Does anyone have any info on the pioneer behind the name of the Lester River?
My maiden name is Lester. Through the years we have been told of a great-great grandfather Albert Julius Lester, who fathered a son William O. Lester.
My maiden name is Lester. Through the years we have been told of a great-great grandfather Albert Julius Lester, who fathered a son William O. Lester.
This old photo shows two men standing in a grocery store. The back of the photo indicates it’s in Duluth, Minn. and gives the names of the men. Unfortunately, the photo of the back side of this photo is blurry and difficult to read, but it looks like Gust Hjelm is one of the names.
This photo from the Detroit Publishing Company shows the Duluth Boat Club on the bay side of Minnesota Point at South Tenth Street. A previous clubhouse existed where Bayfront Park is today, but the facility shown in the photo above was built in 1903 and was destroyed by fire in 1951.
This undated postcard has the following text on the back:
The Thompson Hill Information Center and Rest Area is located at the junction of I-35 and US 2 on a 28 acre site overlooking the St. Louis River Valley and the Duluth-Superior metropolitan area. The Information Center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with tourist and travel information and road condition reports available during the day as a service of the Minnesota Highway Department.
Now that spring has (maybe) sprung, Duluth’s many parks and green spaces are beckoning. Take this week’s quiz to learn more about parks located in neighborhoods from Central Hillside to Congdon Park. While an earlier PDD quiz explored parks on the western side of town, it’s no longer available because the platform supporting the quiz changed, so we’ll revisit western parks and other neighborhood parks in future PDD quizzes.
Duluth’s Historical Parks: Their First 160 Years, by Tony Dierckins and Nancy S. Nelson, was an invaluable resource for this quiz (as was Dierckins’ Zenith City Online).
The next quiz, reviewing current events, will be published on May 26. Please email question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by May 23.
The text on the back of this undated postcard from Gallagher’s Studio of Photography reads simply: “A nice catch of trout from northern Minnesota.”
The 2019 lake and stream trout seasons open on May 11.
Hear the totally true story of the People’s Free Skate Rink from its creators: Lake Superior Aquaman and Robot Rickshaw interviewed by Ryan Welles on his podcast “True Stories and Other Damage.” Featuring the genesis of it, all the behind the scenes information, anecdotes, and a few extravagant claims, finishing up with the harrowing account of our iceberg ride.
What that scribbled message on the front of this postcard is all about will have to be left to speculation in the comments. The card was mailed 110 years ago — May 4, 1909.
This card is postmarked May 3, 1909 — 110 years ago today. Edis Johnson sent it from Duluth to Mr. H.T. West of Toronto, Canada.
Left: July 2001 photo of the Honking Tree from the Two Harbors Forum website. Right: The modern remains of the Honking Tree stump between Larsmont Road and Isaacson Road southwest of Two Harbors. Photo by Mike Creger.
I asked Lake County Sheriff Carey Johnson this month if there was anything new in the now 10-year-old Honking Tree case.
“You mean the white pine murder investigation?” he said straightaway.
There are still a few national currency bank notes with Duluth bank names floating around, mostly held by collectors. This type of currency was eliminated in the 1930s. The note above is from Northern National Bank of Duluth and was issued in 1908. In the portrait is U.S. Treasury Secretary Hugh McCulloch, who also named the streets in Duluth’s Lakeside neighborhood, including one after himself. (More on McCulloch in the comments.)
Seventy years ago — April 16, 1949 — Duluth was featured in The Saturday Evening Post as part of the magazine’s series on “America’s most colorful cities.” The lengthy article by Arthur W. Baum was the 65th in the series, and features photographs by Frank Ross.
The intro text reads: “Once a bleakly unpromising village, this now great grain and ore center has survived many a stunning setback — thereby making her smart-aleck detractors look foolish. The cheif hazard of life here is this: You never know when a wild bear will drop in for breakfast.”
In honor of the upcoming Homegrown Music Festival, this PDD quiz examines inventions, innovations, and ideas that were “homegrown” in the Duluth area.
The next PDD quiz will review headlines from April 2019 and will be published on April 28. Please email question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by April 25.
According to this postcard, Duluth Motel sat in some mysterious forest, perhaps offering the only toilet available for miles and miles. In reality, “Northwest’s Most Luxurious Motel” was near Denfeld High School and surrounded by West Duluth homes and businesses. A lush, undeveloped hillside was indeed in the distance, though not very similar looking to the illustration on the postcard.
This promotional pamphlet is from roughly 1980. Within the text might be clues that narrow down a specific year.
