Paul Lundgren Posts

Duluth Show Case Company

The Duluth Show Case Company, doing business as Duluth Store Equipment or simply Duluth Equipment, was a maker of display cabinets using the “Duluth Method” or “Duluth Unit System of Sectional Store Furniture.” Read the ad copy to determine what that might mean.

Land of the Sky Blue Waters

This illustrated map depicting “The Minnesota Arrowhead Country” is from the Hotel Duluth Coffee Cub menu, circa the mid-20th Century. The illustration is by wildlife painter Louis S. Raymer, who graduated from Duluth Central High School.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune published an article about Raymer’s career in 2014: “Painter Louis Raymer, 85, on life, career and the heyday of wildlife art.” Raymer died in 2016.

Eat Yourself Help

The biggest mistake you can make after deciding to eat yourself is to start with the hands. The hands are the easiest part of the body to eat, so they seem like a good place to begin, but that is exactly why you should save them as long as possible. Remember, once your hands are gone, those hard to bite areas become an even bigger strain.

I suggest you start with your thigh, just above the knee. Chew through both legs, severing them. This allows you to eat your calves and feet like two big, sloppy corncobs. (Should you begin choking on an Achilles tendon, remember that a self-applied Heimlich maneuver can be just as easily performed when you are rolling around on the floor with severed legs as when you are standing on your feet.)

You might find the area from your thighs up hard to reach with your mouth so it’s important that you still have your hands and arms. Don’t eat them yet! After you have chewed open your legs, you will easily be able to use your hands to scoop out heaping portions of the rest of your body.

Many people ask me, “Paul, how do I eat my own mouth?” The answer is simple. Just push it down your throat and swallow. It’s that easy.

Postcard from Goldfine’s Bridge Room

This postcard from Gallagher’s Studio of Photography shows the Bridge Room at Goldfine’s by the Bridge, one of the nation’s first discount stores. It opened in 1962 at 700 Garfield Ave. Today the building is home to the Goodwill Duluth store.

Mystery Photo: Diamonds are Forever … Except in Duluth!

This old photo seems to show striking workers at the Diamond Tool and Horseshoe Company in West Duluth. Or are the workers protesting the closing of the plant? What year was the photo taken? Who is the guy in the foreground crossing the street? There are plenty of questions to be answered in this Perfect Duluth Day Mystery Photo.

Postcard from the Old Light House on Minnesota Point

The historic crumbling lighthouse on Minnesota Point has been historic and crumbling for a long time. This postcard was mailed July 12, 1912. The Duluth Preservation Alliance listed the lighthouse as #7 on it’s list of “Duluth’s Ten Most Endangered Properties in 2017.”

Mystery Photo #64: Edge of Unknown Lake

This photo comes to us from Les Locklear, who has that feeling we all get from time to time. You know you recognize something, but you just can’t place it.

Northwestern Oil Company Filling Station

The Northwestern Oil Company filling station was built in 1921 at 716 E. Superior St. This photo from Jay Sonnenburg’s family collection is likely from the very early days of the gas station’s existence. The building is now home to the Portland Malt Shoppe.

A Few of Duluth’s Fair Working Girls

This March 1912 Duluth News Tribune clip was found in a search related to Perfect Duluth Day’s “Mystery Photo #63.” You might think it’s interesting the paper had a feature on working women back then, until you read it and discover it’s six paragraphs about a search for Duluth’s “most beautiful working girl,” and asks specifically, “which is the prettiest?”

Mystery Photo #63: Quite a Hat

Who is this lady and what is her deal? Well, we know this is a postcard photo shot at either the Penny Arcade in Duluth or the Post Card Shop in Minneapolis. We know her hat is awesome, but aren’t really sure if there is a significance to the combination of a big hat, giant bow tie and candlestick telephone.

Mystery Photos #61 and #62: Posing with Car

Not much is known about these two photos, other than that the car has Minnesota plates that appear to show the year 1925 or 1935. Is this a scene from Duluth? Is it possible to pin this photo on any map? Obviously bonus points for identifying people in the photo.

Don’t be fooled by how the building at right appears to look a little bit like the Chromaline/Ikonics building in West Duluth. It is not.

A polka break … because we all need it

Put your troubles on hold and enjoy the 1983 album Polka with the Duluth Accordionaires. Side A above, side B below.

Duluth Album Releases in 2018

Superior Siren
Self titled
(Jan. 12)

Sadkin
Reimagined
(Jan. 12)

Àlamode
Swell
(Jan. 13)

The Documentary
Daggers & Discord
(Feb. 13)
Available on Bandcamp

Ingeborg Von Agassiz
O Giver of Dreams
(March 15)
Available on ingeborgvonagassiz.com

Postcard from a Winter Residence on Minnesota Point

Then and Now: Grand Avenue at Knowlton Creek

The image above shows Grand Avenue at Knowlton Creek, looking from Duluth’s Norton Park neighborhood toward the Riverside neighborhood. It’s dated Feb. 16, 1918. At the time, Grand Avenue was named Third Street. What does it look like today?