Video Archive
Video Archive: Bicentennial Parade in Hibbing
On America’s semi-quincentennial, we take a look back 50 years to the 1976 Bicentennial Parade in Hibbing, with all the marching bands, clowns, Shriners and civic floats necessary to properly celebrate the anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
This is America: Duluth in 1946
This clip is from a 16-minute educational film from 1946 called This is America: Great Lakes, focusing on the segment mentioning Duluth. The full film, embedded below, explores the industrial powerhouse of the Great Lakes, detailing the crucial roles of navigation, shipping and the Coast Guard in transporting iron ore, coal and grain to fuel America’s postwar economy. (more…)
Video Archive: Geek Prom 2006
Twenty years ago today — April 22, 2006 — caravans of Duluthians traveled to the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul for the fifth edition of the Geek Prom. It was the first of two Geek Proms held in St. Paul; the other eight were held in Duluth.
Chuck Olson produced the segment above, which appeared on the pioneering daily video blog Rocketboom prior to the launch of its YouTube channel and shorty before original host Amanda Congdon left the show. (more…)
Mining and Smelting Iron of Minnesota’s Mesabi Range in 1926
If this footage looks familiar, it might be because Perfect Duluth Day previously featured a condensed version of this film. The 16mm Time Machine YouTube channel offers the version above, which has an additional four minutes of content. (more…)
Vincent Gargiulo’s Fantastic
San Francisco-based writer/director Vincent Gargiulo was in Duluth in 2013 shooting his short feature Duluth is Horrible. A segment from his next feature, Vincent Gargiulo’s Fantastic, was also shot in Duluth. “I Found Myself Stuck in an Experimental Film,” featuring Kat Mandeville, starts at the 4:55 mark in the embedded video above. (more…)
Video Archive: Crazy Betty – “Days of Easy”
Take a quick dip in the lake and do some flips off the dock. It’s been 25 years since Duluth band Crazy Betty released the music video “Days of Easy,” shot on Park Point and other Duluth locations in late summer 2000. And yes, the whole thing is very, very 2000.
The video was directed by Nicholas Kapanke.
Iron Country: Iron Ore and Minnesota’s Future (1955 Film)
This supremely cheesy 70-year-old promotional film explains the importance of mining through actors portraying a group of people chatting in the dining hall at the Minnesota State Fair.
Duluth appears briefly at the 7- and 21-minute marks. (more…)
Leta Powell Drake Compilation: The Notorious L.P.D.
Duluth native Leta Powell Drake began her broadcasting career at KDAL-TV after graduating from Morgan Park High School in 1956. She went on to host and produce more than 10,000 TV shows at KOLN/KGIN-TV in Lincoln, Nebraska.
She could be … shall we say … a little bit blunt. As a result, clips of her celebrity interviews have become popular on the internet in recent years. And for a double-dose of Duluth, the montage above includes an exchange with Telly Savalas, star of the classic “Duluth, who loves ya baby?” TV spot of 1984. (more…)
Video Archive: Bridge Dancing in 1994
Before the Doris Ressl Dance Ensemble launched the annual Dances on the Lakewalk series, its original site-specific event was set at the Aerial Lift Bridge. About 1,000 people gathered on Aug. 19 and 20, 1994, to view “Bridge Dancing,” a 23-minute piece created by Twin Cities choreographer Marylee Hardenbergh. The music was simulcast by KUMD-FM 103.3, now known as WDSE-FM “The North.” (more…)
Video Archive: Walter & Sheila’s Cheese Hole
To mark the 40th anniversary of the “Weird Al” Yankovic album Dare to Be Stupid, Nick Prueher posted a Facebook Reel with a clip from a July 7, 1985 AL-TV segment on MTV in which Yankovic runs down a list of fake tour stops, including Walter & Sheila’s Cheese Hole in Superior.
Yankovic actually did play a gig in Superior that year; he was a featured act at the Head of the Lakes Fair on Aug. 9, 1985.
To Tell the Truth: Mayor Johnson and Mr. Magoo
Duluth Mayor George D. Johnson appeared on the CBS-TV show To Tell the Truth in an episode that aired May 31, 1965 — 60 years ago today. Mayor Johnson was the second of three characters/contestants introduced on the show. The concept of To Tell the Truth is that each character is accompanied by two imposters, and the three of them answer questions from a panel of celebrities who then try to guess which of the three is the authentic person. (more…)
Video Archive: Hang glider crash on St. Louis River
This video was uploaded to YouTube on March 7, 2010 — 15 years ago today. It shows someone identified as “Pat” piloting a hang glider towed by a snowmobile on the St. Louis River in the vicinity of Spirit Mountain. “Flight goes as planned and pilot releases from tow at 500 feet over ground,” the YouTube description explains. “A minute later his landing flare goes awry. Hilarity ensues.”
