as part of the Bach Society of Minnesota’s Mini Mobile Concerts Series.

“Big Friendly Mike” was friend to many

Obits are not common on Perfect Duluth Day, but Mike Hruza wasn’t a common person. He was known to hundreds, thousands of Duluthians as “Big Friendly Mike” because he worked for decades selling games and comics, or because he played games and talked comics with anyone who would listen (including the times I sat next to him on the bus).

Postcard from London Manor Motel

This undated postcard, published by Gallagher’s Studio of Photography, shows the London Manor Motel, one of several lodging businesses that comprised London Road’s old “Motel Row.”

London Manor was built in 1955 and later became the Chalet Motel, which was torn down in 2011. A Sherwin-Williams paint store was built at the location in 2019.

The Slice: Live Streaming Guitar Lessons with Darin Bergsven

Duluth musician Darin Bergsven has been performing and teaching guitar online since March.

In its series The Slice, WDSE-TV presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.

Duluth You & Me: A Review Game

As the Duluth You & Me series nears its conclusion, we present this review game. Use the link below for a printable PDF to use as your game board.
Duluth You & Me: A Review Game

Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.

Heely Tricks with JamesG: December 2020

Another monthly installment of wheeled-sneaker stunts from former Duluthian James Geisler, also known as the hip-hop artist JamesG.

Need help with finding old newscast

I need help finding an old July 4 news segment from a Duluth TV station. It aired in the 1980s and it had a segment about Superior’s Fourth of July parade. I was interviewed on camera and would like to see if anyone knows where I can find a copy of it or direct me to a website that might have it. I’d love to see young me again. Thanks for any help anyone could provide.

Making a Statement

Everyone is expected to make a statement from time to time. The obvious high-level example is when there’s a natural disaster or some kind of manmade violence and we await official remarks from the President of the United States. But it extends all the way to the dinner table, where someone might ask, “Beatrice, what do you think about copper-nickel sulfide mining?”

Some would say it’s rude to bring something like that up over supper. Beatrice might choke on the green-bean casserole in panic, fearing a faction of the family could cut ties with her if she speaks her mind.

In America we like to profess that Beatrice is just as important as Donald Trump or Joe Biden, but we are also quick to acknowledge that opinions are amplified by status and reputation.

Donald Trump has a posse. Joe Biden has a posse. It doesn’t matter if Beatrice is more intelligent, more articulate or could kickbox both of their teeth in. She is just Beatrice. They are Presidents.

Selective Focus: Hoar Frost / Rime Ice

The ice crystals have us surrounded. Surrender to the frost.

Collected here are select Instagram photos celebrating the wonder of water vapor condensation freezing to cold surfaces (hoar frost) and/or cooled water in the fog turning to ice (rime ice). Probably more the latter than the former.

The Slice: The Heart of Piedmont Ski Trails

Take a cross-country ski tour with Glen Nelson, one of the pioneers of the Piedmont Ski Trails in Duluth.

In its series The Slice, WDSE-TV presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.

One Less Guest – “Breezeblocks”

Duluth band One Less Guest performs “Breezeblocks,” a song composed by the British indie rock band Alt-J.

The live rooftop performance is part of its 2021 collection of favorite cover songs.

Monthly Grovel: January 2021

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As the masked, online and distanced events drag on, the PDD Calendar continues to catalog the options. Each month we reach out with one beggarly blog post to remind everyone that human beings and not machines are at work editing and publishing calendar events. So if you appreciate it, drop a few bucks in the PayPal account.

Postcard from Duluth’s Hotel Lenox

This undated postcard, published by E. C. Kropp Co. of Milwaukee, highlights some of the features of the Hotel Lenox in Downtown Duluth. The hotel was torn down in the 1960s.

Gaelynn Lea – “Bound by a Thread”

Duluth musician Gaelynn Lea performs “Bound by a Thread” from her 2018 album, Learning How to Stay.

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