Paul Lundgren
Plain drunk, drunk and disorderly and even beastly drunk in Duluth
Regular folks getting drunk used to be front page news. Ah, the good ol’ days.
From the first issue of the Duluth Herald, April 9, 1883:
James Clark got drunk yesterday and was run in by Officer Turcotte. He was taxed $8.50 this morning by Justice Martin.
A. Lonquest was drunk and disorderly at Rice’s Point last night and Officer Peloski found considerable difficulty in arresting him. He had an infernal machine called a self cocking revolver on his person besides a dangerous looking knife. He contributed $10 to the city treasury this morning.
P. Peck was a plain drunk who was picked up by Tom McLaughlin yesterday. He paid the customary $8.50 this morning.
Mary McGraw got beastly drunk yesterday and fell into the clutches of the police. This morning she woke up financially embarrassed and the result was she was sentenced to ten days confinement in the county jail.
These are our people; this is our heritage.
Missing Person: Scott Michael Tridgell
UPDATE: Tridgell was found on Jan. 5, 2011.
Duluth Police Dept. news release:
Scott Michael Tridgell, age 26, of Duluth was reported missing by his family on Dec. 14. Family members said Tridgell left his residence in Duluth on the morning of Dec. 13, leaving a note that he was going to a job interview. He has not been seen or heard from since.
Tridgell suffers from a form of amnesia which limits his ability to recall important details regarding his personal life, such as where he lives or where he has been. In 2007, Tridgell was listed as a missing person by the Edina, Minnesota Police Dept. after he failed to show up at his residence there. He was located three weeks later by police at a rest stop in Menominee, Wis. He had no ties to that city.
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Cloud Cult on World Café
Cloud Cult (featuring former Duluthian Craig Minowa) will be performing on National Public Radio’s World Café on Wednesday, Dec. 15. The show is broadcast on 103.3FM KUMD in Duluth from 3-5 p.m.
(If you missed the broadcast, you can listen at your leisure using this link.)
Duluth’s Merry Inn Tavern (Net Results)
Among the random things to show up in my e-mail today (thanks Jake and Wendy) is this photo of an old (and awesome) ashtray from the Merry Inn Tavern. The address, 917 W. Michigan St., would have been roughly where Mesaba Avenue meets I-35 today.
The Merry Inn Tavern and Michelizzi’s Italian Food grocery store were part of the Terminal Hotel throughout the 1960s. The whole works was operated by Michael Michelizzi until about 1973, which is probably when the building was torn down.
The name “Terminal Hotel” goes back at least as far as 1930, although city directories in the 1930s and ’40s often refer to the property simply as “furnished rooms.”
Michelizzi’s reign at the Terminal seems to have begun in the early 1930s. In the 1920s there is a listing for two blocks away, 1131 W. Michigan St., for Mike Michelizzi & Co., a store handling “Fancy and Staple groceries cigars tobaccos and fancy Italian imported goods Macamoni and Soft Drinks.” I’m not sure if there’s a fancy, little-known Italian item called “Macamoni” or if that’s supposed to be macaroni.
In the early 1900s, the Cholette Hotel was at 917 W. Michigan St. During Prohibition, it had a “soft drink parlor” at which, obviously, bootlegging took place. For some of the sordid details regarding that, read the comments to this post.
City of Duluth Quarterly
Duluthians should find the first issue of City of Duluth Quarterly in their mailboxes today, Dec. 10. It’s part of Mayor Don Ness’ plan to improve city communications. The magazine is produced by city staff and New Ventures Publishing Corp.
New Ventures is owned by former Duluth News Tribune publisher Marti Buscaglia and also publishes Duluth-Superior Magazine.
Respect Your Elders. Namely Mark Dayton.
At age 63, Mark Dayton is the oldest person to be elected governor of Minnesota. A few weeks after he’s sworn in, he’ll be 64.
From the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library:
On Perfect Duluth Days like these …
I particularly enjoy walking through freeway underpasses with headphones on and being surprised by a snow plow scorching above me, issuing a whitewashing similar to a Uinta Mountain avalanche.
Duluth’s Pine Knot Cabin on Minnesota Point: Its History, its Removal and the Future of the Land
Photo by William Mittendorff
The removal of the Pine Knot Cabin on Minnesota Point raised a lot of questions and caused a good deal of speculation among Duluthians. To clear up some of the facts, Perfect Duluth Day interviewed Steve Wilson, regional Scientific and Natural Area specialist for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Why was the cabin removed and what’s the deal with the DNR’s SNAs? The answers are below. (more…)
Duluth Ski Report
I think by this weekend everything will be open. Wax ’em up!
Spirit Mountain — about half the runs are open.
Mont du Lac — scheduled to open Saturday, Dec. 11.
Chester Bowl — scheduled to open Saturday, Dec. 11.
The cross-country places must be all groomed and ready, too, ay?
Snowflake Nordic Ski Center
Korkki Nordic Trails
Bagley Nature Area
Last week three of the city trails were groomed and ready — Hartley, Chester Bowl and Piedmont. Can anyone report on Magney/Snively and Lester/Amity?
