Paul Lundgren
Mystery Photo: Children in Front of Depression-era Duluth Home
This old photo, titled “1940 DULUTH Children in Front of Home DEPRESSION ERA Photo (198-N)” popped up on eBay recently. (more…)
Selective Focus: The Funeral March for Rotten Ideas
Instagram
42 likes, 2 comments - blakeravemusic on November 6, 2021: "Once Upon a Parade...
#allsoulsnight
#skeleton #giant #lovedandlost #remember #dearlydeparted #mask #allsoulsday #parade".
instagram.com
Max Skeleton led “The Funeral March for Rotten Ideas” down Superior Street last night. Four marionettes were in the parade, all created by local artist Mary Plaster, who founded Duluth’s All Souls Night event. The 17-foot tall Max Skeleton, created along with artist Chris Lutter of Minneapolis, is operated by hand-pushed gantry and five puppeteers on the ground. It is largest marionette in Minnesota. (more…)
North Country Trail in Wisconsin: Green Undies in Gordon
There generally isn’t a lot to say about a good hike, nice weather and beautiful scenery. They are enjoyable, but they don’t help create a classic story one tells his friends about and sits down to record in an essay. Good stories involve things not happening as planned. Something must go very wrong, very right or very strange to have a good story. If someone shows up in green underwear, for example, it at least provides the foundation.
So before I write about the numbers and geography of my hiking, let me assure you that green undies are coming up.
If you’ve been following along on my North Country Trail in Wisconsin series, you know I’m slowly hiking 214 miles across the Badger State. I started in 2017 and as of this writing have completed 65 miles, taking my sweet time.
In the summer of 2020 I hiked from Pattison Park to the edge of the town of Gordon and ended part four of my essay series there. I thought I was done for the year, but just a few days after publishing the essay I headed back to Gordon for one more trek. (more…)
Postcard from the Steamer David Z. Norton
This undated postcard shows the 500-foot Steamer David Z. Norton loading 3,000 bushels of wheat in the Duluth Harbor. Note the postcard has “J” as the middle initial of David Norton. That is presumably a misprint. David Zadock Norton was a director of the American Ship Building Company and the namesake of the ship. (more…)
Selective Focus: More Aurora
Instagram
46 likes, 0 comments - northern.minnesota.creations on November 4, 2021: "#cloquet #northernlights #destinationduluth #authenticduluthattractions #onlyinmn #auroraborealis #midwaybarn #befromduluth #exploreminnesota #captureminnesota".
instagram.com
Instagram is aglow with northern lights photos from last night, thanks to a little solar storm activity. It was less than a month ago when Perfect Duluth Day previously featured auroras in “Selective Focus,” but the show last night brought out practically every sky photographer in the region. (more…)
Monthly Grovel: November 2021
How can you tell your Pepperkakebyen from your Mannheim Steamroller without the PDD Calendar? You can’t. You just can’t. That’s why we reach out each month with one beggarly blog post to remind everyone that human beings and not machines are at work editing and publishing calendar events. So if you appreciate it, drop a few bucks in the PayPal account. (more…)
Albert Heyroth gets electricity out of air in 1921
West Duluth was the scene of windmill experiments a century ago, according to a story in the Oct. 31, 1921 Duluth Herald. Albert Herman Heyroth was hard at work at 55th Avenue West and Raleigh Street attempting to generate electricity for home energy use. (more…)
Fatal plane crash near Moorhead, 1941
A random Duluth Herald front page from 80 years ago today, Oct. 30, 1941. (more…)
Postcard from the Ladies’ Parlor at Duluth’s Hotel St. Louis
And now, a little something for the ladies. The St. Louis Hotel was Duluth’s premier lodging establishment in the 1880s. It stood where the Medical Arts Building is today. (more…)
Postcard from Dredging in the Duluth Harbor
Keeping Duluth’s shipping channels open requires occasional dredging. This undated postcard offers a look at the process in the early 20th century.
Last Chance Liquor and the Pawnbroker, 2011/2021
Here’s a look at a pair of East Fourth Street buildings — one soon to be demolished, another already lost to history. The photos on the left in the side-by-sides above are from Oct. 22, 2011. The ones on the right are from Oct. 22, 2021. (more…)
David Dondero – “Oh Minnesota”
Duluth-born troubadour David Dondero performed at Wussow’s Concert Cafe on Tuesday. One of his new songs mentions the Zenith City and a variety of Minnesota locations. The song was penned in 2019 and hasn’t appeared on any official releases, but the demo track linked here was posted to Patreon. (more…)
Mystery Photo: Ekstrom Wedding
Here they are, Berger and Hilda Ekstrom, in their wedding duds. We know their names thanks to the scribbling on the back of the photo. And we know from the cardboard frame that the photographer is Lars Linden, the fiery Swede who had a studio at 1619 W. Superior St. in Duluth. What’s the mystery? Well, everything else. What became of ol’ Berger and Hilda? (more…)
Selective Focus: Mushrooms
Instagram
151 likes, 24 comments - girlkitty on October 11, 2021: "Mushroom Monday!🍄 We found a variety of fungi at the lake this weekend. This one was particularly pretty.
