January 2023 Posts

The Story of Grace

Austin McConnell delves into the backstory of Grace, the official state photograph of Minnesota. Photographer Eric Enstrom shot the image in 1918 at his home in Bovey, about 60 miles northwest of Duluth.

My retirement fund in squished pennies

I told artist Moira Villard that she was my retirement plan, as I pressed six pennies at the Duluth Public Library on Saturday. Someday, when she’s even more famous, these pennies will be worth more than a cent!

List of Duluth Authors from Duluth Public Library Vertical File

It used to be, a library committed to local information had to keep it in a “clippings file” or “vertical file.” The local history room at the Duluth Public Library still has one and has a master entry on clippings about authors from/in Duluth.

West Duluth theater project moves forward, seeks city loan

The Alhambra Theater sits just to the east of the West Theatre on Central Avenue in West Duluth (Photos by Mark Nicklawske)

A long-lost vaudeville theater renovation gained ground this week when city officials authorized grant money to fund a business loan for the West Duluth entertainment district project.

The Duluth Economic Development Authority approved a $150,000 grant Jan. 25 to the city of Duluth 1200 Fund for restoration work at the Alhambra Theater, 321 N. Central Ave. The move allows the 1200 Fund to loan building owner Paladin Properties LLC a total of $200,000 for project completion.

PDD Quiz: January 2023

The first month of 2023 is nearly over; how many of its headlines do you recall? Jump into this week’s PDD quiz to find out!

A Valentine’s Day-themed quiz comes your way on Feb. 12. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Feb. 9.

Ripped at Molly’s in 2003

[Editor’s note: For this week’s essay we’ve once again pulled out a relic from the archive of Slim Goodbuzz, who served as Duluth’s “booze connoisseur” from 1999 to 2009. One of Slim’s favorite old stops was Molly’s Tavern in Superior, which had a sign outside promising “dancing & sandwiches,” neither of which could be found inside. The bar closed in 2005 and later became Tower Avenue Tavern. Twenty years ago the Sultan of Sot paid a visit to Molly’s and wrote the article below for the Jan. 22, 2003 issue of the Ripsaw newspaper.]

Whenever I find myself at Molly’s, I’m usually there to “finish up.” Usually, it’s late, I’m half in the bag and I have little interest in anything other than the square foot of bar top directly in front of me — the magical zone in which I lay down money and it miraculously turns into booze. But tonight Sean the Locksmith and I end up at Molly’s relatively early in evening. And I’ll be damned if Molly’s isn’t a pretty sweet place.

This doesn’t really surprise me. I’ve heard many tales of the coolness of this bar: the cheap booze, the weird and amazing antiques scattered about, the mother of Darryl Hall’s child pouring drinks. But maybe it’s to its credit that I’ve never really analyzed it. I go to Molly’s because I want to drink undisturbed. The appreciation of the bar among homosexuals and its seedy location at the very end of Tower Avenue help to keep away most of the local dillweeds.

Digital piano repair person needed

Duluth music weirdos,

Who can repair my 17(?)-year-old Technics SX-PR51? It turns on, but that’s it. I’m sure it needs a circuit board thing or a new fantambulator or something. I would rather pay an individual than pay Schmitt Music, but I’ll do what I have to do.

Mana Bear Bolton has her way with the Tweed elevator

Mana Bear Bolton‘s “Primordial Rapture” opened in the Tweed Museum’s elevator on Aug. 30. Read all about it at findmana.com.

Vignettes from the Edge of a Beaver Pond

Researchers at the Voyageurs Wolf Project placed cameras around the edge of a beaver pond this past summer hoping to get good footage of wolves. Instead, they captured a whole lot of otter activity along with a few other critters, including a black bear and three cubs that predictably knocked over a camera.

Lovehouse – “She’s Gonna Catch You”

Duluth band Lovehouse released the EP Shades of Red last summer, along with this video for the song “She’s Gonna Catch You.”

Ladies’ Literature Class of Duluth

The Duluth Ladies’ Literature Class leaves few electronic traces outside the local collection at the Duluth Public Library.

Shippee – “World Today”

The fourth video release from Blake Shippee’s new solo album, It All Started from a Whisper, was produced by Laura Jean.

Cut- and Burned-over Timber Land near Duluth

This image is from a stereograph published circa the early 20th century by the Keystone View Company of Meadville, Pa.

Lester Park Literary Club

In visiting the new local history librarian at the Duluth Public Library, I am uncovering even more gems about the history of writing and literature in Duluth.

One of those gems is the Lester Park Literary Club.

Avant-Garde Women: Review of the novel “Branded” by founding Dadaist Emmy Hennings

Contents
-Introduction
-The Key to Dada
-Hennings on Language
-Hennings and Expressionism
-Hennings as a Burroughsian Beat
-Technology in Branded
-The Branded Playlist

Introduction

Just last year I pointedly wondered why the books of founding Dadaist Emmy Hennings remain untranslated into English after more than 100 years. I threatened to translate them myself even though I don’t know German. Thankfully, I caught wind of a forthcoming English edition of Hennings’ autobiographical novel, Branded (edited and translated by Katharine Rout). Since I demanded translations and one appeared, now I demand this book become a film. It is Hennings’ origin story, the often hilarious tale of a proto-Dadaist navigating contradiction, absurdity, and lies.