Photo sleuths: instead of figuring out the subject or date, I’m hoping one of you knows where I downloaded these photos, possibly 10 years ago. I’ve been searching for them online off and on for years, and my Google-fu is usually excellent, but I’m not having any luck with these.
For this edition of PDD Video Lab we’ve pulled the Duluth section out of a 1954 family film and repacked it with period music — Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable.”
Based on the 3-cent postage rate, this postcard must be circa 1958 to 1963. The description on the back reads:
The Aerial Bridge in raised position for an ore boat passing into Duluth Harbor. When the span is lowered traffic may move without interruption between Minnesota Point and downtown Duluth. Through this canal pass about 4500 boats in a 7-1/2 month season, carrying a total tonnage of about 17 million tons. (Average for five years.)
Although Duluth is known for — and by some feared — for its winters, they tend to run together in our memories. Everyone who experienced it recalls the Mega Storm of 1991 and there was a long cold snap a few years ago, but by and large the various storms and other winter climate events are forgotten or the memories get mashed together.
So, in an effort to sort them out I tossed together a brief and somewhat vague list of some winter moments that have been marked on Perfect Duluth Day in the past (with links) or have been loosely referenced on the web as having been more wintery than other winters. (As the comments have come in I’ve added a few more links from Zenith City Online and notes regarding conditions of some years.)
City Girl Coffee, a Duluth-based coffee roaster dedicated to empowering women in the coffee-growing industry, has announced its varietals and blends are now available on amazon.com and at Minnesota Target locations.
The expanded distribution follows the company’s third anniversary on Nov. 12.
City Girl sources its beans from women-owned or managed farms and cooperatives whenever possible. The brand offers a product line of organic and Fair Trade varietals and blends from Guatemala, Brazil, Sumatra and Peru that are packaged in 12-ounce bags and single-serve cups.
The company was profiled on Perfect Duluth Day in 2016 and featured in Forbes magazine and the New York Times in 2017.
Test your knowledge of November headlines with this month-in-review quiz!
The next PDD quiz, on restaurants and bars of yesteryear, will be published on Dec. 16. Please email question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Dec. 12.
There’s much to love about our enchanting city — the breathtaking views, the closeness we feel as community members, the intimate connection we have with Lake Superior and its surrounding environment. Those reasons are exactly why, back in 2013, my then-fiancé and I chose to move to Duluth from Fargo, N.D. We wanted to live somewhere with an entirely different aesthetic from the Red River Valley yet be close enough to visit family and friends on weekends. The North Shore of Lake Superior was, and still is, a perfect fit.
As a newcomer, it took me an unexpectedly long time to feel bound to our community — more so than other cities I’ve lived in. Most of my initial connections were with coworkers and members of the Rotary Club of Duluth, which I joined through work. These individuals took my husband and I under their wings, providing advice and recommendations for what neighborhood to live in, what doctors to see and what companies to call for air conditioning repairs or garbage service. I trusted these men and women, and to this day, they haven’t let me down.
This week in Selective Focus, we hear from photographer John Heino about his work, and how he he balances his ever-growing creative wish list as well as evolving travel and equipment wish lists.
JH: I began as an old-school film photographer in the early 80’s as an art student at UMD. With the advent of digital photography, I made the transition from darkroom to computer. I was a bit skeptical about digital in the beginning, but it’s incredible how the technology has evolved over the last ten years.
Released about six months later than usual and on a budget of $0, the annual Denfeld High School lip dub video is finally out, featuring the song “God’s Plan” by Drake.
National Public Radio’s Scott Simon begins the Nov. 17 “Saturday Sports” segment on Weekend Edition asking: “Anybody here want to host the 2026 Winter Olympics? Hey there, Duluth, you hear us? Are you just going to stand there with your hands in your pockets?”
Cloud Cult, a band formed by Craig Minowa in Duluth, performed at the Greene Space in New York on Nov. 1 in an event streamed online and available in the video above. Dawn Gross, host of the radio series Dying to Talk interviews Minowa between songs on the topics of love, loss and more.
Update: The body of Janeen Peters was found on Nov. 28 about 500 yards from her vehicle near County Road 2 in Lake County. The vehicle was covered in snow and there were no fresh tracks near it. The cause of death is unknown.
The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office had asked for the public’s help in locating Peters. She was reported missing on Nov. 19 and was last seen Nov. 11 driving her vehicle north of Duluth on North Shore Drive. Investigators believe on Nov. 13 she was at a restaurant in Duluth.
Season 1, episode 11 of the Minnesota Vikings video series “Beyond the Gridiron” profiles Duluth native C.J. Ham, telling the story of his journey from Denfeld High School to the National Football League.
Jonathan Richman, founder of famed proto-punk band the Modern Lovers, dropped a Duluth reference on his third solo album, 1991’s Having a Party with Jonathan Richman.
As we move into the holidays it seems appropriate to share our gratitude for the hundreds of Duluthians who have added their name in support of the Bag it Duluth Campaign. In so doing they are showing they care deeply about our community by working to shift a cultural mindset away from a disposal planet and disposable people toward a livable economy that works for all and future generations. And, in this time of unconscionable inequality and climate change we acknowledge that many others feel frozen, unable to act, as what feels sacred seems lost. To those, we extend our hearts.