Video Archive: Monnie Goldfine on Spirit Mountain
The Spirit Mountain Recreation Area opened for skiing 50 years ago today — Dec. 20, 1974. To mark the occasion, Perfect Duluth Day dusts off a relic from the video archive featuring Duluth businessman Manley “Monnie” Goldfine presenting the concept for developing Spirit Mountain to the Twin Ports Press Club. The date of the presentation is not known, but the year is most likely 1972. (more…)
Video Archive: Minnesota Trivia Tour, 1984
This clip from the WDIO-TV archive is from 40 years ago today — Nov. 28, 1984. It features Duke Skorich asking questions from the then-new Minnesota Trivia Tour game. (more…)
Video Archive: Duluth Commercials from 2004
It can be intolerable to watch a two-minute commercial break in any era, during that era, but somehow watching 13 minutes of them can be moderately entertaining with the passage of time. When commercials are fresh, the cheesiness is just too close; it’s embarrassing to our humanity. As the decades pass, the novelty supersedes the shame.
And so Perfect Duluth Day dusts off the VCR to reluctantly present a thick montage of 20-year-old TV spots. (more…)
Video Archive: George W. Bush’s ‘Iron Ridge’ Gaffe of 2004
Twenty years ago today — July 13, 2004 — President George W. Bush spoke at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center Arena to a crowd of about 8,000. He was campaigning against Democratic challenger John Kerry. In reference to Minnesota’s Iron Range, the President mistakenly said he appreciated “the good folks from Minnesota and the Iron Ridge.”
Video Archive: KBJR Northland’s NewsCenter 2004 Newscast
Through the advanced technology of consumer-level analog video we take a look back 20 years to KBJR-TV’s 10 p.m. news telecast from April 13, 2004. (more…)
Video Archive: Bagley Family in 1932 and 1937
Duluth’s 50-acre Bagley Nature Area gets its name from Dr. William R. Bagley, who gifted the land to the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Dr. Bagley’s hobby was nature photography. He was known to use a camera mounted on the stock of a gun in pursuit of wild animal photos. His family home movies, however, were probably not shot using wooden parts from weaponry. (more…)
Video Archive: Duluth cineplex announced in 2003
It was 20 years ago that Duluth Entertainment Convention Center officials announced plans to build an eight-screen movie theater next to the DECC’s Omnimax theater. Within a few weeks the plan expanded to 10 screens and had the name Canal Park 10. When it opened on Dec. 22, 2004, it bore the name Duluth 10 and was operated by Cinema Entertainment Corp. (more…)
Part Way to the Majors: The 1970 Duluth Dukes
The 1971 educational film Part Way to the Majors, a documentary produced by ABC News for the Sunday afternoon series Discovery, follows the Duluth-Superior Dukes as they road trip to Sioux Falls, S.D. The film starts and ends at Wade Stadium in Duluth. (more…)
Video Archive: Miller Hill Mall Grand Opening in 1973
From the WDIO film archive, raw footage of Miller Hill Mall’s grand opening on July 25, 1973 — 50 years ago today. A crowd is seen gathered in the center court near the Flagg Bros store as Duluth Mayor Ben Boo and other luminaries pull apart the ceremonial ship’s chain. (more…)
At the Rex? – Aug. 17, 2014?
Can anyone refresh my memory if this was a Hadjis or a Black Labels reunion show?
Video Archive: Green Man 2003
The second annual Green Man Festival was held at Spirit Mountain 20 years ago this week — July 11-12, 2003. The event featured more than 30 music acts — the Big Wu, Wookiefoot, Shannon Wright, Heiruspecs, the Black-eyed Snakes, Ol’ Yeller, Mark Mallman, White Iron Band, Cry on Cue, Spider John Koerner, Charlie Parr, Haley Bonar, etc.
Embedded above is local television news coverage of the event.
Video Archive: Proctor Speedway, 1983
This video from July 10, 1983 — 40 years ago today — features the Mid-season Championships at the Proctor Speedway. (more…)