akjuneau
$363,142 Questions
I was at Cub Foods tonight, bagging up my groceries, when I spotted the ATM at the Wells Fargo branch and decided to withdraw some cash. As I waited for the transaction to go through, I glanced at a stray ATM receipt sitting atop the machine. And boy, was it more interesting than I expected:
A withdrawal from a checking account with a balance of $363,142.39!!! (more…)
Duluth Smelting
Rick LeBlanc of Hermantown surpassed tradition by biting the head off not just his first smelt, but about two dozen others, too, at the Lester River on May 5, 1983. (Duluth News-Tribune file photo)
At this time of year, 20 or 30+ years ago, the hot topic in Duluth and Superior would have been the status of the smelt run.
Duluth’s mostly-vanished smelting tradition has been discussed on Perfect Duluth Day at least once before. It’s been a frequently requested item for the News Tribune Attic to cover.
So, by popular demand, the latest post in the News Tribune Attic includes a bunch of photos and a couple contemporary accounts of smelting in Duluth in the early 1980s. Enjoy!
Duluth Arena archive photos and timeline
With the grand opening of Amsoil Arena, the News Tribune Attic has been featuring a look back at its predecessor, the Duluth/DECC Arena, with photos and a timeline of notable events. (more…)
Socrates runs aground on Park Point in Duluth
Tugs try to free the freighter Socrates from the sandy shallows of Park Point on Nov. 22, 1985. The ship had run aground several days earlier during a strong storm. Crowds of onlookers flocked to Park Point to watch in the days after the ship got stuck. (Photo by Charles Curtis / News-Tribune)
Upset Duluth: In case you missed it
It took a few days to pull together, and the link was kind of buried in the Upset Duluth thread, but in response to demand a gallery of portraits has been started over at the News Tribune Attic. It includes the 1995 photo above, by the News Tribune’s Bob King, of a Superior resident concerned about the condition of the sidewalk near his home. There are photos of people without concerns, too.
I’ll keep adding to it if there’s reader interest in seeing more.
There’s always something in the fine print
After hearing about all the great berry-picking this year, I decided today to go on a mission to pick wild blueberries for the first time. I headed up onto forest backroads way north of Two Harbors, in search of a good patch to harvest, and then of course keep as a closely held secret. Miles off the pavement, in the middle of nowhere on a rutted, rocky, bumpy single-lane track, I came around a curve and saw this…
Duluth Milk Bottle Mystery
I was out on a walk with the dog yesterday evening on a country road north of Duluth, the same road I’ve walked literally hundreds of times the past few years.
Anyone around here see this last night?
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1vaRHF30xQ
Video from an Iowa sheriff’s deputy’s dashboard camera, about 10 p.m. Wednesday.
Where can I get loonies and toonies in Duluth?
I need to get some Canadian money here in Duluth. The last time I tried at a local bank – a branch of a national chain – they told me they’d have to order it; they didn’t have any on hand. I didn’t search any further at that time.
I’m betting some bank in town has Canadian currency readily available. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Hearing voices in the parking ramp
I’ve had the occasion to park in the Tech Village ramp a few times in the past week, and while I was able to exit promptly each time (unlike others’ experiences), I did notice something odd about the machine that takes validated tickets as you drive out.
More retro Duluth TV
Someone just posted a bunch of old WDIO news, sports and weather promos on YouTube. Here is an assortment of 1970s-era holiday spots — lots of glimpses of old TV news sets and technology … and a brief appearance by Dennis Anderson. (more…)
Your help needed
Duluth police are looking for a vehicle that struck and critically injured a pedestrian on Rice Lake Road this morning. The driver did not stop.
So, what’s your take on Dylan’s Christmas album?
Much has been written the past few days about Bob Dylan’s new Christmas album.
Anyone here in his birthplace care to weigh in?
Has the Piggly Wiggly name wiggled on out of Duluth?
I pulled up to the stop sign at Calvary and Woodland in the heart of Woodland yesterday, looked ahead, and… it’s gone!
The blast-from-the-past, decades-old Piggly Wiggly facade, cherished by… well, at least me, and featured in a PDD banner of yore, is no more! See for yourself:
Window Watching
I’ve always wondered about how the window placements on this house came about. It’s on Arrowhead Road, east of Kenwood Super One. I’m a fan of big windows, so this house and its lack thereof always sticks out as I drive by.
In a way I guess it’s kind of smart, because it probably cuts down on noise from the busy street. But there must be some window-less rooms up on that second floor. I wonder what could be done with that massive blank spot in front.
Anyone know more about this place?
A problem that needs addressing
Just about every town has a “0” point for its street addresses. In Duluth, that would be the corner of Lake and Superior, right? 1 E. Superior, 1 W. Superior, 1 N. Lake, etc. The lower the address number, the closer it is to the zero point. And in general, there are imaginary lines that spread out from that point, dividing addresses into north-south, and east-west.
That all works out well in Duluth on the main grid of streets – downtown, West End, West Duluth, Lakeside… but then it starts to get odd.
Trouble in Thunder Bay
People may complain about crime in Duluth, but it appears our sister city to the north is having a really, really bad year.
According to Thunder Bay’s daily newspaper, the Chronicle Journal, the city just recorded its sixth homicide of the year. And we’re only in August. That may give Thunder Bay the highest per-capita murder rate in Canada.
I love visiting up there, but… yikes.
Local TV news flashback fun
Some more vintage Duluth TV newscasts have been posted on YouTube. Red Owl, Jack McKenna, Kirby Puckett … enjoy (though some of the news in these clips is kind of grim).
(more…)
Hibbing High School reunion makes international news
Last weekend was the 50th reunion of the Hibbing High School Class of 1959.
Why is that notable? In that class was Bobby Zimmerman, later to become Bob Dylan.
It appears Dylan did not show – but a British journalist did, and he wrote a pretty long story about it that’s posted on the Daily Telegraph Web site this morning. (more…)
What are they chucking out the window in Rice Lake Township?
I took a one-mile walk with the dog this evening. Litter found (and picked up / disposed of properly) along the road:
– Minnesota trailer license plate
– The back of a child-size guitar
– Walgreens receipt for three pounds of epsom salts, nothing else ($3.44)
– Note reading: OFFICE MAX
– remains of a Deli Express sandwich container
The real thing?
While walking downtown today I noticed this painted billboard. It’s on First Street, east of First Avenue East.
I don’t remember seeing it before; maybe that’s because it’s facing opposite of the one-way traffic on First Street. In any case, has it always been there? Is it authentic? Restored? A reproduction?
Anyone know anything about this?
There’s an ad in today’s paper about a “salvage stone sale” this weekend on Park Point, at 3101 Minnesota Ave.
The ad refers to a Web site. The site says:
“Own a piece of history: Brownstone, limestone, slate, marble, granite… An incredible collection of historic building elements including benches, capitals, finials, etc.”
Does anyone know if someone is pulling apart an old house out there? Is this someone’s collection of garden decorations? Just a vacant lot these sellers had access to? Are these things from old buildings here in Duluth?