Archive Dive with the Superior Telegram: Recent Episodes
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Interviews with local historians about a person, place or historic event. Brought to you by the reporters at the Superior Telegram and Duluth News Tribune.
In this month's episode of Archive Dive, Telegram reporter Teri Cadeau and local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek dive into the story of Robert Chapman and his mother Mary Chapman.
For 25 years, Mary Chapman was the organist at Cathedral of Christ the King church in Superior and walked there every day, year round. A mother of seven children, Mary Chapman was also a widow at a young age and experienced great loss again in October 1944 when her youngest son Robert was killed in action in the Netherlands during World War II.
Private Robert Chapman was with the 320th Glider Field Artillery Battalion, a unit within the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division. Meronek said he was either 21 or 22 years old at the time of his death.
"Apparently two of the officers in his unit had been shot and he went out and tried to help them and he got struck by a bullet while he was going out there to help him, but he stayed there. He tried to bandage them up and then he was carrying one of the men off the field and he died," said Meronek.
After his death, Private Chapman was awarded the Purple Heart, Silver Star and the Bronze Lion decoration from the government of the Netherlands. His body was not brought back to Superior and he was buried in the Netherlands.
But, that is not where the story ends. A woman named Nora Hodiamont in the Netherlands began taking care of Robert's grave. Similar to how Mary Chapman was devoted to her task by traveling by foot to play the organ, Hodiamont was devoted to her task too, traveling many miles by bike to tend to the grave of Robert Chapman, along with others who were buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery in the village of Margraten.
"She (Nora) loved her country because family was so important in all of this. She rode her bike 17 miles to take care of these graves."
Mary Chapman and Hodiamont would eventually connect, first through letters and then in person. Almost a decade after Robert's death, an article appeared in the Telegram in 1953 highlighting Mary and Nora's friendship. Mary first visited Nora in the Netherlands and a year after that encounter, Hodiamont visited the U.S. and Mary.
"It may seem small, but it really wasn't. Making sure a grave is taken care of - what a difference that made in people's lives. To know that somebody was taking care of it and it established a friendship too because of it. A friendship across the ocean."
"She (Nora) would also put flowers on the grave, just like a mom would or a family member would take care of somebody's grave. She made sure that he (Robert) didn't miss that part since he was going to miss the rest of his life," Meronek added.
Residents still care for the graves in the cemetery to this day.
"The Dutch people were just so grateful that the Americans had come in and did what they did to help liberate the country," said Meronek.
It isn't known when Hodiamont died, but Mary Chapman died in 1962 in Superior at the age of 69.
"She didn't change the world or even the city or anything, but she gave. She gave her son and she still made her mark though. I like that," said Meronek.
Other topics discussed in this episode:
- Mary Chapman's double wedding in 1911.
- How Mary got her start as an organist and her other musical talents.
- The generations of Dutch people and their gratitude to those who helped liberate them.
- The option for deceased soldiers to return to the U.S. or remain buried in the Netherlands.
- Mary's trip to see Robert's grave and meet Nora.
- Operation Market Garden and how it was featured in the TV series Band of Brothers
- Where did Robert work before he went into the service?
- And much more.
Episodes of "Archive Dive" are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth Media Group digital producer Dan Williamson. If you have an idea that you'd like us to explore, email Teri Cadeau at TCadeau@superiortelegram.com.
For this month's episode of Archive Dive, we take a closer look at a story of love, fame and tragedy involving a Gordon woman.
Podcast host and former Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by Brian Finstad, president of the Gordon-Wascott Historical Society, as they explore the life of Victoria Lidberg. She met performer Paul Lorenzo Perkinson, who went by the name Paul Lorenzo, while she was ushering at Superior's Palace Theater. Soon after, they married in October of 1926.
Lidberg became a performer too, as the couple toured the nation's circuses, fairs, and carnivals, wowing audiences with acrobatic feats 125 feet in the air.
