Paul Lundgren
Mystery Photo #69: Tall Ship
Based on fashions of the spectators, this photo appears to be circa the 1990s. Throngs have gathered to watch a tall ship sail into the Duluth Harbor. What is the name of the vessel? When precisely did this happen? (more…)
Mystery Photo #68: Aerial Transfer Bridge
There’s no doubt the subject of this mystery photo is the gondola car on Duluth’s Aerial Bridge, but what year was the photo shot? (more…)
List of Bands that Have Played Head of the Lakes Fair in Superior
The Head of the Lakes Fair is an annual tradition in Superior. The weekend event usually features bands performing on a stage in the center of the Superior Speedway. Often the headliner is a major touring act that is a bit past its prime. Below is a scattered list of bands that have played the festival. Because … nostalgia. (more…)
Postcard from Duluth Elks Lodge #133 in 1913
This postcard was mailed 105 years ago — June 8, 1913 — when E.J. Turnbo was “enjoying the cool breeze and having one big time.” (more…)
Ore Classification Yards in Proctor
This undated photo, attributed to photographer John Vachon, comes with the following caption:
View of the ore classification yards of the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railroad. Here cars are made up in train loads according to quality specification and hauled by powerful mallet engines down the six-mile grade to the Duluth ore dock.
Postcard from the Canal Park Marine Museum
The Lake Superior Marine Museum & Maritime Visitor Center doesn’t look much different today than it did in this postcard, probably from the 1970s. (more…)
Where in Duluth? PDD 15th Anniversary Challenge #15 of 15
If you’ve followed Perfect Duluth Day for long, you know how to play “Where in Duluth?” A photo from an undisclosed spot is posted, people guess the location in the comments, someone eventually gets it right and everyone else admires that person’s brilliance. But now, as part of PDD’s 15th anniversary celebration, there are prizes on the line. (more…)
Where in Duluth? PDD 15th Anniversary Challenge #14 of 15
If you’ve followed Perfect Duluth Day for long, you know how to play “Where in Duluth?” A photo from an undisclosed spot is posted, people guess the location in the comments, someone eventually gets it right and everyone else admires that person’s brilliance. But now, as part of PDD’s 15th anniversary celebration, there are prizes on the line. (more…)
Postcards from the Flame excursion boat
The undated postcard above, published by Gallagher’s Studio of Photography, shows the Flame excursion boat entering the Duluth Shipping Canal. (more…)
ViewMaster: Duluth and North Shore Drive
Here they are: “7 three-dimensional pictures in full-color Kodachrome” featuring “Duluth and North Shore Drive: Minnesota U.S.A.,” copyright 1950 by Sawyer’s Inc. of Portland, Ore.
(more…)Where in Duluth? PDD 15th Anniversary Challenge #10 of 15
If you’ve followed Perfect Duluth Day for long, you know how to play “Where in Duluth?” A photo from an undisclosed spot is posted, people guess the location in the comments, someone eventually gets it right and everyone else admires that person’s brilliance. But now, as part of PDD’s 15th anniversary celebration, there are prizes on the line. (more…)
Where in Duluth? PDD 15th Anniversary Challenge #9 of 15
If you’ve followed Perfect Duluth Day for long, you know how to play “Where in Duluth?” A photo from an undisclosed spot is posted, people guess the location in the comments, someone eventually gets it right and everyone else admires that person’s brilliance. But now, as part of PDD’s 15th anniversary celebration, there are prizes on the line. (more…)
Part of Wholesale District, Duluth, Minn.
This old postcard from E.C. Kropp Co. has the year 1917 penciled on the front, which seems roughly accurate.
