The Slice: Jonathan Thunder
Ojibwe artist Jonathan Thunder talks about his practice of mixing modern sensibilities with traditional imagery.
In its series The Slice, WDSE-TV presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.
Superior Waffles opens July 27 on Tower Avenue
A sweet and savory waffle bar opens in Superior next week. Superior Waffles, located in the New York Building at 1412 Tower Ave., is holding a soft opening on Sunday and a grand opening on Tuesday. (more…)
An Elaborate Contrivance for Suicide
One hundred years ago a delusional Superior man hung himself in his home in front of a wall painted with a crucifix. The June 19, 1921 suicide was reported in the Duluth Herald on June 20. (more…)
Chicken Alley Backyard Hangout #1
Leon Rohrbaugh’s backyard adventures in Duluth’s Chester Park neighborhood are making their way to YouTube. In episode one, Leon’s son Miles returns from eight days leading 10 teenagers on a 64-mile hike on the Superior Hiking Trail, and it’s no surprise they want burgers.
LineCheck: Mary Bue
The Current‘s video series “LineCheck” presents virtual conversations with Minnesota’s music community. The sessions open and close with a song. In episode 2, occasional Duluthian Mary Bue performs. (more…)
Ditchbird – “Think She Was Right” (Lyric Video)
Cloquet native Tony Petersen, now based in Minneapolis, has a new music project called Ditchbird. The track “Think She Was Right” is on the forthcoming five-track EP, Some Dreams, out Aug. 13 on DoublePug Records.
Petersen is best known for his work with the band Social Animals. He released his first Ditchbird record, Real Enough for You Now, in April.
The Slice: Superior Porchfest
Local music brings Superior neighborhoods together this summer during Porchfest. Daryl Yankee, a volunteer from Siggy’s Musical Garden, explains the series of events in this video. (more…)
Postcard from the St. Louis Hotel, Duluth
This postcard was mailed July 18, 1911 — 110 years ago today. The recipient was Mrs. Anna Carlson of St. Louis, Mo. The written message seems to be in a foreign language; the sender’s name looks like Mrs. Emma Ellstrand. (more…)
Ride or Die Pizzeria open in Superior
The Superior Telegram reports a new pizzeria has opened in Superior. Terry and Dawn Johnson are the proprietors of Ride or Die Pizzeria at 1623 Broadway St., the former home of Thirsty Pagan Brewing, which moved to new location a block away in 2019.
The Johnsons also own Lee’s Pizza in Duluth’s Lincoln Park Craft District.
Photos from Old Central’s 1890s Classroom and Clock Tower
This oil painting of Old Central was donated to the school in 1970 by the class of 1949. It was painted by Central alum Jo Kossett.
The original Central High School, which later became Duluth Public Schools’ Central Administration Building, aka Historic Old Central, will soon enter its next phase. Saturday Properties, a development and management firm based in St. Louis Park, plans to turn the Richardsonian Romanesque-style building into 121 mixed-income apartments. The project is called Zenith DCHS.
Collected in this post are images from inside the 1890s Classroom Museum at Old Central and the interior of the building’s clock tower, shot during a tour on July 2. (more…)
LineCheck: Charlie Parr
The Current‘s video series “LineCheck” presents virtual conversations with Minnesota’s music community. The sessions open and close with a song. In episode 1, Duluth’s Charlie Parr performs at Sacred Heart Music Center. Parr’s forthcoming album, Last of the Better Days Ahead, will be released July 30. (more…)
Selective Focus: Fishnetstockings at Joseph Nease Gallery
Across the globe, one discovers mermaid tales clinging like barnacles onto historic seaports, sharing themes of the cross-cultural outsider, environmental imbalance, and gender inequality. During the summer of 2021, see Fishnetstockings projections at Joseph Nease Gallery in Duluth during open gallery hours.
A gallery talk, featuring a discussion with the artists and some images of what went on behind the scenes as the projections were created happens Thursday, July 15, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. (more…)
Heely Tricks with JamesG: June 2021
Yet another installment of wheeled sneaker stunts by former Duluthian James Geisler, also known as the hip-hop artist JamesG.
