Paul M. Osterlund of Superior died this past May at the age of 68, leaving his son Matt a collection of photos shot around Duluth and Superior during the mid-20th Century. Most of them were taken by Paul’s father, Hartley Osterlund, who was a photographer for Superior Senior High School, UW-Superior and the Superior Telegram.
The documentary Eyegifts From Minnesota, by Bill Draheim, follows Mike Watt and his band at the time, the Jom and Terry Show, as they drive into Duluth and load in for a performance at the NorShor Theater on May 28, 2002. They tour the old R. O. Carlson’s bookstore, do some sightseeing in Canal Park and spend the night at Shaky Ray Records before heading south for shows at the Turf Club in St. Paul and the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis.
Watt wrote extensively about the tour, and the Duluth stop, on his “Our Oars Became Wings” Tour 2002 Diary. He marvels in the diary and in the film about seeing Lake Superior for the first time. He also mentions in the diary getting a tour of “the secret tunnels” under the NorShor and how it “feels haunted down there.”
Of the same sort as the “Vilkome to our city of Duluth” and “Iff you vill come to Duluth ve vill lock up all de cops” versions, this is another “Dutch Kid” pennant postcard, popular from about 1900 to 1920. The same cards were produced for various cities across the country.
We don’t have a video clip, and the specific air date isn’t known, but at some point in mid-July 2007 — ten years ago — Duluth was the answer to a final puzzle on Wheel of Fortune.
A post in the PDD archives notes the clue was “on the map.” The contestant had just two letters to guess with, making it pretty much impossible, but anyone from Duluth could figure it out instantly.
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Have you ever wanted to travel back in time? Not to brag or anything, but I have figured out a way to time travel. I can usually manage to go back a few decades, maybe a couple hundred years at most. I can’t stay for long, and I’ve yet to taste or actually touch a cup of tea from 1915, despite a fervent desire. I’m more like a traveler passing through, a tourist in a world different than mine, peering in from the side, presuming to understand what is going on around me.
This world can only be reached through research and imagination, and with the determination of a detective piecing together scraps of evidence. It also depends on helpful archivists, online databases and the support of public grant money and fellow dedicated history nerds. The path is sometimes long and slow, a little bit dusty, but sometimes it pulls us along with the thrill of the hunt and a spectacular find, like a full-on glimpse of faces, journals, conversations and the insides of shops. Tracking down history mysteries is an addicting little hobby.
The recent purchase of a 102-year-old building at 1917 W. Superior St. by the Duluth Folk School led to an off-hand request for more information about the building’s history. I found myself drawn into this request, spending free time browsing 1915 online editions of the Duluth Herald from the comfort of my computer desk, no dusty pages required courtesy of public access grants and diligent scanners. The new owners and I knew some facts, and now we wanted to see what that place had looked like when it was built. I had a hunch some pretty good time travel was possible.
in this 30-second news promo from July 14, 1997, KDLH-TV anchor Liz Brummond reports the Duluth City Council is set to vote on a living-wage ordinance requiring employers that receive taxpayer assistance to pay 90 percent of workers a minimum of $7.25 per hour or $6.50 per hour with benefits.
Councilors voted 5-4 in favor of the measure, putting Minnesota’s first living-wage ordinance into Duluth’s City Code.
These photos were taken in Downtown Duluth during the city’s Independence Day Parade of 1917 — two months after the United States entered World War I.
I got a free day at the bar (instead of work) because of the train derailment in Superior and the resulting benzene spill.
Duluth News Tribune retrospective from 2012: “20 years later, benzene spill still stings in Duluth-Superior memories”
Police & Violence: Domestic Disturbances Officer Safety Calming Techniques. Filmed in Duluth, featuring officers John Campbell and Scott Lyons of the Duluth Police Department.
Click the lil’ triangle above to hear a 37-minute podcast about Perfect Duluth Day on the eve of its 14th anniversary.
Duluth News Tribune Pressroom Podcast hosts Christa Lawler and Brady Slater talk with PDD grand poobah Paul Lundgren, food and drink reporter Lissa Maki, and PDD co-founder Barrett Chase (who left PDD in 2015 to become a web editor at the DNT).
Perfect Duluth Day’s 14th birthday party is Thursday, June 29, from 5-7 p.m. at Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake. Free coleslaw while supplies last!
This postcard hit the mail 110 years ago today, sent by Hazel Britts to Capt. Luther Haleto of Provincetown, Cape Cod, Mass. The card is hand-dated June 27 and postmarked June 28, 1907. The illustration shows a banker closing his doors to “undesirable customers,” two black bear.
The Viking Motel operated at 2511 London Road from 1961 to 2000, and was demolished in 2001. The two-story, 30-room motel overlooking Lake Superior listed these amenities on its postcard: “Room Phones. Free Color TV. Coffee. Air Conditioned. Bridal Suites. Water Beds.”
Circa 1905. Photographer unknown.
