PDD Quiz: November 2020 in Review
How much do you remember about the news that made headlines in November? Take this weeks current events quiz to find out!
The next PDD quiz will be published on Dec. 13; it will look at some Twin Ports records (steepest street, tallest building, etc.). Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Dec. 10. (more…)
Postcards from the Wreck of the Steamer Crescent City
The steamer Crescent City was driven into rocks on the shore of Lake Superior northeast of Duluth 115 years ago today — Nov. 28, 1905. It was one of numerous wrecks during a storm that was most famous for sinking the Mataafa near the Duluth Ship Canal. Nine of 24 Mataafa crew members perished; everyone on Crescent City survived. (more…)
Lake Avenue Loafers
Various photos of men whose obituaries mention their affiliation with the Lake Avenue Loafers.
Anyone who reads Duluth obituaries will occasionally come across this phrase: “… was a member of the Lake Avenue Loafers.” For the uninitiated it begs two questions: “Who were these guys and what did they do besides loaf?” (more…)
Lift Lincoln Park Indiegogo Episode II
Another COVID-19 lockdown, another Lincoln Park Craft District Indiegogo campaign. The original, back in April, had 1,371 backers and raised more than $67,000.
Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival 2020 Trailer
This year’s Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour is virtual. Films are available online from Thanksgiving Day until Oct. 24.
Proceeds benefit the Duluth Cross-Country Ski Club if purchased via duluthxc.com. Once there, click “DXC link to BMFF” to get started.
Mayo Clinic Mask Study
With vaccines on the brink of being rolled out it is conceivable that we can have a post-COVID summer next year, but we need to try to avoid spreading the virus in the meantime. A new Mayo Clinic Study shows that two unmasked people have a 100 percent chance of exposure at 1 foot apart, 17 percent exposure at 3 feet apart, and 3 percent exposure at 6 feet apart. With both people masked there’s a 0.5 percent exposure risk even at just 1 foot apart. Even if you yourself are feeling bulletproof, this is about protecting others.
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Highlights: UMD Choir and Vocal Jazz Fall 2020 Concert
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2Jr-K6IIv4
Singers at the University of Minnesota Duluth overcame great odds this semester during the COVID-19 pandemic. They wore masks and rehearsed online, outdoors and in large lecture halls, ultimately sharing their musical talents in a virtual concert on Nov. 13. Some highlights are in the clip above.
An audience of more than 150 joined together on Zoom to hear the University Singers, Concert Chorale, Chamber Singers, Lake Effect and Chill Factor perform on location in Weber Music Hall, Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary, and around Duluth and the UMD Campus.
Release of Sofia Logan’s debut album
Stillwater-based artist Sofia Logan has released her debut album, Waiting for You, Waiting for Me. The album was recorded in December 2019 in a home near the University of Minnesota Duluth that houses what is believed to be one of the city’s first recording studios. (more…)
Sam Elliott and Duluth’s Heavenly Air
Famed actor Sam Elliott plays the role of Wild West, the new mayor of Quahog on the animated Fox-TV comedy The Family Guy. Adam West played himself as the previous mayor on the show; he died in 2017.
In season 19, episode 7, which aired on Sunday, lead character Peter Griffin mentions to Wild West that his brother Adam has “gone on to a better place.” Wild West quickly cuts in to infer the better place must be Duluth. He extends the thought with, “Beautiful country Duluth. The air moves into your nostrils like a welcome guest.”
Postcard from Lester Park Falls in 1905
The message penned on the front of this postcard is dated 115 years ago today — Nov. 24, 1905. Someone named Ernest is apparently writing from Michigan and has been to Montana, where the falls might have impressed him more than the ones in Duluth.
Better mail your letter for Thursday on Monday, to make sure. Some day I want you to see Red Rock Falls, when the water is high.
Teague Alexy – “Christmas Bells, Holiday Drums (Jingle, Jangle)”
New Christmas music from Teague Alexy, featuring Brian Wells on bass.
Produced and written by Teague Alexy, mixed and mastered by Jake Larson, recorded at the Igloo in Duluth. Artwork by Heidi Feroe, art direction and graphic design by Joshua Priestley.
PDD Gift Guide 2020
Here it is, the annual PDD Holiday Gift Guide. We’ve always been proud to highlight items with a local connection. This year it seems even more important to support local, take advantage of online ordering, and spread the word on what’s offered from our own community. Below are 15 items; feel free to add to the suggestions in the comments, or email us at info @ perfectduluthday.com with things we may have missed and we’ll continue to build this list. (more…)
Duluth You & Me: Chester Bowl Ski Jump
Sadly, the ski jumps at Chester Bowl were demolished in 2014, but the memories live on in this coloring exercise.
