Matchbooks from Duluth Hotels and Motels

Modern and fireproof, featuring the finest food and liquors, located at the center of everything and on the shore of beautiful Lake Superior, containing all possible comforts and conveniences, with lodging available for the whole family, they are the classic hotels and motels of Duluth.

This is the fourth in Perfect Duluth Day’s series of matchbook collection posts. As always, we remind everyone to please close the cover before striking.

Minnesota Historia: The Magic of Smelting

Explore Minnesota’s love affair with smelt, the shimmering silver fish that’s easy to catch and fun to eat. Now that Lake Superior’s smelt population is in decline, an annual parade in downtown Duluth keeps that love alive.

Minnesota Historia is a PBS North web series dedicated to Minnesota’s quirky past. It is hosted by Hailey Eidenschink and produced/edited/written by Mike Scholtz.

Mystery Photo: Perhaps a Duluth Fraternal Group from 1908

This image is from a postcard mailed 115 years ago today — May 23, 1908 — available for sale on ebay. It’s been touched up a bit here for easier viewing. The obvious mystery is what organization the people in the photo belong to.

The item is listed on eBay as “1908 RPPC Duluth Minnesota College Club Vintage Postcard MN Land Point Idaho ID.” The “college club” part of that is clearly speculative. Many of the men have sashes and badges that suggest perhaps they are part of a fraternal club like the Odd Fellows.

Advertisements from the Duluth Public Library Nostalgic Newsstand Sale: The Sportsman Magazine

Sportsman Magazine Ad

The Duluth Public Library’s Nostalgic Newsstand Sale was a source of many things to write about.

100 Giant Colossal Statues of Bob Dylan

The Committee for Giant Colossal Statues of Bob Dylan, Duluth’s premier Bob Dylan monuments organization, remains hard at work designing giant colossal statues of Bob Dylan.

Video Archive: Trinity Lutheran Church circa 1943

This roughly 80-year-old film features scenes at Trinity Lutheran Church, 1108 E. Eighth St. in Duluth’s East Hillside neighborhood. Also in the film are a nearby market, the Kenwood Community Club and a building under construction.

Advertisements from the Duluth Public Library Nostalgic Newsstand Sale: To the Orient on Canadian Pacific

One of the cooler things about the adverts from the Duluth Public Library Nostalgic Newsstand Sale are the ads for travel on the train. Before planes, before interstates, the train was ubiquitous for travel. I love this ad for “To the Orient on Canadian Pacific.”

Selective Focus: Surfy, Smelty, Swirly PDDs

Select photos from Instagram spanning mid-April to mid-May 2023, all hashtagged with the name of a certain website. #perfectduluthday

UMD Bulldog Hockey: Amsoil Arena Fly-through

Take a tour of Amsoil Arena, home of UMD Bulldogs hockey, via drone footage by Ethan Schultz of ShotxSchultz.

Minnesota Historia: Mr. Magoo the Mongoose

In 1962, a mongoose at the Duluth Zoo was sentenced to death by the federal government, but he’s not the only animal in Minnesota who finds himself at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Minnesota Historia is a PBS North web series dedicated to Minnesota’s quirky past. It is hosted by Hailey Eidenschink and produced/edited/written by Mike Scholtz.

Foundation seeks projects encouraging citizen involvement

It feels to me like there are organizations in Duluth well-poised for a project supported by the Herb Block Foundation. After all, we are home to the Civility Project. If there is an organization interested, I’m interested in helping — after all, it’s sponsored by a famous cartoonist.

Dinner at Daniel Greysolon Sieur du Luth’s House

A couple of weeks ago I posted an explanation of how to get to Saint-Germain-Laval, France, the hometown of Daniel Greysolon Sieur du Luth, the person after whom the city of Duluth is named. I was not entirely sure if my own trip there would happen. It did, and that post has now been updated with more accurate information and a few explanatory photos for anyone in the future who might be interested in visiting.

PDD Shop Talk: The Art of Clickbait

Three of Duluth’s best sledding hills are at Bayfront Park, Wheeler Field and Keene Creek Dog Park. One of the city’s best beaches is at the base of Ely’s Peak. OMC Smokehouse is a popular spot in Canal Park.

Advertisements from the Duluth Public Library Nostalgic Newsstand Sale: Pierce-Arrow

The Duluth Public Library’s Nostalgic Newsstand Sale was clever and pleasurable for a number of reasons.

Duluth 2023 Primary Election Primer

The filing period for Duluth city and school board offices runs from May 16-30. Below is a rundown of candidates who filed before the deadline.