Their rise to fame ended when Lorenzo fell to his death during a show in Salem, Illinois in 1942. Although Lidberg eventually remarried, the words on her gravestone show she never forgot Lorenzo.
"Who meets somebody and then the next thing you know, they're 100 feet in the air without a balancing rod? That's pretty amazing!" said Finstad.
"It must have been love," added Lockwood.
Years later, the historical society was contacted by Lidberg's nephew, Andy Worsley, who had trunks filled with costumes, clippings and other treasures from the couple's acrobatic adventures. Plans are in the works to display some of those items during Gordon Good Neighbor Days from July 3-5.
Additional topics discussed in this "Archive Dive" episode include:
- Those who assisted Finstad with exploring the contents of the trunks.
- The large backdrop used as part of their traveling shows and how it was stored.
- Some of the unique events and places at which the Lorenzos performed.
- Stunts that the Lorenzos performed.
- Paul's military background.
- Did Lidberg have previous performing experience?
- Where was the couple married?
- Where is Paul Lorenzo buried?
- What's true and false about Paul's tragic death?
- Other unique performers with ties to Gordon.
Episodes of "Archive Dive" are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth Media Group digital producer Dan Williamson. If you have an idea that you'd like us to explore, email us at editorial@superiortelegram.com.
Did you know there's a "choose your own adventure" auto trail that passes through Douglas County? It is true and all you need to access it is a cell phone.
The Northwest Sands Auto Trail (NWSAT) offers an interactive map that lets users take the wheel. The virtual tour highlights 57 points of interest along a trail of over 200 miles, from Madeline Island to Saint Croix Falls.
For this episode, podcast host Maria Lockwood is joined by Brian Finstad, president of the Gordon-Wascott Historical Society and board member for the nonprofit that oversees the NWSAT. They'll discuss the history and idea of the trail.
One quick note, for the third straight year, "Archive Dive" was recognized in the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Better Newspaper Contest. From everyone involved with the podcast, we offer our appreciation and gratitude to all of our listeners and readers. This couldn't have been done with you. Truly - thank you!
Episodes of "Archive Dive" are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth Media Group digital producer Dan Williamson. Email us at editorial@superiortelegram.com with ideas for future episodes.
For this month's episode of the "Archive Dive" podcast, we learn about a Superior journalist's voyage of discovery and take a closer look at his form of transportation.
In 1891, Edward Huntington "Ned" Dwight, a journalist with the Superior Leader, decided to launch an in-depth report on whaleback ships. To do so, Dwight took a job on one and sailed across the ocean, sending back letters to newspapers around the country as he went.
Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek as they dive into the life of the young reporter and discuss the history behind the whaleback ships.
Meronek was once asked to research the namesake of Dwight's Point in Superior. She learned Ned Dwight is not the point's namesake.
"It was actually named after a New York businessman who also had interests in North Dakota," Meronek said about Dwight's Point. "I think he farmed out there too, but he had money and he was here in the 1890s — and if you had money and you came to Superior in 1890, you could buy yourself some property and have it named after you, right?
"I was very disappointed when I found that out because by that time I had learned a lot about the other Dwight — Ned — Edward Huntington Dwight — and I kind of fell in love with him and I just thought, well, it's a darn shame that it's not named after Ned instead of this other guy, because the man it's named after or the family it's named after, they didn't spend any time in Superior."
According to Meronek, Ned Dwight loved to travel, was a colorful character and was considered "the life of the party." He was also a passionate writer, even starting his own newspaper. He made his way to Superior in 1890, landing a job with the Superior Leader as an editor. Dwight made himself right at home, making many friends, including the famous photographer David Barry, and making an impact.
"I think he must have had some talent, obvious talent that people saw," Meronek said. "Before you know it, he's elected vice president of the local press club."
The SS Charles W. Wetmore was built in 1891, and Ned was on board when it launched for England that June. His plan was to document the journey, though there might have been an additional reason to leave town for a bit.
