History
Yesterday in History
Sorry for the belatedness, but I felt I had to acknowledge the 16th anniversary of the release of Guided By Voices’ Bee Thousand, one of my favorite rock albums of all time. Pitchfork has it at #10 in the Top 100 Albums of the ’90s, a tad low if you ask me. I may be slightly obsessed with GBV, but I think this album has something for just about everyone. “I am a Scientist!”
Duke of Duluth?
Superior isn’t the only city that enjoys its suds. This photo was bought at an auction several years ago. On the frame, it is titled “Duke of Duluth.” I know it is not the Duke of Duluth I am thinking of. Notice the great detail of flies on the beer mug. Does anyone one have a clue as to who this guy was? The framed photo served as a traveling photo for a long list of jolly fellows. The name written on the cardboard backing is Gust. Munding, Rush City Minnesota. Was this part of a beer campaign?
Superior reeks with booze and filth
This headline and illustration are from the August 18, 1917 issue of the Duluth Rip Saw. The story is without a byline, but was no doubt written by the paper’s publisher, John L. Morrison.
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Duluth’s Lingering Shame: Clayton, Jackson, McGhie Lynching
Below is the complete text of a story from the June 7, 2000 issue of Duluth’s Ripsaw newspaper.
Duluth’s Lingering Shame
Eighty years ago Duluthians carried out one of the most horrific acts this region has ever seen. How did it happen? Have we changed?
By Heidi Bakk-Hansen
They’re selling postcards of the hanging
They’re painting the passports brown
The beauty parlor is filled with sailors
The circus is in town
Here comes the blind commissioner
They’ve got him in a trance
One hand is tied to the tight-rope walker
The other is in his pants
And the riot squad they’re restless
They need somewhere to go
As Lady and I look out tonight
— From Bob Dylan’s “Desolation Row”
On June 15, 1920, a mob of 10,000 lynched Isaac McGhie, Elias Clayton and Elmer Jackson at the corner of First Street and Second Avenue East in Duluth. (more…)
Speaking of the old Viking
Isn’t it about time for some kind of consensus on the proper rendering of the name?
Leif Ericson
Leif Erickson
Leif Ericsson
Leifr Eiraksson
Leif Erikson
Leifur Eiricksson
Lsif Erickson
What is your favorite Anglicisation? I think we can settle on “Leif” for the first name. The patronym seems to most often be either “Erickson,” “Ericson,” or “Erikson.” Duluth needs a referendum on this.
A Different Kind of Duluth Pack
I read with interest the post about the Duluth Pack on eBay. Here is a photo of an unidentified pack. Maybe someone has some information on this one.
Select Images from Denfeld’s first Oracle
Before there was a school called Denfeld, high school classes in West Duluth were held at Irving School. (more…)
Historic Duluth Armory photos
Historic Duluth Armory featured Paul Metsa and Danny Fox, the 2008 winner of the Hibbing Dylan Days singer/songwriter contest for the May 30 open house.
Beating a very dead horse
Confederate grave, Holly Springs, Mississippi, June 2007.
The News-Tribune had a nice editorial Sunday encouraging people to take time out to remember that Memorial Day was intended to include an element of solemnity, paying homage to those who have died in the service of the United States. I’m no jingo, but I generally embrace those sentiments. The editorial board erred in citing the nonprofit usmemorialday.org’s characterization of the origins of the tradition, however: “That inaugural Decoration Day, on May 30, 1868, drew some 5,000 Americans who helped place flowers and flags on the graves of more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery,” the group claims, imagining a scene of national reconciliation. (more…)
Clyde Park Historical Timeline
The Clyde Iron Works restaurant and event center at Clyde Park is now open at 29th Ave. W. & Michigan St. in Duluth’s Friendly West End. Here’s a little Clyde historical timeline. (more…)
Minnesota Digital Library
Minnesota Reflections now brings you nearly 45,000 images and documents shared by more than 98 cultural heritage organizations across the state. This site offers a variety of resources on Minnesota’s history for researchers, educators, students, and the public. We add throughout the year so check back often.
A Little Kozy History
An earlier post about a car hitting the Kozy brought a discussion of the building, so I thought I’d share what I know of the building. So here’s some info on the Kozy we at X-Comm have gathered for a forthcoming book, Duluth’s Grand Old Buildings. (more…)
Don Ness interviews Skeeter Moore in 1986
Regretfully, this video has been removed from YouTube.
Thank you all, good fucking night.
