Recently inspired to look into trains in Duluth, I found this video. It’s a bit older than some of the videos I’m posting, but it’s still more or less contemporary.
I love the practice of model trains. My grandpa helped me set one up in my basement, and it was wonderful, but being in my basement made the tracks tarnish, hindering the current that made the train run. So I eventually just used the track board as a table.
There’s a new podcast floating about that might be an enjoyable listen: Getting Bridged. What happens on the podcast? Gar and Kelli, lifelong Duluth residents, chat over the places in the city with stories that need to be told. It’s light on history and heavy on nostalgia, and when you’re waiting in line for the Arial Lift Bridge to come back down as a Laker is heading through, this might be just what you need.
There are nine episodes available, with topics like the old Bryant Elementary School, shopping downtown back in the day, and, most recently, serving in the 148th Fighter Wing. Check it out on rss.com.
Model railroaders have incredible imaginations. This person has established an imaginary rail company carrying materials from the range to Duluth and from Duluth to Minneapolis.
The Duluth Preservation Alliance has announced its 2022 list of the ten most endangered places. The intention is to raise awareness about historic properties that are likely to be lost. The organization previously released endangered properties lists in 2021 and 2017. An interactive story map for the 2022 list is available at arcgis.com.
It’s nearing the end of the month, which means that it’s time for PDD’s current events quiz!
The next PDD quiz will look at bygone Duluth school buildings; it will be published on Sept. 11. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Sept. 7.
There are a ton of videos of the train ride from Downtown Duluth to Two Harbors. The one above is from the engine.
Co-written with Allen Richardson
Dr. Mallard McPurdy disappeared in 2005 while surveying regional probability for the University of Minnesota Duluth’s short-lived Anomalies Department. A team led by Dr. Leon Oswald recovered McPurdy’s yellow pressure suit on Skyline Boulevard, but McPurdy remains at large. His suit contained video files from which the following transcriptions were made; we obtained these with a Freedom of Information Act request.
Duluth 1. Air analysis complete: Bacteria Spore, Origin Unknown. I hope these cheap-ass containment suits actually contain.
The dim, overcast light coming through my smeared faceplate told me little about season or time of day. “Dr. Oswald!” I screamed, weeping as the dread and isolation overwhelmed me. I put on a brave face, clenching my fists, unimpressed by the amount of courage I could muster.
The new Trampled by Turtles music video, “On the Highway” aka “Return of the Owl Face,” was shot and edited by Cooper Baumgartner. The band’s upcoming album Alpenglow, is scheduled for release Oct. 28.
“For nearly three decades, long before the fall of Roe v. Wade, the blond brick Building for Women in Duluth, Minnesota, has been a destination for patients traveling from other states to get an abortion. They have come from places where abortions were legal but clinics were scarce and from states where restrictive laws have narrowed windows of opportunity.”
Juraj Kols and Jennifer Beattie, together known as the Committed Duo, performed music on a sinking barge off Minnesota Point in Duluth during the the second annual SubSuperior Underwater Music and Art Festival in July.
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.
© Mad Chicken Studio
Duluth Boudoir Photography is a gender inclusive photography studio dedicated to helping humans build confidence and see themselves in a new light. Led by Jes Hayes, a Duluth Boudoir session provides clients with hair, makeup, dress, full studio and safe space to feel sexy.
Duluth Mayor George W. Johnson reads a newspaper while he samples some of his own cooking before bringing the breakfast tray up to his wife. This United Press Photo comes with a recommended headline: “The (breakfast) tables are turned.” (Photo via Historic Images Outlet)
The women of Duluth were feasting comfortably in their pajamas 70 years ago. Or, at least, that’s what they were entitled to. A competition between the men and women of the city to increase voter registration was won by the women — 27,204 to 27,123. Mayor George W. Johnson proclaimed that husbands must serve their wives breakfast in bed for seven days or take them out to dinner for the same length of time. In many cases, however, the men either reneged on the bet or supplied a subpar meal, according to news accounts at the time.
In the early half of the 20th century Duluth was often promoted as a haven for those who suffer from hay fever. Such is the case with this postcard of a trolley car on Minnesota Point, mailed Aug. 23, 1912 — 110 years ago today.
