Time Capsule Needed

What’s the proper endgame for this shirt? In my practice, bleach spillage (as is the case here) would usually qualify this shirt for a move from my Saturday pile to the rag bin. But with this being such a noteworthy piece of early Perfect Duluth Day, and for that matter Duluth history, it seems like there should be a more proper retirement.

The Scandia Fisheries, Duluth, Minn.

A friend of mine from Seattle was eating at Jimmy Mac’s Roadhouse in Renton, just south of “the Emerald City,” and sent the above photo to me. At first it seemed like a manufactured novelty sign because searches only returned other copies of the same sign. But then I found a Minnesota Historical Society listing for a paper crate label from the same company from around the 1950s, so it appears to have been a real business.

Reconstructing a literary history of Duluth: Calyx Press

I’m trying to build a history of literature in Duluth, and I’ve decided that one useful heuristic would be publishers. So, what can you tell me about Calyx Press and Cecilia Lieder?

The Slice: Oh My Gourdness!

Lake Superior Zoo‘s colossal pumpkin arrived Oct. 6. Danny Tanner of Duluth Township provides the zoo with the symbolic Halloween squash each year ahead of the annual Boo at the Zoo events, this year held Oct. 16, 23 and 30.

In its series The Slice, WDSE-TV presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.

Philosophy of Love, Sex and Relationships

Sarah LaChance Adams and Rob Adams and their family no longer live in Duluth, but Sarah can be heard talking about the philosophy of love, sex and relationships in the October episode of Why? Philosophical Discussions About Everyday Life. The episode is titled: “How do philosophers talk about sex, love, and desire?

PDD Quiz: Halloween Happenings 2021

The spooky season is upon us! Test your knowledge of local Halloween-themed happenings with this week’s quiz (and check out more Halloween hoopla on the PDD calendar).

The next PDD quiz, reviewing the month’s headlines, will be published on Oct. 31. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Oct. 27.

Mystery Photo: Ekstrom Wedding

Here they are, Berger and Hilda Ekstrom, in their wedding duds. We know their names thanks to the scribbling on the back of the photo. And we know from the cardboard frame that the photographer is Lars Linden, the fiery Swede who had a studio at 1619 W. Superior St. in Duluth. What’s the mystery? Well, everything else. What became of ol’ Berger and Hilda?

Selective Focus: Mushrooms

Because, well, everything gets its day, Oct. 15 is National Mushroom Day. And, as naturalist Larry Weber noted a few weeks back, there’s been a “shroom boom” this year, so we’ve selected a few images of local fungal growths via Instagram to highlight here.

Moe – “Bring You Down”

Twenty-five years ago today — Oct. 15, 1996 — the Buffalo, N.Y.-based jam band Moe released its debut commercial album No Doy, with a mention of Duluth on the track “Bring You Down.”

Exploring Haddad’s Cave

Where is Haddad’s Cave? What is Haddad’s Cave? Well, in the world of urban exploration, such details are sometimes closely held. This video hit YouTube yesterday on the Duluth Urbex channel.

Halloween spookiness awaits at the Icebox Radio Theater

Recently, a post appeared on my Facebook feed announcing the Halloween season of the Icebox Radio Theater in a creepy way. Jeff Adams, artistic director of the community theatre company that records in International Falls but is heard around the world, wrote:

We’re finally ready to tell this story. Years ago when my daughter was still at home, we worked together on a photography project taking pictures of our century-old Minnesota home. When we exported the photos to a computer for editing, this image was among them.

Tap on Tower opening Oct. 15

Jordan DeCaro, the entrepreneur who opened Duluth Tap Exchange in 2020, is poised to launch his second self-pour drinking establishment. The Superior Telegram reports that Tap on Tower is slated to open Friday, Oct. 15, at 1106 Tower Ave.

The location is the Schiller Building, formerly the home of Sclavi’s Italian Restaurant & Bar, which opened and closed three times between 2009 and 2018.

Selective Focus: Geomagnetic Glory

A geomagnetic storm brought vibrant auroras across Minnesota and beyond last night and early this morning. Collected here are images via Instagram of northern lights across the region.

Reading Sinclair Lewis: Country, Critiques, City Satires

The Minnesota Historical Society produced this video dramatizing excerpts from two of novelist and social critic Sinclair Lewis’ breakthrough works — Babbitt and Main Street. Lewis, of course, went on to become a Duluthian and even kind of almost coined the phrase “perfect Duluth day.”

The program is created and hosted by Craig Johnson and features actors David Beukema, Anna Leverett, Damian Leverett and Melanie Wehrmacher. It was filmed on location in Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sauk Centre.

Moors & McCumber – “There’s Always Something”

Moors & McCumber have a new album coming out Oct. 15 titled Survival. The Moors half of the duo is Superior’s James Moors, who has been performing with Colorado native Kort McCumber since 2005.

The video was produced and directed by Travis Bush.