History
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.
(more…)
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?
(more…)
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.
Tea Party
Add to earlier Bedrock Bar post, from Oct. 4, 1922 Duluth Tribune.
Bedrock Bar / Tom’s Junkyard / Roby’s Bar & Lounge / Slippery Saloon / The Amber Flow — Timeline of a West End Bar
The post “Minnow Swallowing Contest in Duluth” led to a discussion about where the Amber Flow Bar was located. The answer quickly emerged … 2023 W. Superior St.
Time for a little tavern genealogy … (more…)
1961-1968 racing in Hartley Park
Twelve-year-old Harold “Bo” Conrad won the 1963 Duluth race where Hartley Nature Center is today and went on to win the All-American Soap Box Derby Race in Akron, Ohio, where there were 75,000 people watching.
Minnow Swallowing Contest in Duluth
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3LePItHnuo
St. Patrick’s Day, 1980. Quite a party in the West End.
From the Ripsaw Archive: April 5, 2000
Ten years ago today, the first weekly issue of the Ripsaw came out. Looking it over this morning, the thing that surprised me is there was a localized crossword puzzle. I had forgotten about that. It only lasted a few months because the guy who did it, Israel Malachi, either got tired of putting it together or left town for a while, I can’t remember which.
Anyway, the puzzle is below. It’s pretty easy, but I’ll follow up with the answer key in the comments tomorrow.
Sen Al Franken Resurrects “Duluth Answer Man” to Support Twin Ports Google Fiber
MARCH 10, 2010 – Minnesota Sen. Al Franken has joined The Google Twin Ports Fiber Initiative by resurrecting his Duluth Answer Man clips.
Duluth’s campaign combines a fun and creative grassroots campaign with a very serious effort to build a strong business case for bringing Google Fiber to the Twin Ports.
The Duluth Answer Man campaign was produced in the mid 80s by the Duluth Convention and Visitors Bureau, known today as Visit Duluth. The series ran in the Twin Cites market as the summer tourism campaign for Duluth.