Lanue – “Mexico”
An excerpt from the WDSE-TV special Northern Rhythms featuring Lanue.
A Beaver Dam: Summer to Fall
A trail camera on a beaver dam at Kabetogama Peninsula in Voyageurs National Park last summer captured a variety of wildlife. (more…)
The Slice: Glass Artist Jes Durfee
Duluthian Jes Durfee has been transforming glass into works of art for more than 20 years, traveling internationally to learn from masters of the craft.
In its series The Slice, WDSE-TV presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.
The Proctor Community Fair of 1921
One hundred years ago today the Duluth Herald editorialized about the upcoming “St. Louis County Community Fair,” to be held Aug. 30 to Sept. 1, 1921. It was the inaugural edition of what is now known as the South St. Louis County Fair, which has continued on for a century.
The 100th annual fair was supposed to have occurred in 2020, but was canceled due to COVID-19, making the 2021 fair the 100th edition. (more…)
Minnesota Sessions: Lanue at Black Beach
In the Current‘s new video series, “Minnesota Sessions,” musicians perform in some of the state’s best natural offerings. In this edition, Duluth’s Sarah Krueger brings her new project, Lanue, to Black Beach in Silver Bay. (more…)
Accuracy!
This newspaper ad from 1981 promotes weathercaster Pat Kelly of KDLH-TV in Duluth. A Twin Cities native, Kelly arrived in Duluth in 1979 and worked for the AM radio station WEBC before adding television to his résumé. He eventually became a television news anchor at both KDLH and KBJR. He retired in 2008.
Selective Focus: Lupines
Numerous photos of lupines near Duluth and the North Shore have been shared recently on Instagram. The Wild Lupine (Lupinus perennis) is native to the area, while others are considered invasive species. Their flowers can be pink, purple and white in color. Please enjoy the collection of photos we pulled of local lupine sightings. (more…)
PDD Quiz: Named Buildings
This week’s quiz tests your ability to match named buildings in Duluth with their current occupants. The Zenith City website has more information on these (and many other) historic buildings; all images were accessed via Google Maps.
The next PDD quiz will review the news that made headlines in July 2021; it will be published on July 25. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by July 21. (more…)
Duluth, Minnesota and the Lost Confederate Gold
In 1861, Minnesota Governor Alexander Ramsey was in Washington D.C. when the Confederates started the Civil War. He was in the Oval Office when Lincoln received the fateful telegram detailing the attack on Fort Sumter in South Carolina — the most serious in a string of Southern aggressions, including the seizing of Federal armories across Dixie. Heeding Lincoln’s call for troops, Ramsey walked right up to the President and said, “Mr. President, let Minnesota be the first state to commit 1,000 volunteers to answer this latest outrage from the disloyal states.”
Ramsey’s commitment created the famous fighting force known as the Minnesota First Infantry Regiment. They were the Civil War’s earliest northern enlistees, and they saved the Union at Gettysburg as every Minnesota schoolchild knows. On the third day of that pivotal battle, after Pickett’s Charge, Pvt. Marshall Sherman of St. Paul emerged with the scarred battle flag of the 28th Virginia Infantry. Virginia whines about it to this day but we’re not giving it back neener neener neener. (more…)
Pretty Drive Around Lake Superior Near Duluth in 1921
This postcard image is dated 100 years ago today — July 9, 1921. It appears to be two families parked on the side of old Highway 61. (more…)
Grandma Esmeralda, all the way from Duluth
In “Kiss Me Cat,” a 1953 Looney Tunes short from Warner Brothers, the burly bulldog Marc Antony helps the tiny cat Pussyfoot learn the art of catching mice. At the 4:50 mark, Duluth gets a mention.
Monthly Grovel: July 2021
The PDD Calendar continues to be the faraway leader in listing Duluth-area happenings — from kayak tours and bingo nights to food markets and rodeos. Each month we reach out with one beggarly blog post to remind everyone that human beings and not machines are at work editing and publishing calendar events. So if you appreciate it, drop a few bucks in the PayPal account. (more…)