Postcard from the Soldiers and Sailors Monument
This undated postcard, published by Duluth Photo Engraving Company, shows the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Priley Circle at the Duluth Civic Center. The monument honors soldiers who served during the American Civil War. Designed by architect Cass Gilbert, it was completed and dedicated on Memorial Day in 1919.
PDD Geoguessr Challenge #9: Duluth, Georgia
References to Duluth in the media are a regular feature on Perfect Duluth Day. But for every reference that does not include the state name, many are left with a lingering doubt about whether the reference is really about Duluth, Minnesota, or Duluth, Georgia, a city outside of Atlanta with about one third of the Minnesota city’s population. (more…)
The Nutcracker Christmases
Christmas gives me the blues. I miss the magic of childhood Christmases spent with my siblings, and I miss the magic of Christmas mornings I spent with my young children. I miss family and friends who have passed away, and the special Christmas traditions we had. Because nothing stays the same, nostalgia can be heart-wrenching.
So, I’m weaving some new traditions into some old ones.
The Nutcracker of the Past
When I was in my twenties, my mother-in-law took me to my first ballet, along with my two sisters-in-law. It was December, so of course, we went to The Nutcracker. I loved it. For two hours enchanting music, graceful dancing, sparkling costumes, and magical sets swept me away to another world. Attending The Nutcracker with my mother-in-law became a tradition for a handful of years.
This year I took my twelve-year-old granddaughter, Clara, to see The Nutcracker, her first ballet. My mother-in-law would be happy to know I’m reviving her tradition. If life were A Christmas Carol, my mother-in-law would have been Fred, the ever-cheerful nephew of Ebenezer Scrooge. She knew how to keep the spirit of Christmas in her heart all year long and how to rise above characters like Scrooge. (more…)
Mixed-use development planned for downtown Grand Marais
Minnesota Public Radio reports a 30,000-square-foot proposed development in Grand Marais seeks to replace three businesses that were destroyed by fire in 2020. Plans for the project include a restaurant, bar and retail space on the ground floor. The second floor would have 10 short-term rental units and an event center with a rooftop courtyard.
Seeking migration stories to teach, publish
This semester, I will be teaching a class focusing on migration stories. If you have a favorite such story (about human migration, bird migration, software migration), especially one with a Duluth connection, please send it my way: dbeard @ d.umn.edu, or comment below. (more…)
Former Duluthian writes about hockey-playing cousin
Former Duluthian Crystal Gibbins writes about northeast Minnesota hockey legend Henry Boucha on the Coffee House Press website.
WIGL Radio 97
In 1963 I was a student at St. Clement’s Parochial School in Duluth’s West End. I entered a radio contest on WIGL. The first postcard to properly identify the translation of “Minoi, Minoi” would win a year-long pass to the Granada Theatre in Downtown Duluth. Even though 11 years old then, I knew it would relate to the radio station, so I sent in a postcard saying “Wiggle, Wiggle,” which was correct! I was interviewed by Lew Latto or Tac Hammer when I returned home from school. Got them to increase the free pass to “Mike Chase and guest.”
Former Duluthian teaching painting online
Former Duluthian Nancy Valentine teaches bamboo painting online (thanks to an arts grant).
Coloring pages related to this project are available via Google Drive.
Roger Reinert sworn in as mayor of Duluth
Roger J. Reinert was officially sworn in today as Duluth’s mayor during an inauguration ceremony at Duluth City Hall. City leadership and staff, community members and various elected officials gathered at noon in the first-floor rotunda to mark the occasion. (more…)
JamesG’s Best of 2023 Heely Tricks
Perfect Duluth Day’s Best Videos of 2023
Let’s all be kind and rewind. We’re looking at the best videos that appeared on Perfect Duluth Day in 2023. Sometimes chosen for the quality, sometimes for the concept, sometimes … we don’t know why we find them appealing. (more…)
The Lark of Duluth in Flight
It was 110 years ago today that the first commercial air-ship line took its inaugural flight. The Lark of Duluth didn’t lift off from Duluth that day, however. Tony and Roger Jannus brought the small hydro-aeroplane to St. Petersburg, Fla. by rail with the mission to develop the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line. The Lark arrived there on Dec. 31, 1913, and the inaugural flight was on Jan. 1, 1914.