"He wrote an article that said he had inadvertently misspelled the name of a very prominent person in Superior, and he left town because this guy was looking for him," Meronek said.
Was that true? Meronek doesn't know for sure.
"You never know with Ned. That's the thing, you never know if it's true or not."
Dwight's work appeared in Harper's Weekly and, after his time on the Wetmore, he spent time in Seattle. Upon returning to Superior in 1892, he took a position with the Superior Call newspaper.
Dwight died April 16, 1893, from typhoid pneumonia. He was just 36 years old.
"The outpouring from the people in Superior is pretty amazing," Meronek said. "He had apparently made a lot of good friends. He did have a love for Superior."
Other topics discussed include another reason for Dwight's voyage on the Wetmore, Dwight's job on the Wetmore, a four-legged passenger that he wasn't thrilled with, the Wetmore's connection with the Rockefellers, Dwight's well-connected family, where in Superior Dwight resided and some of his unique neighbors, and Barry's tribute to Dwight at his funeral and his role in securing a tombstone.
Also learn about Superior's history with whalebacks. The last whaleback ship, the SS Meteor, can be found in Superior.
Episodes of "Archive Dive" are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth Media Group digital producer Dan Williamson. Email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com with ideas for future episodes.
A discussion on Superior's historic buildings isn't complete without Carl Wirth. The architect put his stamp on Superior, creating structures that were grand, beautiful, and well loved. Many of his buildings have stood the test of time and remain part of the city's landscape.
In this month's episode of the Archive Dive podcast, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood and local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek discuss Wirth, his art and the significance his buildings have in Superior.
"In 1880, there were 633 people in Superior, " said Meronek. "By 1890, it had grown to over 11,000 and by 1900, there were 30,000 people here, so it was booming and a great place if you were a young architect. He's only probably in his early thirties when he came here and he got a job."
The intersection of Belknap Street and Tower Avenue became the site of many of Wirth's memorable buildings. The New Jersey block, which we know as Globe News, the Grand Opera House, Hotel Superior, West Superior Hotel and the Watkins block.
"He had three of the four corners," said Meronek.
Other Wirth-designs include the Franklin School, two churches for Holy Assumption, Sacred Heart, the city's first Carnegie Library and even some houses. He was well known in the area. Besides having a consistent advertisement featured, Wirth and his projects were mentioned in the Telegram a lot.
"He was a busy man," said Meronek.
During his life, Wirth lived in both Superior and Duluth. He died on November 19, 1928 at the age of 74.
Other topics include Wirth's first job in Superior, where else did Wirth design buildings, what materials were consistently used, His involvement with the Land and River Improvement Company, how he'd find inspiration, other local buildings he may have designed and why we don't know, two significant buildings he didn't get hired for, where else he lived, why he'd return to Superior, family members, how some of the houses he designed have been utilized, where did Wirth himself live in Superior, what happened to some of his buildings, his other interests and talents, did have signature style or design for his buildings, and much more.
Episodes of "Archive Dive" are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth Media Group digital producer Dan Williamson. Email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com with ideas for future episodes.
Do you remember Superior's dime stores? If so, this one's for you.
In this month's episode of Archive Dive, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood and local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek discuss Newberry's, Woolworth's, and Kresge's, all of which could be found on Tower Avenue.
What did they carry? How did they grow? What happened to them? Listen as Lockwood and Meronek dive into their histories. Meronek remembers them well.
"A dime store, it was just like magic," Meronek said. "Because they had everything. If you had a dollar, you could get a lot of stuff because most of it was 5 and 10 cents, as they advertised when they first opened up. A lot of 29-cent stuff. They had everything from household goods to parakeets. You could eat at their lunch counters. You could buy candy. It was just a wonderful place to be."
