Remembering Laura MacArthur

Paul Lundgren Aug 25, 2009 7 Comments

A commenter to the post about the house being torn down for construction of the new Laura MacArthur Elementary asked the question, “Who is Laura MacArthur anyway?”

Laura MacArthur was an elementary and junior high school teacher and principal in West Duluth for over four decades.

Born in England, she came to the United States with her family at around the age of 10. She attended high school in Wooster, Ohio, and graduated from the College of Wooster.

She came to Duluth in the spring of 1896, where she was assigned to teach Latin, algebra and civics to ninth graders at Longfellow School.

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History

Gimme an F …

ericswan Aug 25, 2009 12 Comments

woodstock_poster_sm

Duluth Does Woodstock
Oct. 8
Sacred Heart Music Center

Sign up for artists ends Sept. 4

Don’t miss your chance to fulfill your 1960s musical fantasies minus the rain, mud and bad acid.


Events, Music

NorShor

JP Rennquist Aug 24, 2009 35 Comments

Tonight the Duluth City Council will consider suspending the Norshor “Experience” liquor license.

Here’s a picture of among other things, future Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Link Wray who had one of his last public performances in the United States at the NorShor before he died a few months later. He played with a number of Duluth rockers, some of you were there, it was pretty amazing.

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History, Photos

What’s wrong with having a keg at your high school graduation party?

Paul Lundgren Aug 23, 2009 11 Comments

GradPartyKeg3489572

Of course, I’m talking about a keg of root beer. What’s wrong with it? Let me tell you.

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Photos

Rules for Teachers, 1905 and 1872

Paul Lundgren Aug 23, 2009 8 Comments

During my recent visit to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Walnut Grove, I had a good laugh reading two lists of rules on the walls of the little schoolhouse.

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History

Aurora Baer

frank nichols Aug 21, 2009 No Comments

Aurora at Carmody tonight. I’ll be in the cities, argggggg.


Music

Fastest Vote in the West

Paul Lundgren Aug 21, 2009 No Comments

DuluthBallot2009Primary347

Most precincts, like mine in West Duluth, have only two races on the ballot this year. At least we get to vote for two candidates in each.

Click here for a list of candidates that includes all the district races.


Politics

Haunted House Rummage Sale Sat-Sun (updated)

JP Rennquist Aug 21, 2009 8 Comments

15_12

Sale this weekend at my brother’s old Babbitt-esque house at 1616 Jefferson St. (lower Endion, in the Loaves and Fishes zone if that helps anyone to place it). The kids and their friends have nicknamed it the “haunted house” because it’s one of those creeky old, not-quite-a-mansion-places that is just creepy enough to be fun, but not outright scary, and it is very popular with sleepovers for our kids, their friends and more.

I am selling stuff I can’t even believe I’m selling …

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Random

A problem that needs addressing

akjuneau Aug 21, 2009 15 Comments
There’s something that’s confused me a bit about Duluth since I moved here (and I realize I may be the only person who has ever wondered about this).

Just about every town has a “0” point for its street addresses. In Duluth, that would be the corner of Lake and Superior, right? 1 E. Superior, 1 W. Superior, 1 N. Lake, etc. The lower the address number, the closer it is to the zero point. And in general, there are imaginary lines that spread out from that point, dividing addresses into north-south, and east-west.

That all works out well in Duluth on the main grid of streets – downtown, West End, West Duluth, Lakeside… but then it starts to get odd.


History

Free Tix to Singer/Songwriter Competition near Bayfield

markryan Aug 20, 2009 5 Comments

I can’t make it, but If anybody wants them I have 2 tickets to the Singer/Songwriter Competition for Thursday, August 27, 2009 at 7:30pm at Mt. Ashwabay Ski Hill/3 miles south of Bayfield. First person who emails me at:

mark (at) amitycreek.com

with their snail mail address gets ’em. I’ll put them in tomorrow’s mail. Thanks!


Random

Job opportunity: Become the leader of Duluth’s music scene bureaucracy

Paul Lundgren Aug 20, 2009 18 Comments

HomegrownChicken2The Homegrown Music Festival is looking for a director to follow in the footsteps of Paul Connolly, who has stepped down from the position.

Homegrown is Duluth’s yearly celebration of local music, featuring eight days of concerts with performances by well over 100 bands.

The 12th annual Homegrown will be held May 2 to 9, 2010.

The festival director is responsible for the overall management of Homegrown.

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Music

It’s a twister ma!

enealio Aug 19, 2009 8 Comments

A tornado touched down a few times in Minneapolis. The Electric Fetus was hit.

We saw it coming from our work windows and headed to the basement. It touched down about five blocks from my theater.


Outdoors, Random

And the winner is … (drum roll)

Barrett Chase Aug 19, 2009 2 Comments

pdd_contest_lastsupper

And the winner of two tickets to Suzanne Vega at Big Top Chautauqua is Sam Haraldson, whose rendition of the Last Supper managed to capture our hearts and minds here at the PDD Headquarters. We have no idea who any of these people are, or what the story behind the photo is, but we like it. Congratulations, Sam. We hope you enjoy the show.

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Random

How I Spent My Summer Vacation in Minnesota with Daniel Johnston, Laura Ingalls Wilder, my great-great-grandparents and a bunch of short-fiction writers

Paul Lundgren Aug 18, 2009 11 Comments

There comes a time in every Minnesota man’s summer when he climbs into a rusty conversion van with the love of his life and sets out across the state in search of everything and nothing in particular.

Once the dog and the cooler of beer are secure in back, it’s off we go.

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History, Photos

Event

frank nichols Aug 18, 2009 No Comments

Aurora Baer tonight at Carmody


Random