The photo accompanying this post is presumably not from that historic flight in St. Petersburg, but rather from the previous summer in Duluth. (more…)
PDD Quiz: 2023 in Review
Bid farewell to 2023 with this edition of the PDD Quiz, which looks back on headlines and happenings from the past year.
The next PDD quiz will preview 2024’s coming attractions; it comes your way on Jan. 14. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Jan. 10. (more…)
2023: The Year in Duluth Gig Posters
Behold another year of Duluth rawk and/or roll as visually displayed via Perfect Duluth Day’s traditional year-ending gallery of gig posters. (more…)
The Most Read Saturday Essays of 2023
Season eight of Perfect Duluth Day’s “Saturday Essay” series has drawn to close, and it’s time to look back with the usual popularity contest. For the second year in a row, Jim Richardson authored three out of five works deemed by Google Analytics to be your favorites. In 2021, he swept the whole top five. It makes sense, because he’s Lake Superior Aquaman. Superheroes get all the clicks. (more…)
NFC Championship Game of 1973: Vikings vs. Cowboys
It was 50 years ago today — Dec. 30, 1973 — when the Minnesota Vikings defeated the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium to win the National Football Conference Championship, sending the team to its second of four Super Bowl appearances in the 1970s.
The 27-10 upset of the Cowboys preceded a 24–7 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VIII at Rice Stadium in Houston.
Last Video Vision store to close
The Video Vision movie rental business at 1418 Belknap St. in Superior is holding a closeout sale. Owner Brian Augustine expects most of the DVDs will be gone before winter ends and his indoor tanning business, Superior Tan, will expand. (more…)
Mystery Photo: Westberg
The identity of the woman in this photo is likely lost to history, but the photographer’s last name is right there in print — Westberg. The Minnesota Historical Society’s Directory of Minnesota Photographers lists two Westbergs who operated in Duluth more than 100 years ago. (more…)
Mom Versus Reality: Holiday Edition
Comedian Mary Mack presents this short holiday video as a gift to you, noting “I think it may be one of those ‘if you know, you know’ things.”
PDD Shop Talk: Last Call for 2023 Donations
You know the spiel. All of the content on Perfect Duluth Day can be read for free. It is produced by people who are paid either poorly or not at all. Advertising revenue keeps the operation going; donations help us do more and do it better. (more…)
About 50 housing units planned for Silver Bay development
Silver Bay, a city on the shore of Lake Superior about 50 miles northeast of Duluth, is planning for the second-largest investment project in its history. Minnesota Public Radio reports the nearly $25-million plan includes “a mixture of townhomes, vacation rentals, and seven residential lots, along with an event center.”
Postcard from the Aerial Life Bridge (Basgen Photography)
This undated postcard, published by Northern Minnesota Novelties, shows the Aerial Lift Bridge and parts of Canal Park and Park Point circa maybe 1960. The back of the card credits the aerial photo to maritime photographer Jean Basgen. (more…)
PDD Geoguessr Challenge #8: Midnight Mass in the Twin Ports
Cropped photo of a Christmas Eve service by Patrick Sweeney CC BY-SA 2.0
As this Sunday Geoguessr challenge is appearing on Christmas Eve, a topical theme seemed appropriate. I thought finding five local churches with midnight services would be a rather simple map to put together. It was not. (more…)
Greg Cougar Conley – “Our Someday”
Greg Cougar Conley has a new album, Cougar Country, set for release Dec. 29. The video above delves deep into the KSTP-TV St. Paul archive for footage of the maestro’s 1962 debut on the Minneapolis-Moline Power Implement Company Variety Hour.
Trifecta of restaurants opened in Duluth’s Lincoln Park in 2023
Dan Lefebvre at Burger Paradox
Duluth’s Lincoln Park neighborhood has burgeoned with new businesses of late. Three new restaurants opened there in 2023, including Bali Asian Cuisine, Burger Paradox and Oasis del Norte. A fourth, Ritual Salad, is slated to open in early 2024. (more…)