Topics discussed in this episode include: What set dime stores apart from department stores When did dime stores arrive in Superior? Where else was Woolworth's located in Superior? What were the differences among the three big dime stores? The types of pets you could get at Newberry's and a story of their escape. What was "Ridiculous Days"? What was Meronek's favorite dime store and why? What did the national Kresge's chain morph into? Other dime stories once located in Superior. What led to the end of the dime stores in Superior? What businesses currently use the former dime store spaces, and what happened to the Kresge's building? Plus, more.
"They (dime stores) were fun," said Meronek. "You could always get a good meal there and excellent ice cream at all of them."
Episodes of "Archive Dive" are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth Media Group digital producer Dan Williamson. Email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com with ideas for future episodes.
2026 marks the 100th anniversary of the Nottingham Apartments and the placement of the James J. Hill Empire Builder statue outside of Superior Central High School.
Another notable event in 1926 included a meeting of two baseball hall of farmers: Babe Ruth and Superior's Dave Bancroft, who was the Boston Braves' manager at the time. Ruth even visited children's homes in Superior.
Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek as they explore these 100-year old stories.
"It is an interesting year. I hope our 2026 is as interesting," said Meronek.
Topics discussed in this episode include why was Ruth in the Twin Ports, the role that the Telegram played for his stop in Superior, Ernie Nevers' connection to Ruth, a historic league Bancroft managed in, where did Bancroft work in Superior, approximately how much did it cost to build the Nottingham Apartments, some of the Nottingham's amenities, other businesses in the building space, the sad story of Dave Kaner, Gordon MacQuarrie's connection to the Nottingham, reasons why Superior has a James J. Hill Empire Builder statue, which directions has the statue faced and which direction was it reportedly supposed to face, when had Superior originally planned to dedicate it, the cost of the statue and the committees involved, other spots considered for displaying the statue, and other buildings in Superior turning 100, and more.
Other notable events in Superior from 1926 including the formation of a skating society, a garden club, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office using seized items from illegal liquor due to Prohibition, turning them into scrap and donating the proceeds, the "Almost Bank Robbery" on Tower Avenue, and new studios for WEBC at a former site of the Telegram.
Episodes of "Archive Dive" are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth Media Group digital producer Dan Williamson. Email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com with ideas for future episodes.
For this month's episode of the Archive Dive podcast, we focus on a pair of Superior women who made impacts both locally and beyond. Kathryn Ohman and Alma Kitchell.
Ohman was a beloved English and drama teacher at what is now the University of Wisconsin Superior. She taught for 38 years, and a theater named in her honor was the site of lectures and performances from 1960 to 2011.
Kitchell was known as the "golden voice of golden age radio." She sang her way into a radio job in New York in 1927 and went on to make history. Kitchell was a trailblazer in both radio and television, launching the first women's talk shows and starring in the first televised cooking show.
Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek as they dive into the lives of Ohman and Kitchell.
Episodes of "Archive Dive" are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth Media Group digital producer Dan Williamson. Email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com with ideas for future episodes.
In this month's episode of "Archive Dive," we peel back the history of an Ogden Avenue building with a colorful secret.
When Jeff Dorfman started reviving the Bergstrom Electric building, he found a hidden treasure. A series of landscape paintings on the walls. He asked local historian and retired librarian Teddy Meronek to research the building built in 1890.
For this episode, Meronek discusses her research and what she's discovered so far.
The murals were created by artist named Herbert Bartlett in 1933.
Episodes of "Archive Dive" are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth Media Group digital producer Dan Williamson. Email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com with ideas for future episodes.
In this month’s episode of Archive Dive, we dive into the history of some green spaces in Superior.
Wade Bowl, Ted Whereatt Field and Ole Haugsrud Field were all named after men who left a mark on Superior. Who were they and why do their names continue to live on?
Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek as they discuss the lives of Clifford Wade, Ted Whereatt and Ole Haugsrud and the impacts that they made.
Episodes of "Archive Dive" are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth Media Group digital producer Dan Williamson. Email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com with ideas for future episodes.
