Month: August 2023
Soap Box Derby History
I am looking to talk to folks who might have a memory of being in Duluth’s Soap Box Derby — either on London Road but especially the last few years that it was in Hartley Park.
The elm tree in the center of the photo above stood in the stream bank where the old farm road/junction of Stornaway Street was until the blowdown of 2016. The photo is from Hartley Nature Center where the Dale Mell’s 1964 derby car is displayed.
Postcard from the Grain Elevators on the Duluth-Superior Harbor
This undated postcard shows the Cargill and Belt Line grain elevators on the Duluth-Superior Harbor a good long while ago.
PDD Shop Talk: Final words on the first 20 years
The Latelys performed on the outdoor stage at Bent Paddle Brewing on June 29 during PDDXX: Perfect Duluth Day’s 20th Birthday Party.
It’s been two months since Perfect Duluth Day celebrated its 20th anniversary. The speed of life hasn’t allowed much time for reflection and gratitude, so this post is an attempt to jam that in so we can properly push forward with the next 20 years. (more…)
A Sea Change for Lake Superior: Mishi Bizhiw — Great Panther
This short video explores Ojibwe perspectives and cultural stories associated with Lake Superior, with interviews and artwork by Carl Gawboy and Jonathan Thunder. A version of it will be included in the public television documentary, A Sea Change for Lake Superior. (more…)
PDD Quiz: August 2023
Dive into this edition of the PDD Quiz and see how many local headlines you remember from the past month.
The next PDD quiz will highlight area hiking trails; it will be published on Sept. 10. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Sept. 6. (more…)
A Fun Time with PJ’s Rescue
These youth I know spent the afternoon with PJ’s Rescue at the Lincoln Park Resource Center & Garden. It was a kind of life-saving joy. (more…)
Climate>Duluth: Melanie Wallace and Bonnie Waltch
Climate>Duluth host Tone Lanzillo interviews Melanie Wallace and Bonnie Waltch of Climate Emergency Feedback Loops Films.
Recorded in hybrid style at Duluth Public Access Community Television’s studio in City Hall.
Duluth Runway Fashion
Comedian and sitcom actor Tim Allen referenced Duluth in a scene on the ABC-TV sitcom Last Man Standing in 2015. The scene appears in season 4, episode 19, titled “Summer Internship.” (more…)
Video Archive: Bagley Family in 1932 and 1937
Duluth’s 50-acre Bagley Nature Area gets its name from Dr. William R. Bagley, who gifted the land to the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Dr. Bagley’s hobby was nature photography. He was known to use a camera mounted on the stock of a gun in pursuit of wild animal photos. His family home movies, however, were probably not shot using wooden parts from weaponry. (more…)
The Slice: Olcott Park Greenhouse and Botanical Garden
The Olcott Park Greenhouse and Botanical Garden in Virginia is open year-round during volunteer-staffed open hours on Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. It offers the chance to view a variety of tropical plants in the comfort and warmth of a unique green space during the long winter months.
In its series The Slice, PBS North 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 Great Lake. Two Great Cities.
Early 1980s Twin Ports tourism newspaper ad.
Champ the Bulldog: Bronze Edition
Sculptor Nick Legeros recently completed a bronze sculpture of Champ the Bulldog, mascot of the University of Minnesota Duluth. The statue was installed on Aug. 8 near the walkway in front of the Darland Administration Building.
Postcard from Northland Country Club
This undated postcard, published by Kreiman’s Lyceum News & Book Store, shows Duluth’s Northland Country Club circa the 1930s. (more…)
Selective Focus: More Summer PDDs
Select photos from Instagram spanning mid-July to mid-August 2023, all hashtagged with the name of a certain website. #perfectduluthday (more…)
Retired Duluth librarian writes second book
Duluth Stories: People and Events from the Zenith City’s Past was published by the author with the help of X-Presso Books in January.
Did you know that German prisoners of war worked in local lumber camps during World War Two? That the Zenith City produced four opera divas and eight classical-music composers? That no fewer than six Duluthians worked on the Manhattan Project, developing the world’s first atomic bombs? Inside these pages, retired Duluth Public Library reference librarian David Ouse tells the tales of not only accomplished Duluthians — including local women who broke down barriers by becoming the first female practitioners of traditionally male professions — but also of visits from the famous, the exploits of a couple of “human flies,” two early (and lost) motion pictures set in the Zenith City, and much more. (more…)
Oh. That Duluth.
The 2004 film The Life and Death of Peter Sellers contains a brief mention of Duluth. Geoffrey Rush plays the role of the famous actor/comedian Sellers, whose agent Dennis Selinger, played by Henry Goodman, encourages him to broaden his audience in the scene embedded above. (more…)
R.I.P. Rex Bar at Fitger’s
Patrons gathered at the Rex Bar Sunday for its last night in business. (Photo by Mike Creger)
Rex Bar at Fitger’s closed Sunday after nearly 15 years in business. It opened in 2008, following a brief period when the bar was called Lido. Prior to that the space operated as the Fitger’s Tap Room. (more…)
Duluth Artificial Limb House
Long before Duluth had a House of Donuts it had a house of limbs. This ad is from the 1900 Duluth-Superior city directory.
Quarry Park: Let’s Have Sex
Though it is important to first point out that applying graffiti on rocks or any other thing in a city park is just plain wrong, we should also not let the medium distract from the message.
A Sea Change for Lake Superior: When the Ice Melts
Notoriously cold Lake Superior is among the fastest warming of the world’s large lakes. This excerpt from the upcoming public television documentary A Sea Change for Lake Superior documents research at the Large Lakes Observatory at University of Minnesota Duluth investigating how variations in winter ice-cover plays in that change.
The documentary is a coproduction of the Center for Global Environmental Education at Hamline University and WDSE-TV PBS North. It is scheduled for release in December.
PDD Quiz: Restaurant Roundup
This summer has seen lots of movement on the restaurant front: new restaurants are popping up and existing restaurants are moving or expanding to additional locations. Dig into this week’s quiz to test your knowledge of the local food scene.
The next PDD quiz comes your way on Aug. 27; it will review the month’s headlines and happenings. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Aug. 23. (more…)
Video Archive: Duluth cineplex announced in 2003
It was 20 years ago that Duluth Entertainment Convention Center officials announced plans to build an eight-screen movie theater next to the DECC’s Omnimax theater. Within a few weeks the plan expanded to 10 screens and had the name Canal Park 10. When it opened on Dec. 22, 2004, it bore the name Duluth 10 and was operated by Cinema Entertainment Corp. (more…)
Literary History: Duluth Manuscript Club
As I’m exhuming? excavating? exploring? the literary history of Duluth (largely by scooping up books from thrift stores and picking up connections with people wherever I can find them) I find the weirdest things, like books published by the Duluth Manuscript Club. (more…)
Dave Rave and the Governors – “Lear Jet”
Canadian rocker Dave Rave has been teaming up with Minnesota-based musicians for more than a decade, performing as Dave Rave and the Governors. Although the Minnesotans in the group are mostly from the Twin Cities, Duluthians will recognize Rich Mattson of Sparta playing guitar at far left in this music video.
“Lear Jet” is from the band’s new album, Seven, recorded at Mattson’s Sparta Sound studio. Video by Reggie Pype.