Manufacturing Posts

Media Excavations: Chun King

I’d never seen the canned and frozen food magnate Jeno Paulucci until I found this ad in the Media History Digital Library.

Dick Anthony: Basement Popcorn Entrepreneur of Duluth

Dick Anthony of Duluth made popcorn in his basement circa 1952 for distribution to local stores, where it was sold in dispensers. The video clip is from the television series “Industry on Parade,” which was created by the National Association of Manufacturers and ran from 1950 to 1960.

Cirrus investing $15 million in Duluth ‘innovation center’

Minnesota Public Radio reports Cirrus Aircraft plans to invest $15 million in a new “Innovation Center” at the former Northwest Airlines maintenance base. The company said it plans to hire 80 additional engineers over the next three years.

The Minnesota Woolen Company Story

The clips above are from the 1959 film The Minnesota Woolen Company, obtained by Perfect Duluth Day via the Kathryn A. Martin Library Archives & Special Collections at the University of Minnesota Duluth and shared with permission from the St. Louis County Historical Society. For those who want to fully nerd out on this, the complete film can be viewed below.

MinnPost asks: “Is Duluth in the Rust Belt?

Van Vick Paper Box Company of Duluth

The cribbage board above might not have been made in Duluth, but the box it came in was manufactured at 4902 Oneota St. in West Duluth.

Duluth Show Case Company

The Duluth Show Case Company, doing business as Duluth Store Equipment or simply Duluth Equipment, was a maker of display cabinets using the “Duluth Method” or “Duluth Unit System of Sectional Store Furniture.” Read the ad copy to determine what that might mean.

Kelley-How-Thomson Company of Duluth

Shown above are workers from the Kelley-How-Thompson Co. at Duluth’s Winter Frolic, circa 1926-1928. The tool and hardware wholesale business was headquartered at 231-237 S. Fifth Ave. W. — which would put it roughly where I-35 intersects the avenue between the DECC and Duluth Depot today. It produced a variety of hardware products, including a line marked with the trade name Hickory.

Coolerator: Acclaimed in Hollywood, built in Duluth

coolerator-front coolerator-back

The Coolerator Company manufactured refrigerators and sold them in every state and 74 foreign nations. It began in 1908 as the Duluth Showcase Company, a manufacturer of store fixtures in Downtown Duluth. Operations moved to 50th Avenue West and Wadena Street in 1921. The focus switched to iceboxes in 1928 and the business was renamed Duluth Refrigerator Company. It became the Coolerator Company in 1932 and opened a manufacturing plant in New Duluth in 1935.

Going to build buildings?

Build Buildings - Clyde Iron Works - Engineering News-Record Magazine

Ad from the Nov. 30, 1944 issue of Engineering News-Record.

Walker Display moving to Duluth Airpark

Walker Display

Walker Display, a locally owned art-display system manufacturer and distributor, is moving its operations from West Duluth to a warehouse at the Airpark in Duluth Heights. Its former location at 6520 Grand Avenue will be demolished in the coming months to make way for a new Kwik Trip convenience store.

Five-minute excerpt of Minnesota Woolen film from 1959

It’s been more than a year since a post was published on PDD inquiring about the history of Duluth-based clothing manufacturer Minnesota Woolen. The first thing that came out of that post was the discovery that the Northeast Minnesota Historical Center Collection has a 16mm film about the company, but does not have a projector. Well, a projector was found this week and loaned for a little screening.

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