I really like that postcard although it seems like a bit of an odd choice for sending your kid brother. It's not exactly a cheerful image. I was trying to match where it was taken on Arch Street and had some success in finding a view of the same street from the top of the hill from around the same time, but still couldn't match anything with the present day buildings there.
  

And to add on a moderately related family story, my great-grandmother fled from Cloquet to Moose Lake during the 1918 fire and when the fire came to Moose Lake, she survived by running into the lake. A chicken, also wishing to escape the fire but not wanting to be in the lake, followed after her and perched on her head. I don't think she ever forgave the chicken.

Well, it looks like I need to add a correction. The story of my great-grandmother comes from my great aunt from Cloquet, who is turning 98 today. I was talking with her about this post and she said that her mother was actually working as a teacher in Moose Lake when the fire happened. That makes a bit more sense than fleeing from one city that is on fire to another city on fire. The 1920 population of Moose Lake was 571, so there is actually a pretty reasonable chance that my great-grandparents knew Paul's great-grandparents and may have told these fire escape stories to each other at some point 100 years ago.