Where in Duluth? PDD 15th Anniversary Challenge #7 of 15
If you’ve followed Perfect Duluth Day for long, you know how to play “Where in Duluth?” A photo from an undisclosed spot is posted, people guess the location in the comments, someone eventually gets it right and everyone else admires that person’s brilliance. But now, as part of PDD’s 15th anniversary celebration, there are prizes on the line. (more…)
Where in Duluth? PDD 15th Anniversary Challenge #6 of 15
If you’ve followed Perfect Duluth Day for long, you know how to play “Where in Duluth?” A photo from an undisclosed spot is posted, people guess the location in the comments, someone eventually gets it right and everyone else admires that person’s brilliance. But now, as part of PDD’s 15th anniversary celebration, there are prizes on the line. (more…)
Where in Duluth? PDD 15th Anniversary Challenge #5 of 15
If you’ve followed Perfect Duluth Day for long, you know how to play “Where in Duluth?” A photo from an undisclosed spot is posted, people guess the location in the comments, someone eventually gets it right and everyone else admires that person’s brilliance. But now, as part of PDD’s 15th anniversary celebration, there are prizes on the line. (more…)
Where in Duluth? PDD 15th Anniversary Challenge #4 of 15
If you’ve followed Perfect Duluth Day for long, you know how to play “Where in Duluth?” A photo from an undisclosed spot is posted, people guess the location in the comments, someone eventually gets it right and everyone else admires that person’s brilliance. But now, as part of PDD’s 15th anniversary celebration, there are prizes on the line. (more…)
Where in Duluth? PDD 15th Anniversary Challenge #3 of 15
If you’ve followed Perfect Duluth Day for long, you know how to play “Where in Duluth?” A photo from an undisclosed spot is posted, people guess the location in the comments, someone eventually gets it right and everyone else admires that person’s brilliance. But now, as part of PDD’s 15th anniversary celebration, there are prizes on the line. (more…)
Where in Duluth? PDD 15th Anniversary Challenge #1 of 15
If you’ve followed Perfect Duluth Day for long, you know how to play “Where in Duluth?” A photo from an undisclosed spot is posted, people guess the location in the comments, someone eventually gets it right and everyone else admires that person’s brilliance. But now, as part of PDD’s 15th anniversary celebration, there are prizes on the line. (more…)
Postcard from Miller’s Creek on Boulevard
It was 110 years ago today — June 23, 1908 — when this card was postmarked in Superior and sent to Mrs. M. J. Humphry and her family in Bangor, Wis. (more…)
Van Vick Paper Box Company of Duluth
The cribbage board above might not have been made in Duluth, but the box it came in was manufactured at 4902 Oneota St. in West Duluth. (more…)
Brewing or Brewery? A Guide to Proper Beer Nouns in Duluth
With all the breweries popping up in Duluth and surrounding communities, it’s hard to keep the names straight. In casual conversation, no one really cares if you say “Earth Rider Brewery” or “Earth Rider Brewing,” but if you are one of the last copy editors in town who still has a job, for example, you might consider it important to distinguish which brew-suffix goes with each entity. (more…)
Schwinning and Losing
When I was a kid I had a blue Schwinn Sting-Ray Fastback 5-speed banana-seat bicycle with ape-hanger handlebars. It was classic and beautiful. I hated it.
That bike was a relic handed down from my significantly older brother, Scott, who bought it in the late 1960s with his paper route money and used it to expedite his collections process. I took it over just as the 1970s turned into the 1980s, and by then banana bikes weren’t cool. Freestyle bikes were the new rage.
In West Duluth at the time we called freestyle bikes “dirt bikes,” a term that would get them confused with motorized dirt bikes in other neighborhoods or other periods in history, but there was no confusion among us. The Huffy BMX is a popular dirt bike I remember, along with Diamondbacks. I wasn’t really tuned into what all the hot brands were, nor was I much of an enthusiast for stunt biking, I just knew I wanted one of those bikes so I could blend in and not look ridiculous when it was time to jump over stuff and race through mud or whatever. But I didn’t want it bad enough to get a paper route and pay for it, I just wanted fate to hand me one. Because if fate hands you anything in this life, it immediately entitles you to think it will hand you things over and over again. (more…)
Duluth 2018 Primary Election Primer
There are plenty of federal and state offices up for grabs in 2018, and a little bit of St. Louis County action, but no Duluth City Council or Duluth School Board races.
Remember: Aug. 14 is one of those Primary Elections in which voters must choose a party. One can’t, for example, vote for a Republican governor and a DFL congressman. On the partisan portion of the ballot citizens must vote for the same party in all races. Below are the contests that will be on that ballot, and some notes about what will be part of the Nov. 6 General Election.
All candidates representing the Minnesota Green Party, Legal Marijuana Now Party, Independence Party, Libertarian Party or Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party are unopposed in the Primary Election and will appear on the General Election Ballot, as will any unaffiliated candidates. (more…)