An Elaborate Contrivance for Suicide
One hundred years ago a delusional Superior man hung himself in his home in front of a wall painted with a crucifix. The June 19, 1921 suicide was reported in the Duluth Herald on June 20.
One hundred years ago a delusional Superior man hung himself in his home in front of a wall painted with a crucifix. The June 19, 1921 suicide was reported in the Duluth Herald on June 20.
This postcard was mailed July 18, 1911 — 110 years ago today. The recipient was Mrs. Anna Carlson of St. Louis, Mo. The written message seems to be in a foreign language; the sender’s name looks like Mrs. Emma Ellstrand.
This oil painting of Old Central was donated to the school in 1970 by the class of 1949. It was painted by Central alum Jo Kossett.
The original Central High School, which later became Duluth Public Schools’ Central Administration Building, aka Historic Old Central, will soon enter its next phase. Saturday Properties, a development and management firm based in St. Louis Park, plans to turn the Richardsonian Romanesque-style building into 121 mixed-income apartments. The project is called Zenith DCHS.
Collected in this post are images from inside the 1890s Classroom Museum at Old Central and the interior of the building’s clock tower, shot during a tour on July 2.
One hundred years ago today the Duluth Herald editorialized about the upcoming “St. Louis County Community Fair,” to be held Aug. 30 to Sept. 1, 1921. It was the inaugural edition of what is now known as the South St. Louis County Fair, which has continued on for a century.
The 100th annual fair was supposed to have occurred in 2020, but was canceled due to COVID-19, making the 2021 fair the 100th edition.
This newspaper ad from 1981 promotes weathercaster Pat Kelly of KDLH-TV in Duluth. A Twin Cities native, Kelly arrived in Duluth in 1979 and worked for the AM radio station WEBC before adding television to his résumé. He eventually became a television news anchor at both KDLH and KBJR. He retired in 2008.
This postcard image is dated 100 years ago today — July 9, 1921. It appears to be two families parked on the side of old Highway 61.
The PDD Calendar continues to be the faraway leader in listing Duluth-area happenings — from kayak tours and bingo nights to food markets and rodeos. 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.
This undated postcard, published by the H. C. Wick Company, shows an aerial view of Downtown Duluth from about Second Avenue West looking northeastward down Superior Street. Perhaps the photo was shot from atop the Alworth Building.
All that is known about this photo is the information written on the back. “4th July Celebration in Duluth” gives us a date, along with the vague understanding that it’s from sometime in the early half of the 20th century. And we get the first names of the girls: Bonita (?), Rosemary, Helen, Jerry and Kathryn.
Can anyone figure out more?
The song “Coffee in Duluth” is not available on the internet, but we nonetheless note its existence on Perfect Duluth Day … just because that’s what we do.
The University of Minnesota Duluth’s medical school took its first step toward academic accreditation 50 years ago. The June 30, 1971 Duluth Herald reported that Dr. Robert E. Carter, medical school dean, announced a letter of “reasonable assurance of academic accreditation” had been received from the Joint Liaison Committee on Accreditation of the American Medical Association Council on Education and the American Association of Medical Colleges.
What’s inside the PDD picnic basket? Treats for you, that’s what. Join us on the deck at Boreal House tonight at 5 p.m. for Perfect Duluth Day’s 18th birthday party.
The St. Louis County Board was asked by Sheriff Greg Sertich to extensively remodel the county jail 50 years ago. The June 29, 1971 Duluth Herald reported the proposed project included jail office and roof work; providing remote control televisions, air conditioning and security lighting; installing a metal detector in the lobby and other items such as plumbing and electrical upgrades.
Fifty years ago Duluth’s Leo Spooner won his third Reidar Lund Skyline Memorial Golf Tournament at Enger Park. The victory came on June 27, 1971, and was reported in the June 28 issue of the Duluth Herald.
The final four-way segment on Highway 53 between Duluth and Virginia was nearing the end of construction 50 years ago. The June 25, 1971 Duluth Herald reported that “full expressway travel” between the two cities was “10 years in the making. The 12-mile segment between Pike Lake and Independence was expected to open in September. Reconstruction and resurfacing of the 73-mile highway began in 1961.
