Paul Lundgren Posts

Monthly Grovel: December 2021

Dec 02, 2021 No Comments
(Enter the amount of your choice.)

Oh, holy night and joy to the flippin’ world! The halls of the PDD Calendar are so decked with holiday events that you can’t even find the Clem Snide show you’re looking for. That just means PDD’s merry elves are doing their jobs, publishing enough events to keep your bells completely jingled.

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.

Read More


Random

Postcard from the Famous Aerial Bridge

Nov 26, 2021 1 Comment

This undated postcard of Duluth’s Aerial Lift Bridge appears to be circa the 1960s, but perhaps there is a clue in there somewhere to narrow the date down.

Read More


History, Photos , ,

Sledding Duluth’s Avenues in 1921

Nov 22, 2021 No Comments

One hundred years ago there were far fewer cars on Duluth’s streets, but it was still considered dangerous to sled down the city’s steep avenues. So Duluth Police Chief Warren E. Pugh surveyed the city and selected a few recommended avenues that posed “the least danger to life and limb,” according to the Duluth Herald of Nov. 22, 1921.

Read More


History , , , ,

Kingsbury Creek has a new bridge, snowmobile trail restored

Nov 21, 2021 No Comments

The bridge over Kingsbury Creek in West Duluth that was washed away in the Historic Summer Solstice Flood Disaster of 2012 has been replaced. The snowmobile route that runs across the bridge and snakes through the hillside south of Interstate 35, roughly from Keane Creek to Knowlton Creek, has also been restored after years of neglect. The lost ridgeline snowmobile route is part of the St. Louis River Corridor snowmobile trail system and links to the Hermantown trail system.

Duluth’s Parks and Recreation Division and the Hermantown Night Riders are hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the bridge on Dec. 17.


News and Current Affairs , ,

Postcard from the Lyceum Building

Nov 19, 2021 2 Comments

This undated postcard of Duluth’s Lyceum Theatre does not appear to have been mailed, though it does have a message on the back.

Read More


History , ,

Talkin’ PDD on For the Love of Duluth Podcast

Nov 18, 2021 No Comments

Get ready for self-referential blabber and Perfect Duluth Day shop-talk galore. Yours truly, Paul Lundgren, is the guest on the sixth episode of the For the Love of Duluth podcast.

Tom Jamison, a former lawyer turned local business owner, started the podcast in August as a passion project. Yvonne Myers is co-host and Lauren Wells handles the techy stuff. The focus is on Duluth art, culture, food, beer and natural amenities.


Random ,

When Wausau was the Christmas City of the North

Nov 17, 2021 1 Comment

This 70-year-old article from the Wausau Daily Herald, published Nov. 17, 1951, serves as a reminder that before Duluth had its parade and “Christmas City” song, a Wisconsin city more than 200 miles to the southeast had already branded itself the “Christmas City of the North.”

Read More


History ,

Postcard from the old trading post in Fond du Lac

Nov 13, 2021 No Comments

This postcard was mailed on Nov. 13, but the year on the postmark is blurred so we’re going to estimate it was about 80 years ago.

The American Fur Company began trading on the St. Louis River at Fond du Lac in 1817 and continued until 1847. A replica was built as a tourist attraction in 1935, and that’s what is depicted in the postcard image. The replica was demolished in the late 1960s.

Read More


History ,

Selective Focus: November Gales 2021

Nov 11, 2021 No Comments

Whether it’s Ten November, Eleven November or Any-day November, it’s no surprise when the gales roll in, yet it’s always eye opening. Waves crashed along the shores of Lake Superior today causing flooding in downtown Grand Marais. Collected here are select photos from Instagram showing the raw power of the big lake they call gitche gumee.

Read More


Photos , ,

EEssented

Nov 11, 2021 No Comments

Is it art? A descent into madness? Or just a scrap of paper with some notes on it, dropped on the sidewalk at the corner of Third Avenue West and Superior Street?


Random

Armistice Day Parade, Football and Moonshine Mishap of 1921

Nov 11, 2021 No Comments

In addition to the parade in Downtown Duluth, Armistice Day of 1921 featured two big football games. The Denfeld High School eleven traveled to Coleraine to play for the northern section championship, while the Duluth Kaycees hosted the Minneapolis Marines to determine the state’s professional championship. But the hilarity of the day occurred three miles outside of Floodwood.

Read More


History, Sports , ,

Mystery Photo: Children in Front of Depression-era Duluth Home

Nov 08, 2021 3 Comments

This old photo, titled “1940 DULUTH Children in Front of Home DEPRESSION ERA Photo (198-N)” popped up on eBay recently.

Read More


History, Photos

Selective Focus: The Funeral March for Rotten Ideas

Nov 07, 2021 No Comments

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.

Read More


Photos , , ,

North Country Trail in Wisconsin: Green Undies in Gordon

Nov 06, 2021 1 Comment

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.

Read More


Outdoors , ,

Postcard from the Steamer David Z. Norton

Nov 05, 2021 No Comments

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.

Read More


History , ,