Students are back at the University of Wisconsin-Superior and for this month’s episode of Archive Dive, we are diving into 105 years of journalism on its campus.
The first edition of the school’s student newspaper, the Peptimist, was published on January 15, 1920. The price per copy at the time was just three cents. The semi-monthly paper was devoted to the activities and opinions of the students at what was then the Superior Normal School.
Fast forward to 2025 and the name of both the school and the newspaper, now the Promethean, have changed, but the award-winning publication has stayed true to its mission.
In this episode, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by Tom Hansen, senior lecturer in the communicating arts department at UW-Superior and also the adviser to the Promethean and KUWS radio, as well Promethean alumni Drew Kerner, former Editor-In-Chief with the Promethean, and Jeffrey McClure, former sports editor of the Promethean. The four of them discuss the role the paper plays in campus life, some notable former staff members, their own involvement in its storied history and more. Lockwood and Telegram colleague Shelley Nelson are among other Promethean alums.
“It's fantastic that students have had 105 years of telling their stories,” said Hansen.
For more about the Promethean, including archive issues, visit uws-promethean.com.
New episodes of "Archive Dive" are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth Media Group digital producer Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
This month’s episode of Archive Dive features a trio of artistic brothers.
Nick, Alex and Tony Yaworski grew up in south Superior and come from a family that immigrated from Odessa, Russian Federation, which is now Ukraine.
Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek as they dive into the lives of the Yaworski brothers.
Known professionally as Alex F. Yaworski, he combined a commercial illustrating career with a fine arts career, leaving his mark in both. Tony Yaworski taught art at Central High School and Superior Senior High School, impacting generations of young artists. His murals once graced many Superior buildings. One is on permanent display at the Superior Public Library and another is in the hallway of Superior High School. Their brother Nick, who worked in Government with tariffs, was also a painter, and even had his work displayed at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington DC.
Other topics discussed in the podcast include: Why did the Yaworski family immigrate; where the brothers go to high school; other Yaworski siblings, including a brother who didn’t paint but had another claim to fame; another form of the arts the brothers participated in; a unique event Nick organized while attending Superior State Teachers College; the discovery of one of Tony’s murals in storage and an associated mystery; where we can see some of Alex's work locally; and how the Spartan Fiesta started.
New episodes of "Archive Dive" are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth Media Group digital producer Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
For this month’s episode of the Archive Dive podcast, we dive into the story of an immigrant from Belgium who changed the landscape of Superior.
Rene Lagae came to Superior in 1907 to make some quick money and return to the old country. Instead, he brought his family to Superior, started Allouez Lumber Company and built more than 700 homes throughout the city, some with unique styles and amenities.
Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood and local historian Teddie Meronek discuss Lagae’s life and his contributions to the community.
“The thing that makes a Lagae home stand out is that it's so well built,” said Meronek. “Most of those houses are 100 years old or more, a lot of them, and they're still standing.“
One of the lasting legacies Lagae left behind was the Hayes Court development where he constructed 36 houses.
New episodes of "Archive Dive" are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth Media Group digital producer Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
In this month’s episode of Archive Dive, we trace the history of Clough Island in Superior - from timber baron's manor to a protected habitat.
Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek as they discuss the piece of land, which is also known as Whiteside Island and is the largest island in the St. Louis River.
The 358-acre island is now a protected wildlife area in the heart of the river’s estuary, but did you know Clough Island once served as a summer home, complete with a creamery, blacksmith, and race track? At one point, there were plans for the site that included an 18- hole golf course, hotel, marina, and 700 homes. It even has a connection to Watergate.
New episodes of "Archive Dive" are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth Media Group digital producer Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
Barker's Island is a focal point for celebrations, boating, and recreation in the city of Superior. The man-made island created in the 1890s out of dredged material is a popular spot, but there was a time when it nearly disappeared.
For this month’s episode of the Archive Dive podcast, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood and local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek dive into the history of the island. Why was it built? What brought Barker's Island back? How has it been used over the years? Who was Captain Barker, the man for whom it was named? Plus, much more.