PBS’ History Detectives crew shooting at two Duluth locations on Dec. 9
A crew from the PBS series History Detectives will be shooting in Duluth this week, attempting to solve the mystery behind a small watercolor painting that may have become a Tiffany window.
On Thursday, Dec. 9, host Gwendolyn Wright and the crew will be shooting at First Presbyterian Church and Duluth’s Historic Union Depot.
The story will air with History Detectives ninth season during the summer of 2011.
Challenged Ballots in the Minnesota Governor’s Race — Duluth Edition
Now that the challenged ballots from St. Louis County are available online, here’s a look at the nine from Duluth.
The first one is from precinct 3 (Lakeside) and the next two are from precinct 7 (Hunters Park).
In the next set, the first is from precinct 11 (Kenwood) and the next two are from precinct 19 (Downtown).
In the last set, the first is from precinct 24 (Duluth Heights), the second is from precinct 27 (Piedmont Heights) and the third is from precinct 34 (West Duluth).
Someone explain why this is so fun.
A snowy drive on Seven Bridges Road
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hIqBhId29Y
Shot by Greg Connor on Thanksgiving Day.
Bentleyville Tour of Lights 2010
That, my fellow Duluthians, is one big ol’ Christmas tree.
R.I.P. Nellie Bird, owner of Les Bird’s Bar
Nellie Bird, longtime owner of Les Bird’s Bar in South Superior, died Nov. 27. She was 90.
Nellie felt that everyone who came into her bar was a friend. The feeling was mutual.
Profile from the Superior Telegram:
“Wisconsin bar celebrates 50 years“
Minnesota Night Sky Time-lapse Video
Shot last month in central St. Louis County by Brian Peterson.
McCain praises Feingold
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAVAk61JVDg&feature=player_embedded
“I can’t do justice in these remarks to all of Russ’ many qualities or express completely how much I think this institution benefited from his service here and how much I benefited from knowing him. I lack the eloquence. I don’t think he is replaceable. We would all do well to keep his example in our minds as we serve our constituents and country and convictions.”
Duluth Does Dylan 10 years later
The album Duluth Does Dylan was first played for the public on Nov. 30, 2000, during the Starfire Lounge at Fitger’s Brewhouse. There was a big bus trip to St. Paul for a release party at the Turf Club, but no one remembers the details of that, I’m sure. The Ripsaw published the recording session photos below, shot by Linda Cadotte.
Men of Raleigh Street and Their Fish
Perhaps in another century people will pass around photos of you and try to piece together the details.
Who were these West Duluth guys? Did they all go fishing, or just the ones with their hats raised? Did they catch these 40+ fish on the St. Louis River or somewhere else? Did they have a boat?
Maybe none of that matters. What we know is that on one day in 1916 there was a mighty jubilant feast on Raleigh Street.
Black Fractal Friday in Duluth
The Fractals at Clyde Iron Works
Friday, Nov. 26, 9 p.m.
Thankful in Duluth — 2010 Edition
I’ll lead this year’s PDD Thanksgiving prayer by declaring I’m thankful my Internet is finally back up and running, just in time for giving thanks (and after $100 and hours of anguish.)
I’m also thankful for the batch of glogg I need to start making right this minute!
… and friends and family and yada yada.
What are you thankful for?
(Here’s what PDDers were thankful for in 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 and 2003.)
This just in: Ice is slippery
Be careful out there.
Select Images from Denfeld’s 1938 Oracle
Fly high, Duluth! Senior Ralph Eisenach takes a running broad jump.
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PDD Troll Zone
Welcome to Perfect Duluth Day’s complaint department, hyperbole center and personal grudge factory. This is a post created for all the Internet trolls who are eager to bog down threads on this website with combative diatribes. It’s also a place for people who can’t stop themselves from responding to those trolls and suddenly become, quite frankly, more annoying than the trolls.
Has one of your comments been removed lately? Did you bitch about it in the comments? Was that comment removed too? Well now you can bitch about it again, here! And it probably won’t be deleted this time!
Although PDD has detailed policies about what types of posts and comments are permitted, the moderators have created this page — where almost anything goes — for two reasons:
1) Let’s face it, a lot of people thrive on bickering and need a place to blow off steam.
2) Most people can’t stand bickering and would like fewer distractions from the other threads on PDD.
So here it is, an open forum for exaggerations and personal attacks. Have fun. (Or should we say, “Go shove it up your Minnesota-nice-hole, you jerkwad”?)
“Murder House” condemned
Apparently the “Murder House” in West Duluth has been condemned. I walked by today and noticed some of the crazy signs on the property have been taken down. The neighbor said the place is going to be demolished.
Video Archive: Duluth’s Lake Place Park — “the park in the sky” — under construction
From KBJR-TV, Oct. 25, 1990.
[Note: This video was removed by the YouTube user.]
You’ll notice the headlines from 20 years ago seem to mirror those of today. Before Barbara Reyelts’ piece on Lake Place Park, which starts 2 minutes into the video, you’ll see the president refusing to raise taxes, gas prices rising and ramp closures on local freeways.
Among the commercials at the end of the video is one for the late Senator Paul Wellstone, who back then was campaigning to replace Rudy Boschwitz.