Use the link below for a printable PDF for your coloring and drawing pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: Chester Bowl Ski Jump
Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.
Michael, Jesus and the Dream Space Capsule from Duluth
The historical TV drama The Right Stuff mentions Duluth in episode 7, which premiered Nov. 13 on the video-on-demand service Disney+. The series is loosely based on the 1979 book by Tom Wolfe. There is also a critically acclaimed 1983 film adaptation of Wolfe’s story.
Some of My Indie Rock Guitar Goddess She-roes
My favorite musicians are women. Who’s the coolest member of the Pixies? Kim Deal! You don’t even have to think about it for a second. And my favorite genre is indie rock. Indie is not major label, and not pop enough to score strings of giant hits. The term is frequently applied to punk-lineage garage-y guitar bands, but not exclusively.
The past few years I’ve discovered many indie chick rockers and all-female bands. Here are some highlights. This (not comprehensive!) list showcases indie women who play guitar or bass, either solo or in bands, who have been active in the past five years. Therefore many of my classic faves have been excluded — for instance a suite of 1980s and ’90s rockers. I will write about them one day, but here the focus is on contemporary artists.
My descriptions are fleshed out with links to music videos, interviews, rig rundowns, and live performances. This part one of two, and I plan to give Duluthians their own essay in part three. Here goes — some of my indie rock guitar goddess she-roes: (more…)
Selective Focus: Pandemic Persistence
This week, a quick update on two artists we’ve featured earlier this year. Carolyn Olson and Annelisa Roseen both started projects at the beginning of the pandemic, and are still regularly producing pieces based on the theme and guidelines they set for themselves. Carolyn Olson paints and draws essential workers in their settings, and Annelisa Roseen takes a selfie each day in make-up and costume of an interesting person born on that day. (more…)
Duluth Junkyard in 1937
Russell Lee shot this photograph of a Duluth junkyard in May of 1937 for the United States Resettlement Administration, predecessor to the Farm Security Administration, which eventually became part of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency. (more…)
James G – “No Pressure”
Here’s the latest from former Duluthian James Geisler, aka hip-hop artist JamesG.
Postcard from the Duluth Civic Center
This undated postcard image from the Gallagher Studio of Photography shows the St. Louis County Courthouse and Duluth City Hall behind the Soldiers and Sailors Monument at the Duluth Civic Center. The card is perhaps a bit older than another postcard of the Civic Center featured on Perfect Duluth Day, which shows a more expansive garden.
Duluth-area Thanksgiving Takeout Guide 2020
OMC Smokehouse turkey – Photo by Rolf Hagberg
The pandemic will quash many extended family and group gatherings this Thanksgiving. Opting out of cooking entirely and ordering takeout is a totally reasonable option for the smoldering dumpster fire that’s left of 2020.
A bevy of Twin Ports restaurants are offering Thanksgiving meals to go, so no one has to miss out on a full turkey dinner with all the traditional trimmings. Below is Perfect Duluth Day’s list of options to soothe the cumulative stress induced by the past nine months with some savory comfort food.
Try to muster up some gratitude. Whatever you do, leave room for pie. (more…)
The Kozy 2010/2020
Top: Kozy Apartments on Nov. 17, 2010 — two days after a fire.
Bottom: Kozy Apartments on Nov. 17, 2020 — 16 days after a fire.
Duluth You & Me: Cross-country Trails
The number of miles of groomed cross-country ski trails in Duluth is given as 24 in this 1993 activity book page. The Duluth Cross-Country Ski Club reports the modern-day figure as more than 50 kilometers, or roughly 30 miles. (more…)
PDD Quiz: Superior Central High School
Learn more about the history of Superior Central High School and its alumni in this week’s PDD Quiz! Central A to Z: The History of a Superior School by Kathy Laakso and Teddie Meronek was an integral resource in writing this quiz; it can be found at both the Duluth and Superior Public Libraries.
The next PDD quiz will be published on Nov. 29 and will review this month’s headlines. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Nov. 26. (more…)
Aerial View of Pastoret Terrace
Duluth’s symbol of 19th Century opulence and 21st Century blight is the subject of this recent aerial video by Jack Rendulich. Pastoret Terrace is best known in modern times as the Kozy Apartments and Bar, which closed after a major fire ten years ago today — Nov. 15, 2010. (more…)