Paul Lundgren
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. (more…)
Monthly Grovel: January 2021
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. (more…)
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. (more…)
Duluth You & Me: Draw What You Like
We’re nearing the end of the Duluth You & Me series and this one from the back of the book is a real do-it-yourselfer.
Use the link below for a printable PDF for your coloring and drawing pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: DIY
Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.
Mystery Photo: Trolley Car and Conductors
This undated postcard photo of two conductors standing next to a trolley car comes with a few details. The trolley car has a destination sign that reads: “W. Dul. & Aerial Bridge.” And the word “Duluth” is handwritten on the back of the card. (more…)
2020: The Year in Duluth Gig Posters
Obviously this past year has been about the lousiest live-music year ever, but nonetheless we continue our tradition at Perfect Duluth Day of looking back at a sampling of gig posters. Some shows really happened, with crowds of people, before the pandemic. Others were cancelled. Others were held outside in spaces that allowed physical distancing. And some were streamed online. (more…)
Boats Docked at Duluth Harbor Circa 1875
Photographers William Caswell and William Henry Davy ran a studio in Duluth circa 1870-75 and were responsible for many of the stereographs circulated during the era. The image above shows boats docked somewhere in the Duluth Harbor. (more…)
Mystery Photo: Duluth Residence in 1910
Based on the postmark and the last line of the scrawled message on the back, we might presume this image is of a Duluth house in 1910. What is the address? Is it still standing? Let the mystery solving begin. (more…)
Duluth You & Me: Northwest Passage
Use the link below for a printable PDF for your coloring and drawing pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: Northwest Passage
Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.
Saturday Essay: Select Gems from 2020
Last week we highlighted the five most-read pieces from the fifth year of Perfect Duluth Day’s “Saturday Essay” series. This week we ignore the numbers and look back at a few select essays of similar quality that might have been missed by non-compulsive followers.
In the past five years PDD has published 224 essays showcasing the work of 38 different writers, and we’re always looking to expand that roster. Anyone who has an original piece of literary excellence that seems to fit (or appropriately defy) the established format should email paul @ perfectduluthday.com to get involved.
And now, links to a few select gems from season five … (more…)
Enjoying the Glorious Climb-it of Duluth
Oh, those wacky puns. This postcards was mailed from Duluth 115 years ago today — Dec. 26, 1905. It arrived in Newark, N.J. three days later, and eventually at the home of Mr. L. Volland. (more…)
A Secret Garden: Demo tracks from northern Minnesota
Students and staff from Central Lakes College in Brainerd have put together a compilation album of regional musicians that features a bevvy of Duluth favorites, including Jerree Small, Low and Greg Cougar Conley. (more…)
Postcard from Drill’s Arena Marina
This undated postcard from Gallagher’s Studio of Photography appears to be circa 1971. (more…)
Aerial Transfer Bridge circa 1905
This image of Duluth’s Aerial Bridge, from Detroit Publishing Company, appears to have been shot during one of the first ferry-car transfers across the canal. The Library of Congress dates the images as 1905 … with a question mark. (more…)
What’s the deal with the stairway at Birchwood Park that leads down into a ravine?
On the edge of Birchwood Park, a small playground park at 222 W. Heard St. in the New Duluth neighborhood, is an old stairway down to a ravine that I’m guessing runs into Sargent Creek. The existence of this stairway is probably common knowledge in New Duluth, but it is kind of tucked away so that others visiting the park are unlikely to notice. And it raises the question of what used to be down there. (more…)
Duluth You & Me: Famous Places Crossword Puzzle
Use the link below for a printable PDF for your coloring and drawing pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: Famous Places
Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.
Mystery Photo #127: Miss Victoria Benson
Often we don’t know who is the subject of these old studio photos, but this time it’s written on the back. So we know this is Marie Victoria Benson of 2801 W. Second St. in Duluth’s friendly West End. (Or is it 2301?) She later became Mrs. Edward Cluett. (more…)
The Most Read Saturday Essays of 2020
We thought we were so artsy and sophisticated with our little essay series on Perfect Duluth Day. But we all know sensationalism sells. Which essays were the most read in 2020 according to Google Analytics? Well, the topics included a wet T-shirt contest, reckless behavior involving musical watercraft, flat-out fake news, a cult taking over a Lincoln Park church and a murderous dog. Readers, we hope you’re proud of yourselves.
PDD’s annual tradition of wrapping up each year of the “Saturday Essay” series with lazy top-five lists instead of arduously prepared compositions continues next week when the samplings will be less of a popularity contest and more about one person’s snobby opinion of what you should have been reading if you weren’t all heathens. (more…)
Postcard from a Warship in the Duluth-Superior Harbor
This undated postcard, published by Zenith Interstate News Company, shows the USS Forrest Sherman Destroyer-931 docked on Rice’s Point in Duluth, with the Peavey grain elevator in the background. (more…)
Petitioning to Change Duluth in 2020
It might be no surprise that 2020 saw more Duluth action on change.org than any year before it. And it’s hardly surprising that the petition with the most virtual signatures is a plea for Duluthians to wear masks. (more…)
Duluth You & Me: Winter Fun
Use the link below for a printable PDF for your coloring and drawing pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: Winter Fun
Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.
Postcards from U.S. Naval Reserve Training Ship Gopher
The undated postcards here show the USS Gopher at Duluth. The vessel had a 34-year history on the East Coast as the USS Fern before being renamed Gopher on Dec. 27, 1905, when it began duty with the Minnesota Naval Militia in Duluth. (more…)
Duluth You & Me: Hockey
Use the link below for a printable PDF for your coloring and drawing pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: Hockey
Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.
Herman Magnusson’s Reinforced Concrete Clothes Poles
Duluthians who have clothesline poles like the one in this advertisement are displaying the work of a gig-economy pioneer. There’s probably not a lot of this type of century-old ornamental concrete lawn stuff still hanging around, but it was certainly made to last and would be likely to survive just about anything except falling out of fashion.
The advertising flier dates to the mid 1920s and comes to Perfect Duluth Day via Jolee Edmondson of Savannah, Ga. She’s a granddaughter of Herman Enoch Magnusson, Duluth maker of “concrete bird baths, seats, benches and clothes line poles.” (more…)