Duluth’s 290 licensed foster homes were falling short of meeting the need 50 years ago. The June 18, 1971 Duluth Herald reported “a crucial situation,” in which “good kids” wound up in detention centers for lack of foster homes.
Karen Nance — author, public speaker and attorney — is the granddaughter of civil rights activist Ethel Ray Nance, who was part of one of the few biracial families in Duluth in 1920. The family lived just four blocks from the site of the 1920 lynchings of Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson and Isaac McGhie.
A large timber crib, shown here in 2010, was beached for almost 15 years. City officials said the structure was removed and demolished as part of the recently completed Lakewalk improvement project. (Photo by Kip Praslowicz)
A mysterious wooden structure that had been shipwrecked for years on a Canal Park beach has disappeared following a year-long project designed to improve a popular Duluth walking trail battered by Lake Superior storms.
Kenwood 1 & 2, a twin movie complex in Duluth, opened 50 years ago. The June 17, 1971 Duluth Herald reported work was being rushed for the formal opening on June 18. The two theaters, situated in the Kenwood Shopping Center, had seating capacities of 520 and 280. The opening films were the science-fiction thriller The Andromeda Strain and a reissue of Lawrence of Arabia.
Another installment of wheeled sneaker stunts by former Duluthian James Geisler, also known as the hip-hop artist JamesG.
The Duluth Model City Administration issued a directive 50 years ago to local contractors requiring them to hire more neighborhood residents. The June 16, 1971 Duluth Herald reports that “contractors who bid for work funded at least in part by Model City monies must agree that Model Neighborhood residents be given a certain number of jobs in all construction, rehabilitation, alteration and repair contracts.”
Adam Jagunich takes a night time flight with his Yuneec Typhoon H Plus around the Aerial Lift Bridge as the American Integrity sails into port to pick up a load of ore.
Former Duluthian Ina Wesenberg contacted Perfect Duluth Day with the hope that someone can provide information about an old apartment complex she lived in as a child in the 1950s. She recalls it was on the western edge of the Morgan Park neighborhood, away from the concrete homes of the planned community.
Ground was broken 50 years ago today for the Tri-Towers apartment complex at 222 N. Second Ave. E. in Duluth’s Central Hillside. The June 15, 1971 Duluth Herald reported that the Duluth Housing and Redevelopment Authority planned 290 units of housing for low-income elderly people. The total construction cost was expected to be $4.2 million. Monthly rents were estimated to range between $35 and $45 per month including utilities.
The Gary New Duluth Community Center and Recreation Area is offering outdoor movies on Friday nights during the summer.
In its series The Slice, WDSE-TV 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.
It was nearly impossible to notice, but there was a glimpse of Duluth in the series finale of the NBC sitcom Superstore. The episode, titled “All Sales Final,” aired March 25. It concludes with a scene of the character Amy Sosa putting her children to bed. For just a few seconds, a piece of Great Lakes Aquarium art by Daymark Designs, a Duluth-based graphic arts company, is shown in the background.
Among the news 50 years ago today, as reported in the June 14, 1971 issue of the Duluth Herald:
My brother Allen Richardson and I were “Yes Men” for a day. This is how the amazing project went down.
Put your knowledge of notable Duluth-area animals to the test with this week’s quiz.
The next PDD quiz will cover current events; it will be published on June 27. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by June 23.
The MV Sophia F. Janus was built, launched, and christened in 1977. It was among the first of 13 “thousand-footers” to sail the inland seas: 1013 feet long, 113 feet wide, 566 feet hull depth, containing 1,300 tons of oil for its four-story engine. It could carry more than 90,000 tons of cargo, with a crew of 23 souls. The ship was an innovative mixed-use tanker-bulk hauler, with three chemical tank holds and two bulk holds. It had a 250-foot discharge boom for the self-unloading of bulk cargo at a rate of 6,000 tons per hour. The vessel holds numerous cargo records. In the superstitious lore of the sailors, however, because a dock worker was crushed during launch, the Janus was considered cursed. Even the infinite dilution of the Great Lakes could not dissolve the stain of blood.
Communication was lost with the Janus in a storm in 1982, and it appeared to have sunk without a trace after leaving Duluth. No flotsam, oil slick, or fuel spill was discovered in the area of her last known location, which was the middle of Lake Superior.