New episodes of "Archive Dive" are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth Media Group digital producer Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
For this month’s episode of "Archive Dive," we caught up with legendary broadcaster and former WDIO-TV news anchor Dennis Anderson.
Superior Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood, Duluth News Tribune reporter Jay Gabler and digital producer Dan Williamson joined Anderson at his Duluth home Nov. 7 to hear his memories of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sinking for an upcoming 50th anniversary project. Stay tuned for more details. In the meantime, we wanted to share some of this visit with you.
"The Fitz" left from the Superior entry Nov. 9, 1975. The ship sank about 17 miles from Whitefish Bay during a severe storm the next day. All 29 members of the crew died.
Anderson, who was 31 years old at the time, broke the story to the Northland and the world. He interrupted the "Monday Night Football" game to give the news. The first update was audio only as it took time for the cameras in the studio to warm up. Beyond the 29 crew members who died, Anderson said the incident affected so many in our community.
"I think the people of Duluth and Superior understand that this was a major, major incident here in the Twin Ports and we shouldn't put it on a shelf and forget about it," he said.
In addition to his memories of that tragic day and the days that followed, Anderson, 81, told us about so much more, including his start in radio broadcasting and how he met his wife of nearly 60 years.
Anderson has spent more than 60 years in broadcasting. He stepped away from full-time work in 2011, retiring from the WDIO anchor desk after 42 years with the TV station. He joined PBS North in 2011 as a co-host of "Almanac North" and continues to contribute to the station.
"Journalism is a fascinating occupation," he said. "It just brings me and others who are in this business so close to the happenings of the Northland, and a lot of people, I think, have a habit of tuning in each night to see what's going on in the region. It's very, very important to them and I like being a part of satisfying that thirst for news."
Anderson went on to discuss his thoughts on the importance of local news.
"A lot of people don't like the news," he said. "They don't want to watch it for whatever reason or read about it for whatever reason. But without a free press, without a free media, we wouldn't have a free country. It's that important."
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth Media Group digital producer Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
Before it was a site for wedding receptions and bingo, the Belgian Club served as a cultural center for immigrants who settled in Superior.
In this month’s episode of the Archive Dive podcast, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood and local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek explore this historic touchstone, as well as two others: the Polish Club and the Vasa Temple, discussing their importance in the community.
With an influx of people coming from Europe in the early 1900s — many of whom did not speak English — these organizations were a valuable resource.
“Their main goal was helping these people to acclimate to their new country,” Meronek said. “Helping them look for a job, helping them to learn English, and they felt that as a support group, this was very important.”
The clubs often held social events such as game nights and dances, but were also known to help immigrants however they could. From sending food, goods and clothing back to family members in Europe to assisting with funerals, illnesses, family crises and loss of jobs; those in need were supported.
“I like that about these organizations, that they cared for so many people who couldn't care for themselves,” said Meronek.
Other topics discussed include: what happened to these clubs, do any still exist today, what buildings and locations were utilized, how was membership obtained, how did the Vasa Club get its name, the Douglas County Historical Society’s purchase of the Vasa Club building, pronouncing Kosciuszko, unique events held at the club buildings, and more.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth Media Group digital producer Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
President's Day is Monday, and did you know that 12 presidents have visited Superior? Can you name them?
In this month’s episode of the Archive Dive podcast, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek as they count up all of the commanders in chief who have stopped by our port town and discuss the details behind their visits.
Superior Central High School served as the Summer White House for President Calvin Coolidge in 1928.
"The 'air conditioning,'" Meronek said is what drew Coolidge. "You could always count on it to be cooler here than Washington, D.C."
Coolidge wasn't the first president to visit Superior and certainly not the last. According to Meronek, presidents Ulysses S. Grant, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Donald Trump and Joe Biden also came to Superior, either before, during or after their terms.
A perk for some was the proximity to some famous fishing.