#fungi #mushroommonday #fungilove #fungifanatic #busashutterbug #bestoftheusa_nature #bestoftheusa_macro #tnh_USA #USA_naturehippys #hiyapapayaphotoaday #dof_of_our_world #allkindsofnature #rebel_macro #macrophotography #macro_brilliance #macrophoto #minnesota_macro".
instagram.com
Because, well, everything gets its day, Oct. 15 is National Mushroom Day. And, as naturalist Larry Weber noted a few weeks back, there’s been a “shroom boom” this year, so we’ve selected a few images of local fungal growths via Instagram to highlight here. (more…)
Selective Focus: Geomagnetic Glory
Instagram
201 likes, 16 comments - flowstate_photography on October 12, 2021: "“The sky’s awake so I’m awake” Anna (Frozen)
Oh man, I was tired BEFORE I went out last night. I’m straight up exhausted today! I was thinking of calling it a night at about 11:15 when it just blew up! Honestly it was the best display I’ve seen since the June 2015 display.
Worth it? ABSOLUTELY.
#minnesotaexposure #wildlycreative #landscapephotography #slowphotographymovement #adventure #flowstate
#outside_project
#sharethestoke #wanderlust #opt_outside #ipulledoverforthis #petapixel #fstoppers #getoutside #exploretocreate #hiking
#natgeoyourshot #travelphotographer #chasinglight #ourwild #wildernessculture #findyouradventure #publiclandowner #outsidemagazine #opt_outside #52WeeksofNature #NaturePhotographyCollective #ShareTheOutdoors #northernlights #aurora #cuyuna".
instagram.com
A geomagnetic storm brought vibrant auroras across Minnesota and beyond last night and early this morning. Collected here are images via Instagram of northern lights across the region. (more…)
Postcard from the Jorgensons on Minnesota Point
Remember the Pettersen gals photo on Point of Rocks? Well, they’ve turned up in another old Duluth pic, this time on the beach at Minnesota Point. (more…)
Sky-Diver and Cold Turkey
Geeks will help out in the comments, but it appears what we have here is a QSL card — a postcard mailed to confirm receipt of a ham or citizens-band radio transmission. The CM 76 presumably means it was a calling card of Duluth ham radio operator Charles F. Makowski circa 1976. (more…)
Monthly Grovel: October 2021
In addition to all the spooky Halloween stuff, the hunchbacks at Perfect Duluth Day are busy as usual updating the PDD Calendar with Duluth-area happenings — from concerts and Oktoberfests to kayak adventures and book launches. Each month we reach out with one beggarly blog post to remind everyone that human beings and not machines are at work editing and publishing calendar events. So if you appreciate it, drop a few bucks in the PayPal account. (more…)
Duluth considers “trackless trolley” in 1921
One century ago the Duluth Street Railway Company — predecessor to the Duluth Transit Authority — was keeping a close eye on plans for adding trolley buses in Minneapolis. How long did it take for Duluth to get it’s first “trackless trolley”? Pretty much exactly ten more years.
According to Zenith City Online, Duluth’s first trolley buses ran on Oct. 4, 1931. The Duluth Herald reported about Duluth considering trolley buses in its Oct. 6, 1921 issue, one hundred years ago today. (more…)
Postcard from Up North, 2001
This postcard appears to have never been mailed, but it has the name of a recipient on the back and is dated Oct. 3, 2001 — 20 years ago today. The card was published by Erickson Post Cards & Souvenirs in Hermantown, and the photo is credited to Benjamin Fondrik. (more…)
Condor: Duluth band in the 1970s
Condor group photo shot before a gig at Press Bar in St Cloud.
One of Duluth’s more notable bands of the mid-to-late 1970s was an act called Condor. There was very little information online about the band in 2021, when this post originated as a crowdsourcing quest to change that. Photos have since been added, along with new information at the bottom of the post. (more…)
Selective Focus: Fall Colors 2021
Instagram
428 likes, 4 comments - 7o7photography on September 25, 2021: "Calm morning on Lake Vermilion lined with boat houses 🏘️".
instagram.com
The Arrowhead region is awash with color once again. Track the progression of fall and peak color with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ Fall Color Finder.
Featured here are select images from Instagram showcasing this year’s fall color display. (more…)
Postcard from the Incline Railway with View of Minnesota Point
This postcard was mailed from Superior on Sept. 27, 1906 — 115 years ago today — by W. F. McMannis. The recipient was Miss Mabelle Reed of West Dover, Ohio. The image depicts the Duluth Incline Railway, showing the view from the top of the Duluth harbor and waterfront district, and of course Minnesota Point. (more…)
The Pettersen Gals at Point of Rocks
And the award for best Duluth photo of 1911 pretty much has to go to this postcard image of three gals on Point of Rocks looking out over the city. And someone was smart enought to write their names on the back. Nora, Emma and Inga Pettersen posed for this shot 110 years ago. (more…)