Paul Lundgren
Today’s vocabulary word: Varicocele
A varicocele is an enlargement of the veins of the scrotum, frequently causing a knotted or swollen appearance.
Fortunately, Duluth’s Progressive Medical Association had a “master specialist” back in the day. He considered the cause of a varicocele to be “often indiscretion” and listed as references some of “the leading businessmen of the city.”
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Beaner’s One Week Live, Day Four
Thursday, Sept. 23 | 8 p.m. | $8
Beaner’s Central, West Duluth
Yeltzi * Tony Furtado
Steve Isakson Band * The Brushstrokes
Rainy day fun! Get into the show free by being the first person to comment on this post.
West Duluth 100 Years Ago
The photo above is from 1910. It was almost certainly shot from North 59th Avenue West, near where Tacony Street intersects it. I tried to replicate it with the modern shot below, but trees, fences and houses kept me from shooting at the same spot, and the view is much more limited.
Behind all the trees across the street is a rock outcropping that matches the one in the 1910 photo.
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Beaner’s One Week Live – Day Two
Tuesday, Sept. 21 | 8pm | $6
Teague Alexy Trio * Sarah Krueger Band
The Breeze * Shaunna Heckman Band
The first person to comment on this post gets in free with a guest.
Beaner’s One Week Live – Day One
Monday, Sept. 20 | 8 p.m. | $6
Beaner’s Central, West Duluth
Excuse Me Princess * Wyatt Famous
James and Younger * Hattie Peterson and the Black Frames
Dodge the cover charge by being the first person to comment on this post. PDD will get you on the guest list x2.
Presenting the most complicated ballot question of all time!
If you live in Duluth, this fall’s ballot asks the question below, which I will not even try to simplify.
School District Ballot Question
Approval of School District Bond Issue
Shall the School Board of Independent School District No. 709, Duluth, be authorized to issue general obligation bonds totaling $128,000,000 to be used with an estimated $66,092,086 in bonds and investment earnings previously approved by the board for alternative facilities to build two new middle schools and two new elementary schools; repair and remodel three high schools, one middle school, and five elementary schools; repair and expand two elementary schools; and repair and remodel Old Central High and the Secondary Technical Center?
My question to you, PDD readers, is do you even want anyone to explain what this means?
It would be awesome if a local TV news show asked people on the street what they think this question means. The answers would be precious.
Hawk Weekend in Duluth
Debbie Waters, education director at Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory, shows off a red-tailed hawk during Hawk Weekend activities today.
You would like it in the Northern Plains: Duluth, Minnesota
This ad for Northern Natural Gas Company ran in Time magazine on Sept. 17, 1965. Hats off to Susie LeGarde Menz for the find. (more…)
Denfeld vs. Central: The Pranks
Now that the Denfeld and Central High School student bodies have been united, it seems like a good time to look back at some of the pranks students played on each other.
The most infamous, of course, was during the 1974-75 school year. Denfeld kids somehow managed to hoist a Volkswagon to the top of Central High School. The car had “Hunters” painted on the side.
The statute of limitations is probably up, so anyone willing to come forward, admit participation and explain how it was done will surely be held harmless. (Although I can’t promise some middle-aged Central grad won’t toilet paper your house. And I suppose administrators could still revoke your diploma. Better keep quiet.)
One rumor I heard was that the whole prank was based on a lesson from a physics class at Denfeld.
Another prank I remember hearing about, I think also from the 1970s, involved Denfeld kids setting a greased pig loose at Central. Again, anyone with details should chime in on the comments.
And, of course, there was the fall of 1979, when Central kids threw eggs at the Denfeld marching band before the Homecoming game, which prompted Denfeld kids to throw eggs at Central’s band during halftime. I think that was the last significant prank before Duluth Public Schools entered an era of civility and brotherhood and whatnot.
Certainly there were some other good pranks not mentioned here. Let the discussion begin. Hell, we’ll even let cake eaters participate.
Douglas County 2010 Election Results
Statewide results for Wisconsin races related to Douglas County and Duluth’s neighboring port, the city of Superior:
FEDERAL OFFICES
United States Senator, Republican Party
Ron Johnson — 500,925 | 85%
Dave Westlake — 61,303 | 10%
Stephen M. Finn — 29,005 | 5%
United States Representative, Wisconsin District 7
Democratic Party
Julie M. Lassa — 28,576 | 85%
Don Raihala — 5,016 | 15%
United States Representative, Wisconsin District 7
Republican Party
Sean Duffy — 41,032 | 66%
Dan Mielke — 21,100 | 34%
STATEWIDE OFFICE
Wisconsin Governor, Democratic Party
Tom Barrett — 210,972 | 90%
Tim John — 22,268 | 10%
Wisconsin Governor, Republican Party
Scott Walker — 360,032 | 59%
Mark W. Neumann — 237,870 | 39%
Scott S. Paterick — 16,609 | 3%
Wisconsin Governor, Independent Candidates
Jim Langer — 12 | 67
James James — 6 | 33
(This result is for Douglas County only. No one seems to be tracking this race statewide.)
Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor, Democratic Party
Tom Nelson — 107,029 | 52%
Spencer Coggs — 43,535 | 21%
James L. Schneider — 37,269 | 18%
Henry Sanders — 19,297 | 9%
Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor, Republican Party
Rebecca Kleefisch — 259,318 | 47%
Brett Davis — 139,211 | 25%
Dave Ross — 80,433 | 15%
Robert Gerald Lorge — 52,199 | 10%
Nick Voegeli — 21,082 | 4%
Wisconsin State Treasurer, Democratic Party
Dawn Marie Sass — 129,510 | 67%
Dan Bohrod — 62,761 | 33%
Wisconsin State Treasurer, Republican Party
Kurt W. Schuller — 169,232 | 37%
Scott Feldt — 166,148 | 36%
Jim Sanfilippo — 123,315 | 27%
United States Steel Duluth Works
It’s amusing to me that the soundtrack to this slideshow is by Dokken. You might think that’s a poor choice, but I remember 20 years ago the only Duluth kids into Dokken were from Morgan Park, so it makes sense.
Also, tragically, the one sentence of text in the video contains multiple errors, but oh well. (more…)
Best of the Twin Cities: Duluth winners from 1999 to 2011
A collection of Duluth-related stuff from City Pages’ Best of the Twin Cities issues over the years.
2011
Best Blues Artist
Charlie Parr
Charlie Parr is the real deal. A Duluthian through and through, he’s about as unpretentious as they come. Climbing up on stage dressed in a flannel shirt, carpenter’s pants, and work boots, he wields his steel-stringed guitar like it’s an extension of his body, effortlessly gliding over the frets with a slide and letting it reverberate before trading it for a banjo or a 12-string. Sometimes when he plays he’s accompanied by an unassuming young lad who looks like he’s been plucked straight from the ore mines on the Iron Range, who clangs on train spikes and steel bars while Parr sings and strums. And while Parr’s guitar playing is technically complex and seemlingly effortless, it’s his voice-a blues howl with a soft side, which can climb up from a sweet moan into a loud bellow at a moment’s notice-that accentuates the stark, sad nature of his songs, painting vivid portraits through lyrics about loneliness, the devil, and making things right with the Lord. (more…)
Upset Duluth
Every month or so there is a story in the Duluth News Tribune about a community member or group of people upset about something. The story usually features a photo like the one above, shot by Bob King.
I don’t mean to make light of any of the issues these people are upset about, or be critical at all of the photography. Just the opposite. What I’m saying is, for some reason I love these photos. Seriously. (more…)
One hiker could be freed on Saturday
The Minneapolis Star Tribune is reporting that one of the three American hikers jailed in Iran for more than a year could be released Saturday.
Iran to release 1 of 3 jailed American hikers
There is no word on which hiker might be freed. One of them, Shane Bauer, is a Minnesotan. His sister and brother-in-law live in Duluth, and he also has family in Shakopee and Pine City.
Blue Laws are Stupid, Post #2
One of the questions on the 2010 House of Representatives State Fair Poll (conducted by Minnesota House Public Information Services) was:
Do you believe liquor stores and automobile dealers should be permitted to open on Sundays?
And the results …
Yes ………… 6,742 | 68%
No ………….. 2,480 | 25%
Undecided …… 668 | 7%
So, were the 25 percent who said no all from Lakeside?
(This really ought to be a series. Link to post #1 here.)
Gubernatorial candidates debate in Duluth
Courtesy of Minnesota Public Radio, here’s audio from today’s debate at the Duluth Playhouse between Tom Emmer, Mark Dayton and Tom Horner.
Wooden arch from Duluth’s Spalding Hotel at State Fair
I didn’t ask around, with the crowd as thick as it was, but I’m assuming this big wooden arch must be the one from the Spalding Hotel that was retrofitted into O’Gara’s fairgrounds restaurant in St. Paul.
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Minnesota State Fair attendance record
Saturday, Sept. 4, was a record setter at the Minnesota State Fair. In that single day, 234,384 people attended.
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Here’s hoping everyone is feeling sequeer during the Pride Festival this weekend
Full rundown of Duluth-Superior Pride events at dspride.com.
Cormier Dry Goods of West Duluth
Left:
Cormier Dry Goods, 6227 Grand Ave., West Duluth, in 1907.
(Northeast Minnesota Historical Center photo.)
Right:
The same building in 2010, now entirely apartments.
(Perfect Duluth Day photo.)
Cormier Dry Goods stayed in business well into the 1930s. Gustave Cormier was the proprietor and lived upstairs. By the mid-1930s, J.A. Lundeen’s shoe store shared the building.
Upcoming Concerts at Clyde Iron Works
Click on the poster to see it bigger.
HotMaids post removed
A note from your friendly neighborhood PDD moderators:
Many people read and commented on a post from August 29 about a cleaning business called HotMaids. We have decided to remove the post due to deceptive tactics engaged in by the author of the post, who is also the owner of the business.
Many of the comments responding to the post were made by the author, under multiple names, all raving about what a great idea the business is. Initially we removed those comments and left the post up, but ultimately we felt the entire thing should be removed.
The post also received many negative comments from people who did not appreciate the nature of the business. That had nothing to do with why the post was removed. We simply felt that the deceitful tactics of the author were reason enough to include the phrase “let the buyer beware” at the front end of the discussion.
With that in mind, we now resume the forum on this topic — unless everyone prefers to ignore it at this point.
Duluth’s 2011 Proposed Property Tax Levy and General Fund Budget
Click here for the mayor’s summary.
The city council will approve a maximum tax levy in September, followed by budget presentations from each of the city departments in the upcoming months. The council will vote on and certify the final 2011 tax levy and budget in December.
Highlights:
- Fourth consecutive year of decreases in general fund expenditures
- Zero increase in general operating tax rate