History Posts

Duluth Trivia Deck Sampler #6

Feb 01, 2018 No Comments

More from the Duluth Trivia Deck found at Savers.

1. What famed product was sold by Duluth Tent and Awning?

2. What does a McGiffert loader [on view in the railway museum] load?

3. Who held the first motorized dairy operation in Duluth/the region?

4. Where is Mission Creek located?

5. True or false? A quarry near Mission Creek yielded much of the brownstone used in Duluth buildings.

6. True or false? The first brick structure in Duluth is still standing at E. Superior Street.

7. Where is Munger Terrace?

8. T/F: When the Torrey building was constructed, it was fireproofed by covering its iron and wooden beams with terra cotta or baked clay.

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History

One of the great things you will see in Duluth

Jan 29, 2018 No Comments


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Video Archive: Harry Welty’s 1993 Bill Clinton Snow Sculpture

Jan 20, 2018 No Comments

Twenty-five years ago today — Jan. 20, 1993 — William Jefferson Clinton was sworn in as the 42nd President of the United States. That winter, Duluth’s Harry Welty created a snow sculpture of the new president, and KDLH-TV’s Paul Guggenheimer was there to report.

Welty is still creating snow art on his front lawn, as covered in detail in a PDD “Selective Focus” piece last winter.


History, Videos ,

Postcard from Duluth’s Skyline Parkway

Jan 18, 2018 1 Comment

This postcard image of Duluth from Gallagher’s Studio of Photography appears to be circa 1970. The card is not dated and was never mailed.

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Video Archive: Plugging the hole of the thousand-foot shitter

Jan 15, 2018 No Comments

It was ten years ago that KBJR-TV news reporter Julie Pierce made her famous slip-of-the-tongue while referring to the 1,000-foot motor vessel Walter J. McCarthy Jr. The video clip above, viewed more than 200,000 times in the past decade, also shows KBJR misspelling “McCarthy” on its graphic; so it goes.

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Duluth Trivia Deck Sampler #5

Jan 15, 2018 5 Comments

From the Duluth trivia deck scored at Savers. Thanks to those who have corrected the previous entries and discussed them with vigor. I learned a lot.

1. Who was Duluth’s first mayor?

2. What was the name of the first ship to pass through the Duluth Ship Canal?

3. In what year was the Duluth Bethel Society founded?

4. In what year did the Duluth Board of Trade organize? (The link is about the building, not the organization.)

5. Who developed the Lake Vermilion Iron Fields?

6. When the Duluth Street Railway opened in 1881, how much did it cost to ride in one of its mule-drawn cars?

7. What part of Duluth was known as a “Hay Fever Haven“?

8. What did the City of Duluth do when it was found that its Lake Superior water had asbestiform particles which are linked to cancer?

9. What was Soroptimist International?

10. This one feels like it might be suspect: What was the first church in the Village of West Duluth?

11. True or False: Duluth once had a Duluth Toboggan and Snowshoe Association?

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History

PDD Quiz: History of the NorShor Theatre

Jan 14, 2018 No Comments

In anticipation of the NorShor Theatre re-opening in February, this month’s PDD Quiz looks back at the colorful history of this Duluth landmark.

The next PDD Quiz, on January headlines and happenings, will be published on Jan. 28. Please send question ideas to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Jan. 24.

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Lake Superior Aquaman’s Duluth

Jan 12, 2018 No Comments

Explore this interactive map for the bounty of our Northlandic Atlantis. Containing hundreds of photos, video and links, this is a virtual tour of the area with a focus on water, wildlife, history, and recreation.


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Torture by Numbers: The Past Quarter-Century of Pro Sports in Minnesota

Jan 11, 2018 No Comments

Duluth’s Luke Moravec presents on Minnesota’s run of sports misery.

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History, Sports, Videos

Mystery Photo #60: Duluth Baby on Scale

Jan 09, 2018 12 Comments

The date on this image appears to be Oct. 4, 1896. Just about everything else is a mystery. Who is the baby? Who is the adult? Where are they? What does the note “5 win + 6 days” mean?

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History, Photos

Video Archive: Emil’s 70th Birthday Polka Party in 1987

Jan 07, 2018 No Comments

Here it is, another epic production from the collection of the late Emil Praslowicz, digitized by his grandson, Kip Praslowicz. The scene is Chet & Emil’s in Birnamwood, Wis., 250 miles southeast of Duluth.


History, Videos

Postcard from Bethany Lutheran Church of Duluth

Jan 03, 2018 2 Comments

The postcard image above shows Bethany Lutheran Church at 2302-2308 W. Third St. in Duluth’s friendly West End. The image appears to be circa the 1970s, maybe ’60s.

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Video Archive: Honky Tonk Man and Butch Reed cut wrestling promos for 1987 Duluth show

Dec 27, 2017 No Comments

The World Wrestling Federation — now known as World Wrestling Entertainment — brought four cards to the Duluth Arena in 1987. The fourth happened 30 years ago today — Dec. 27.

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Daisy Roller Mill in Superior

Dec 26, 2017 No Comments

A post on photographer Dan Turner’s Substreet website takes a peek at Superior’s old East End Milling District.

Daisy was the last of the flour mills to close in the Twin Ports,” Turner writes. “It closed in the 1970s when Peavey moved its durum operations to a new mill in Hastings, Minnesota. Today the mill is unused, though a company uses the silos.


History, Photos ,

Merry Christmas from Congdon Park

Dec 25, 2017 No Comments

Duluth Photo Engraving Company holiday postcard circa 1915.


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