Enger Park Little League circa 1963-1975
The Ensign Community Club built and maintained the Enger Park Little League Field at the dead-end of West 13th Street, just below “The Boulevard.” Fans flocked to the games and parked along neighborhood streets and on Skyline Parkway to see games play out below. Along with the field was a basketball court that doubled as a tennis court. The neighborhood built the field and maintained it for about 15 years. (more…)
London Road roundabout plan riles residents
Minnesota Public Radio reports that the Minnesota Department of Transportation is moving forward with a plan to install a roundabout at 60th Avenue East and London Road despite objections from residents.
Video Archive: Charlie Parr and Haley in 2002
By the power of grainy 20-year-old VHS, embedded above are performances by Charlie Parr and Haley from the short-lived WDSE-TV program Coffee House. The premiere episode featured three songs by each artist and aired March 12, 2003; the segment here contains just one each, and is from a sampler of the show that aired a week earlier. The footage was shot in 2002.
Sir Ernest Shackleton goes out for Bloody Marys
The lake is out there somewhere in this desolate wasteland at the peak of human endurance. Pro tip: If downtown is closed up because of blizzard conditions, the Boat Club is still open because it’s part of the Fitger’s hotel, and they’re all trapped in there eating each other, but it’s open. A great place to hole up here in the last outpost of civilization during the snowmageddonpocalypse. That is a vat of pepper-soaked vodka. Bloody Mary review: 9/10.
PDD Quiz: Duluth Movie Mentions II
In honor of the Academy Awards on March 12, this week’s PDD quiz takes a look at mentions of Duluth on the silver screen. A previous quiz on this topic was published in August). If you’re looking to cheat study up on references to Duluth in popular culture, check out this sweet PDD tag.
The next PDD quiz will review the month’s headlines; it will be published on March 26. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at aklawite@d.umn.edu by March 22. (more…)
All Hockey Hair Team 2023: May the Flow Be with You
A long time ago, in a rink far, far away, the best salads and skullets, mullets and manes descended on the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament in St. Paul. Hockey-hair video maker John King is back with his annual compilation of the best flow in the state. (more…)
Mr. Bierhalter, what is bock beer?
As bock season kicks into high gear — Earth Rider celebrates this weekend; Fitger’s is waiting until April this year — we look back 110 years to get Fitger’s brewmaster John Bierhalter’s definition of the strong, dark beer traditionally brewed in fall and consumed in spring. (more…)
New York Times back in ‘climate-proof Duluth’
The New York Times is vaguely claiming Duluth “has welcomed thousands of new residents from out of state” in the past four years, citing climate change as the “motivating factor.”
Mayor and Common Council, City of Duluth, March 10, 1913
Seated to the left of the mustached gentleman at far right appears to be Duluth’s 23rd mayor, Dr. John A. McCuen. Win the internet by identifying anyone else in the photo.
Gaelynn Lea’s video from Microsoft’s 2023 Ability Summit
Duluth’s Gaelynn Lea provided the opening keynote yesterday to Microsoft’s 2023 Ability Summit. Her video included a performance of the song “Watch the World Unfold.”
Northern Exposure was fun
I dropped by the Depot last night for about twenty minutes of the Northern Exposure festival. Popcorn, beverages were available, and the audience appeared to have a good time. (more…)
Giant Expectations: The Nimrod Giant Ski Story
Many people come to Hayward to ski, but only an elite few dare to giant ski. Last week Perfect Duluth Day shared the previews, the music video, the news coverage and the overall hype; this week we present the full-length feature documentary on the most storied team in the history of the American Birkebeiner Giant Ski Race. It chronicles the team’s past success, the rise to fame and stardom, struggles with selling out, and the uncertain comeback. (more…)
St. Paul nonprofit is new owner of Duluth North Pierhead Light
Minnesota Public Radio reports the historic lighthouse at the entrance to the Duluth Ship Canal is St. Paul-based Rethos, a nonprofit that plans to open the lighthouse to tours.
The Slice: Ski Jumping in Cloquet
The Cloquet Ski Club promotes ski jumping and cross-country skiing at Pine Valley Ski Area.
In its series The Slice, PBS North presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.
Poetry Slam Dunk
On March 5, the Duluth Poetry Chapter, working with Caddy Shack Indoor Golf & Pub, hosted a Poetry Slam Dunk, a play on the usual open-mic format of a poetry slam. Poetry slams are typically held in bars, with the alcohol making the reading of poems less intimidating and the listening more relaxed, too. (more…)
Al Church – “Into the Willows”
Duluth native Al Church has a new album, Party Sounds (From Another Room), due out March 18. The record is about post-pandemic socializing. “Into the Willows” is the first single.
The band features Mike Gunvalson on drums, Ryan “The Ripper” Rupprecht on keys, Izzy Cruz on vocals and percussion, Pete “The Boy” Lavoie on sax, and Evan Foxphace on bass.
Postcard from Tugboats Record and Sinclair
Icebreaking in the Duluth Harbor is expected to start this week, with the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Spar clearing the way for the start of another shipping season.
The postcard above is from the early 1900s and shows the tugboats Record and Sinclair breaking ice in the Duluth Harbor. (more…)
R.I.P. Dave Hill
Legendary sound designer Dave Hill passed away recently. Driving by his humble-looking shop/studio in the East End of Superior, few would guess that an electronics genius was in there designing high-end audio equipment and selling it to the stars. More at fohonline.com.
AP Photo: Sixty-year-old plane crash near Duluth
March 3, 1963: Four Wisconsin men flying home from a fishing trip in Canada died as their small plane crashed in a field near Duluth. The plane, a Cessna 180, crashed at the edge of an open field a half mile west of Proctor and eight miles southwest of Duluth. (more…)
Efforts revived to assess mercury in St. Louis River watershed
Agate, an online magazine focused on the environment and people of Minnesota and the surrounding Great Lakes region, published a story this week about the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s recently revived effort to calculate how much mercury the St. Louis River watershed can handle and still meet established water quality standards. The goal is to determine the mercury reductions needed to meet water quality standards and support healthy consumption of fish.
Duluth Book Releases in 2023
Complicated Warding
Michelle Matthees
Jan. 1
Press This!
Available at michellematthees.com
I Think I Know You
Julie Gard
Jan. 2
FutureCycle Press
Available at barnesandnoble.com
White Pine: The Natural and Human History of a Foundational American Tree
John Pastor
Jan. 5
Island Press
Available at islandpress.org
Northern Waters Smokehaus moving to Amazing Grace spot
Fox 21 is reporting that Northern Waters Smokehaus will move its business from the main level of the DeWitt-Seitz Marketplace into the basement-level space formerly occupied by Amazing Grace Grocery and Café.
View of Duluth from Northern Pacific Docks circa 1880
This photograph shows a view of the Duluth hillside circa 1880. It was shot by Paul B. Gaylord from the Northern Pacific railroad dock. (more…)
The Nimrods win American Birkebeiner Giant Ski Race 2023
This highlight video shows the drama from the qualifying run and finals of the American Birkebeiner Giant Ski Race, held last weekend on Main Street in Hayward. The Nimrod Giant Ski Team recaptured the championship this year. (more…)