February 20, 2012

Duluth needs a monster of its own

Earlier today I was reading about the Red Dwarf of Detroit, a harbinger of doom that’s been haunting the Detroit area for hundreds of years. It’s described as “a small child-like creature with red or black fur boots” that has “blazing red eyes and rotten teeth.”

Other communities have monsters that are unique to their location. Point Pleasant, WV has the Mothman. Southern New Jersey has the Jersey Devil. Botetourt County, VA and Mattoon, IL have the Mad Gasser, who was more of a serial killer really but I’m still including it here.

Mayor Ness wants to get the population back up to 90,000. Maybe some good old-fashioned mass hysteria is what we need to put this town back on the map.

If Duluth had a monster of its own, what would it be like? When would would it appear? Where would it appear? What would it be called?

Giant Panda reopens downtown

Want a filling meal on your lunch break, but don’t want to break the bank? This lady will serve you right up. Qihui Li and Yi Zhong moved out of their West Duluth space and re-opened downtown just one week ago in the old Saigon Cafe location. They own and operate this restaurant, which almost has a fast-food feel. The food was served quickly, relatively cheap, and surprisingly good. …

Giant Panda reopens downtownRead more

Lights out at the ‘Big L’

I just noticed the Spirit Bottle Shoppe at 5801 Grand Ave. in West Duluth is closed and the building is for sale. I will miss the big red light and friendly service.

(Tiny photo circa 2004 by Barrett Chase.)

Congdon Park Elementary Rinks

I’m a journalism student at UMD and I am writing about the history of the Congdon Park Elementary rinks. Today I talked to Bob Mars about the rinks and he mentioned a man that helped a lot there when he was a kid in the 1930s. He said the man’s name was Mr. Swan, but unfortunately could not remember his first name! Does anyone know anything about him? And, hopefully, do you know his first name? Furthermore, does anyone have any old pictures of the rinks with the old warming house?

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