Paul Lundgren
Local casket business dies
Hey, when did Duluth Casket Shop go out of business? Did local media completely fail to produce the kind of headline people get into journalism for in the first place?
Postcards from Cascade Park
Duluth’s Cascade Park still exists, but it’s nothing compared to what it used to be. In the late 1800s a sandstone pavilion and bell tower overlooked the city, with Clark House Creek running through it and down toward a pond and lush gardens. The bell tower was destroyed during a storm, and Mesaba Avenue eventually ate up part of the park, pushing the creek completely underground. These old postcards offer a look at what was once Duluth’s most extravagant park. (more…)
Phantom Ship Kickstarter
Scott Gusts moved from Minneapolis to Walker in 2012 with plans to release a new Phantom Ship record inspired by his time spent on Lake Superior and in northern Minnesota. He’s running a Kickstarter for the project, which is halfway funded with five days to go. (more…)
Aerial Bridge from end of Ship Canal
The message on the back of this postcard, mailed April 3, 1909, might require an interpreter — as often seems to be the case. (more…)
Tennis courts by MacArthur School coming along
Seven tennis courts and a discus/shotput-throwing area look to be almost ready at 725 N. Central Ave. The new courts and field will be used by tennis and track teams from Denfeld, as well as physical education students and other community members.
J.M. Gidding & Co. | Gidding’s Millinery Duluth
The post “Duluth, the City of Electric Lights,” led me to wonder what the deal was with the Gidding’s building. A quick search of the internet produced the photo at left, which depicts the Knox Five and Dime fire of June 10, 1910, and shows the Gidding’s building at left. (more…)
Duluth, the City of Electric Lights
Circa 1907.
Mystery Photo #34: UMD Majorette June Feick
This mystery photo comes from the folks at UMD’s Kathryn A. Martin Library. The majorette featured front and center is June Feick, leading her fellow majorettes and the UMD Marching Band during the 1952 Homecoming Parade on Superior Street in Duluth.
The mystery? “June doesn’t appear to have enrolled at UMD for the 1953-54 (school year),” reads the caption on the Kathryn A. Martin Library Facebook page. “We are curious about what happened in her life after she left UMD. Can anyone help us find more information?”
Three guys leaving Duluth 100 years ago
Who are they? W.M. Matheny, A.F. Vance and J.W.A. Abb. When were they leaving Duluth? One hundred years ago — June 2, 1916, at 1:45 p.m. Did they plan to return? Yes. Two days later. It’s all written in pencil on the back of the postcard. (more…)
Cross City Trail section on DWP line almost done
Last week the pavement went down on a new section of the Cross City Trail that runs on the former Duluth, Winnipeg, and Pacific Railroad line behind the Lake Superior Zoo — part of the DWP Trail. The paved section runs from Greene Street to the zoo, a distance of about one mile.
Clyde Iron Works ad from 1927
From pages 162 and 163 of The Road Builders Catalog Directory, 1927. (more…)
Thanks, Telly
Clip from an advertising supplement in the May 29, 1984 Duluth News Tribune, referring to the classic “Duluth, who loves ya baby?” TV spot. (more…)
Zenith Quartette circa 1908
The Zenith Quartette was a Dutch vocal group based in Duluth. Members shown in this old flier are Carl Hvaal, first tenor; J. Olsen, second bass; O.A. Gronseth, baritone and O.O. Hovday, second tenor.
The NorShor Experience: A Strip Club Retrospective
The NorShor Theatre first hosted exotic dancers on May 24, 2006, with two simple words on the marquee: “Live Girls.” Later, the words “Adult Club” would appear above the theater’s new business name: the NorShor Experience. (more…)
Maria Bamford: Lady Dynamite of Duluth
With all the posts on PDD about References to Duluth in TV and Film we shouldn’t neglect to mention the newest and most obvious example. Lady Dynamite, starring Duluth’s Maria Bamford, premiered Friday on Netflix. (more…)
Lake Aire Motel and Bottle Shop
The split-image postcard above, published by Gallagher’s Studio of Photography, shows the Lake Aire Motel and Bottle Shop on London Road. The card is undated, but appears to be from the 1960s. (more…)
First Tick of the Year — 2016 Edition
Since 2005 I’ve been posting on PDD about the first tick of the season to crawl up into my business. There’s probably no reason for it, other than to let you feel my pain and generally announce that it’s the time of year to check yourself after you’ve been in the woods.
I picked up this year’s inaugural tick at Ely’s Peak, where I never left the trail, so don’t chalk it up to bushwhacking.
Moose Lake Forest Fire of 1918
The subject of the 1918 forest fire in Carlton County came up in the “Postcards from the Swinging Bridge at Jay Cooke State Park” post a few weeks ago. Since I have kin from that area it wasn’t terribly surprising to find a fire retrospective from the Oct. 14, 1979 Moose Lake Star-Gazette in the family archive. (more…)
Mystery Photo #33: Champions 1913
Who are these girls? What basketball team were they on? Why were they in a photo shot in 1911 on a postcard mailed in 1911 with “Champions 1913” written on the ball?
What we do know, based on the signature on the image, is the photo was taken by Duluth photographer Louis Dworshak, owner of the Dworshak Studio at 8 N. Second Ave. W. (more…)
Video Archive: The Psychic 8-Ball Hotline
In early 1996, under the assignment of the late-great UW-Superior Professor John D. Munsell, I was tasked with creating a 60-second television commercial for a Direction of Talent in Media class. Since psychic hotline ads were common on cable TV, and I grew up in a house with a rec room and a Magic 8-ball, I opted to produce this spoof. (more…)
Upset Duluth: Brevator Township Edition
The Duluth News Tribune reports a proposed tire-recycling facility north of Cloquet has a few people upset. Photo by Steve Kuchera. (more…)
Who won Homegrown 2016?
The final applause of the 2016 Homegrown Music Festival is now in the history books. Which band “won” the festival? Each year PDD polls its readership and asks that very question. Because art is useless if it isn’t vain and competitive, right?
How does one “win” a music festival? Is it about musicianship? Is it about showmanship and antics? Is it about pretty hairstyles and flamboyant fashions? Yes.
The poll is now closed. Here are the results:
Medical Underground – 16.8 percent
Red Mountain – 12.3 percent
The Social Disaster – 11.2 percent
Bratwurst – 10 percent
A Band Called Truman – 7.8 percent
Various other bands – 41.9 percent (more…)
Negative Voting
It’s been 16 years since I first announced in print my idea to change the American electoral process. Since then, my negative voting movement has gained absolutely no momentum, while election results have only affirmed my position.
In the summer of 2000, anyone could see the country was headed down the crapper. George W. Bush and Albert A. Gore — two of the country’s most hated men — were the favorites to become president. No one else stood a chance. I didn’t know the outcome of that election would be as controversial as it was, but obviously the result wasn’t going to be popular whether it was Bush or Gore ascending to the White House. It was clear our voting process was backward. It was time for negative voting.
When I launched the negative voting movement in June of 2000, it was already too late to save that fall’s election, and today it’s too late to fix the 2016 campaign. The timing is perfect, however, to get on the right path for 2020. So allow me to explain the simple change that would fix our broken democracy. (more…)