Test your memory of October 2020 headlines with this edition of the PDD Quiz.
The next PDD quiz will focus on Superior’s Central High School; it will be published on Nov. 15. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Nov. 11.
Democracy has been a tricky thing these days. Used to be I would occasionally post on Facebook about my candidate of choice, proudly display a sign in my yard and make a fuss about donning my sticker on Election Day. Now, it’s fair to say, “it’s complicated.”
Not that I don’t have a candidate of choice — I do. But I’ve rather ghosted off social media where I’d display my virtual heart on my cyber sleeve. These days, I pop in just enough to spin my social plate as it bobbles on the stick of my outward-facing life. After a friend was criticized for being “too happy” in pictures with his young children during these troubled times, I found myself going dark, getting insular. That’s saying something for someone who wrote a memoir. I’m not sure I could write that book today. Actually, I’m sure I couldn’t.
However, there’s been some amazing shifts in my household. While typically forward-leaning me has reclined into quietude, my less demonstrative husband has found his voice. And it’s not an electronic one. Sickened by watching the political battle waged behind screens, he decided to literally “put himself out there,” standing at a popular Duluth intersection holding a political sign. With a small parcel of like-minded friends (which only occasionally includes me), he’s there, every day, for 30 days.
Holley Morgenstern of Sparrow & Berry is carrying on a family tradition of making dolls. Her designs are modern and whimsical, giving a fun spin to heirloom dolls. The critters, faces and even the materials she uses vary wildly, and each doll has its own personality and is one of a kind.
HM: My name is Holley Morgenstern and I am the face behind Sparrow & Berry. I make handmade modern heirloom cloth dolls. There are several categories of doll makers, I fall into the soft sculpture category and would also fall under fiber art.
My work is made primarily of cotton, linen and wool. I do use some synthetic fibers for the shaggy/furry, more traditional stuffed animal type dolls. I frequently use bits of vintage trim, fabric, buttons and upcycled components as well.
Mary Plaster explains how Duluth artists honored All Souls Night through “Windows Into Grief,” an event held across Duluth storefronts.
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.
The top half of the graphic above is from a real estate advertisement in the Oct. 22, 1920 edition of the Duluth Herald, promoting lots on 43rd Avenue West near Eighth Street in West Duluth. The bottom half is an attempt to capture the modern perspective via Google Maps. In the modern view, trees block three of the four homes shown in the 1920 view, but one of them can been seen and the other three, though not in view, are still standing.
Imran Khan’s longtime vision of a drinking establishment in Duluth’s Endion neighborhood briefly came to fruition in February. Then the COVID-19 shutdown happened.
Since late August, Khan has described the status of his business as “partially open,” though the doors have generally been locked. Those hoping to try out the Golden Bulldog will need to wait while the search for a bar manager continues.
Another monthly installment of wheeled-sneaker stunts from former Duluthian James Geisler, also known as the hip-hop artist JamesG.
Duluth’s Hoops Brewing won its first Great American Beer Festival medal at the 2020 awards ceremony held Oct. 16. Hoops’ 325 Pineapple Chili was awarded the gold medal in the Chili Beer category. It’s the fourth year in a row that a Duluth or Superior brewery has won a gold medal at the festival.
Earth Rider Brewery in Superior took home two silver medals this year — Royal Bohemian Pilsner in the Kellerbier or Zwickelbier category and North Tower Stout in the Oatmeal Stout category.
Artist Moira Villiard and her team created a mural at 2024 W. Third St. this past summer through a number of artist grants. The team included Michelle Defoe, Aurora Webster and Heather Olson. This video was produced and edited by Dudley Edmondson.
The back of this postcard photo indicates it was shot at the Owl Studio, 10 E. Superior. St., next to Duluth’s Empress Theatre. It’s the same address as the Wide Awake Studio, which was featured in a previous Mystery Photo.
The pandemic gave Adam Swanson time to complete 14 paintings of endangered animals. But it also gave him time to think. In this short documentary by filmmaker Mike Scholtz, Adam wrestles with the importance of art, and art openings, in our lives.
Use the link below for a printable PDF for your drawing and coloring pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: A Storm on Lake Superior
Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.
Presenting the world premiere of “Central Hillside ’91,” the new single and video from Breanne Marie & the Front Porch Sinners. The song is full of early 1990s nostalgia, and the video was shot and edited by David Syring, with scenes captured in Duluth’s Central Hillside neighborhood, of course.
Duluth is mentioned six times in The Burnt Orange Heresy, a new movie starring Elizabeth Debicki, Donald Sutherland, Claes Bang and Mick Jagger. The fictional Duluth Star Ledger newspaper also appears, featuring the headline “Esko woman goes missing.”
