August 2024 Posts

The 350th Anniversary of the Battle of Seneffe

Aug 11, 2024 2 Comments

A monument to the battle at the Castle of Seneffe. (Photo by Matthew James)

Three hundred and fifty years ago, Daniel Greysolon Sieur du Luth first met Father Louis Hennepin in the aftermath of the Battle of Seneffe. While this battle is often listed as a footnote in the history of French colonialism in Minnesota, it was one of the most significant battles of the Franco-Dutch War. On Aug. 11, 1674, French troops fought in southern Belgium against an allied army of Dutch, German and Spanish soldiers. The battle shaped European history and the meeting of Du Luth and Hennepin at the site of that battle led to a story that, while almost certainly false, endures as one the foundational tales of Minnesota history.

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History ,

PDD Quiz: Mascots

Aug 11, 2024 No Comments

This week’s quiz tests your knowledge of local mascots (some affiliated with sports teams, some not). Step up to the plate and see how many you can identify!

The next PDD quiz, reviewing current events, will be published on Aug. 25. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Aug. 22.

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Sports

Hidden Hunters Park mansion up for sale

Aug 10, 2024 No Comments

Duluth grain magnate W.J. McCabe and his wife Jane Chidlaw McCabe built this Georgian-style colonial mansion in 1914. It is located in Hunters Park, about two miles uphill from Glensheen Mansion. (Photos by Mark Nicklawske)

Duluth is famous for its turn-of-the-century mansions proudly showcased in busy, well-touristed east-side neighborhoods, but a few historic homes are tucked away in unexpected places far from the grand Lake Superior shoreline.

One of those hidden gems is up for sale.

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News and Current Affairs

Suggestions for a Minnesota Authors Class: Song Lyricists

Aug 09, 2024 4 Comments

I’m teaching a Minnesota authors class for the first time this year, and I want to make sure it’s hip and current and that it’s Duluthy. So I’m asking for help.

I want to do a brief (two-week) unit on song lyrics. I’m looking for Minnesota’s best song lyricists and their best lyrics.

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Art, Music

Streets of Duluth: Classic Street Photography from 1968 to 1972

Aug 09, 2024 1 Comment

The Duluth street photography of D. M. Martin recently became available on YouTube in slideshow format. The images were shot between 1968 and 1972, and have appeared in several art shows in recent decades, including two in Duluth: Chasing Cartier-Bresson: Duluth, Superior & Minneapolis 1968-1972, at the Tweed Museum of Art in 2000, and D. R. Martin: Duluth Street Photographer at the Red Herring Lounge in 2016.

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History ,

Teague Alexy and Woodblind – “5 Foot”

Aug 08, 2024 No Comments

Teague Alexy teams up with the nine-piece Duluth ska band Woodblind in this rocksteady reworking of “5 Foot.” The song is a Teague Alexy original that first appeared on the Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank album Number One Contender.

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Music ,

Mystery Photo: Two Dudes in Duluth

Aug 07, 2024 1 Comment

From G. E. Sackett’s Owl Studio at 6 E. Superior St. in Duluth circa 1915 comes this photo of two unknown men.


History ,

The Slice: Vinyl Vault

Aug 05, 2024 No Comments

The Vinyl Vault is a record store housed in a bank vault at the Washburn Cultural Center, about 60 miles east of Duluth. It opened in 2017.

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.


Music, Videos , , ,

PDD Geoguessr #23: World Cities and Their Northern Minnesota Namesakes

Aug 04, 2024 No Comments

The city center of Groningen, The Netherlands, not to be confused with Groningen Township, 70 miles south of Duluth (Photo by Matthew James)

There’s a lot of Minnesota history to be found in the names on a map. Some places, like Iron Junction, reflect the industry that created the town. Many names come from Anishinaabemowin, like Mahnomen, derived from manoomin, meaning wild rice. And some city names both reflect their primary industry and come from Anishinaabemowin, like Biwabik, which comes from the Ojibwe word for iron. This Geoguessr challenge looks specifically at places in Minnesota that took their names from locations from around the world.

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History

Wildrose: 1984 film shot on the Iron Range

Aug 03, 2024 No Comments

 
It’s been 40 years since Wildrose, a feature film shot on Minnesota’s Iron Range, premiered in theaters. The full movie is available to stream in the video section of the Russian social media website Odnoklassniki, or ok.ru, and is embedded above.

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History, Videos ,

Stunning footage of a lynx in northern Minnesota

Aug 02, 2024 No Comments

Trail cameras from the Voyageurs Wolf Project will occasionally capture footage of lynx, but the University of Minnesota researchers say “this is definitely the coolest.”


Videos

Postcard of Duluth’s $5,000,000 Water Power

Aug 02, 2024 No Comments

This postcard, circa perhaps 1910, shows the western side of Downtown Duluth and the city’s hillside, with the caption “$5,000,000 Water Power.” Though the card doesn’t make it clear what that means, the logical guess is it refers to Duluth’s investment in hydraulic power at the start of the 20th century.

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History

Big Into – “A Stroll Down Hollywood Boulevard”

Aug 01, 2024 No Comments

Iron Range native Curtis Kraft Mattson of Big Into strolls down the boulevard in the band’s new video, obliviously avoiding attacks from a mob of villains.

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Music, Videos