Well, Bone Appetit played it’s last show ever last weekend, and it ended just like it began — sloppy, drunken, and unpredictable.
Thanks to everyone throughout the years that supported us, and thanks even more to the people who took time out of their lives to rip on us, thus giving us even more press than our supporters. I wish I could take the time to individually thank everyone, but I refuse to do that knowing I’d forget someone. We may have never sang about “what’s cool,” and never really fit in with the whole Duluth scene, but to those that embraced us for doing whatever the fuck we wanted, I thank you!
I have more good and funny memories from that band than most any other thing in life, and even though some of us don’t really get along in the band anymore, I will still say that I love each and every one of those guys. We’ll never get the accolades that some bands in that town get, but there isn’t one fucking person who deny that we fucking rocked that town over the years. In the end, I like to think we left a nice big skid mark on certain parts of that music scene that can’t be wiped off.
To everyone I’ve had a beer/smoke/laugh with over the last 11 years in this band, I have nothing but thanks for you. I love you all, and Good Fucking Night.
Love always,
Cory “Hotrod” Ahlm
P.S. Special thanks to Starfire, Adam Guggemos, Paul Lundgren/Barrett Chase, Christa Lawler, Rick Boo, Eric Swanson, Slim Goodbuzz, Jason Cork, and Chris Whittier. Anyone else I forgot, hit me up for a beer.
Name That Trail: The gravel one that goes from 63rd Avenue West, behind the zoo and under Ely’s Peak, out to I-35
Have you walked, biked, snowmobiled or whatevered this trail? It starts/ends just off of North 63rd Avenue West and Greene Street (though technically there are random sections of it that pop up further east) and goes west out to Beck’s Road and I-35, where it gradually disappears.
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Population of Duluth: 1860 to 2000
Update: A more recent version of this chart with 2010 and 2020 figures and additional notes is now available.
I can’t remember ever seeing a graph of Duluth’s population over time, so I made one. The results of the 2010 U.S. Census aren’t in yet, but the state demographer estimated a population of 85,220 in 2008, so perhaps a slight dip can be expected.
The topic for discussion: What is the ideal population for Duluth?
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Good Ol’ Random History
I stopped by Amazing Alonzo the other day and picked this beauty up for a cheap 6 bucks. Packed full of weird facts and stories of history dating back to Moses. Topics range from how we used to treat the mentally ill, crime and punishment (including mass executions of heretics and misconceptions of the guillotine), cocaine cough drops, and did you know that the French had a fascination with enemas well through the 19th century?! Seriously good read. Pretty certain they don’t have another copy, but search for it.
Duluth Milk Bottle Mystery
I was out on a walk with the dog yesterday evening on a country road north of Duluth, the same road I’ve walked literally hundreds of times the past few years.
Video Archive: A Sunday Afternoon Walk on Central Avenue in West Duluth, circa 1940
This is the Helgeson family after church services on a Sunday in roughly 1940. They lived at 911 Central Ave. The parents are George and Rose. Their sons are G. Lewis, Robert, John and Paul.
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History Question About the North Shore
I was up the Shore today and turned left on Homestead Road, by the Lighthouse Restaurant. I’m always scouting in the woods and seem to come across signs of the past everywhere. On the left side, I saw a large concrete piece, with electrical parts. It looked like it was once a base for a huge lighted sign. Snooping some more, I came across broken dishes, a couple of rusted chairs, and much more.
I went and asked the owners of the Lighthouse if they knew what was there. All they said was that there was a motel there years ago. Does anyone know the name of it and when it was there?
Duluth home-movie footage from 1938
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCKkFZFya_M
This 8mm home-movie depicts a 1938 fishing trip to Duluth.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WomRBtHElFM&feature=related
Historic Photos of Duluth
LakesnWoods.com: A Guide to Minnesota Communities
Old time post cards and photos of Duluth. Cool site!
P.O.W. David Wheat’s return to Duluth
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U60XKjmiQw0&feature=player_embedded
A tip of the hat to Andrew Krueger at the News Tribune Attic for spotting this Feb. 7, 1973, WDIO-TV broadcast on YouTube. Nice to have you back in the attic, Andrew.
David Wheat, many of you may remember, was a prison mate of John McCain’s in North Vietnam and campaigned for him in 2008.
This video includes cameos by pre-toupée Dennis Anderson and Mayor Ben Boo, among others. An hilarious ad for “Pringle’s Newfangled Potato Chips” is at the end.