"A reason that many, many people — presidents even — came to this area was the Brule River," Meronek said.
Topics discussed in this episode include which president was the best angler, which president may have made secret trips to the area to fish, what was Franklin Roosevelt's connection to Superior, which president may have been rescued from water in Superior as a youth, what was the main reason Hoover visited Superior in 1928, Meronek's recommendations for best books about presidents, and more.
Twin Ports neighbor Duluth has had known visits from 16 presidents, either during, before or after their terms.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth Media Group digital producer Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
2025 will mark the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. The loss of all 29 men aboard has been memorialized in songs, books, and a musical. Now a new group in Superior calling themselves "Friends of the Fitz” is seeking to add a historical marker to that list.
The Wisconsin Historical Society marker would be erected on Barker's Island in sight of the docks where the Fitzgerald took on its final load of taconite in November 1975. The cost to put up a historical marker is $7,000-$8,000 and the group is currently fundraising. The Friends hope their effort sets off a year of activities focused on the anniversary, which they're calling “the year of the Fitz.”
For this month’s episode of Archive Dive, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by two members of the Friends group, local historian and retired librarian Teddy Meronek and Curator of Collections and Exhibits for the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center Brianna Fiandt. They dive into some of the details of the ship, how the idea of a marker came to be, why having a marker in Superior makes sense, and more.
If you wish to make a donation for the marker, visit www.douglashistory.org/memberships-sponsorships/edmondfitz.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth Media Group digital producer Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
In this month’s episode of Archive Dive, our focus is on Superior Senior High School (now Superior High School), which brought students from the city's East and Central high schools together in 1965.
The school, which cost $4.5 million, was dedicated on Sept. 12, 1965. It had room for 1,800 students, two pools, a language laboratory, a strict dress code for girls, and a unique circle structure that defined the school for generations. The baby boom generation students attended class in three shifts.
In this episode, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek as they dive into the stories and history of how the school came to be, as well as some of the changes and challenges, especially with a large student population.
Meronek's family was filled with East graduates until she was the first to graduate from the new “space-age“ school.
“I had a good education,” Meronek said. “I will never ever slight that if there had been fewer people there, it probably would have been a little more enjoyable. But, I'm glad that I went to Superior High School because I met people from all over town, and in those days, you did not fraternize outside your neighborhood.”
A unique trait for decades was the circle structure. Architects felt it was more efficient, both with cost and space, as it allowed them to make the corridors shorter and eliminate a stairway.
Meronek remembers one issue in particular that the circle created.
“My problem was that everything looked alike. So you could be there three years and you still didn't know where you were going. Luckily I had a clock right by my locker, so I could always find it,” she said.
Topics also discussed in this episode include Wisconsin’s legislation in 1959 that affected school districts, the impact of Superior Cathedral’s closure in 1969, multiple strikes in the same school year, how the shift structure worked, why the school didn’t have an auditorium, rules on boys' hair length, a homecoming king who went on to become a professional athlete, speculation on why ‘senior’ was dropped from the name, and much more.
Reconstruction of Superior High School, which eliminated the circle, was completed in 2019.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth Media Group digital producer Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
For this month's episode of Archive Dive, we look back at how Superior celebrated the end of World War II.
There was a marked difference in the way the city recognized VE (Victory in Europe) Day in May 1945 and the more celebratory affair in August when VJ (Victory over Japan) Day was announced. In May, churches opened and work in the shipyards continued. The day was filled with prayer and resolve to work harder. The August announcement triggered a day of wild celebration. The only restaurants that remained open ran out of food and Tower Avenue was covered with paper.
In this episode, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by Teddie Meronek, a historian and retired librarian, and Briana Fiandt, curator of collections for the Richard I. Bong Veterans Memorial Center, as they dive into the history and discuss the impact of the war locally.
Besides stories of celebration, other topics mentioned in the episode include prisoners of war from Superior returning, POW camps in Wisconsin, what happened to some of the shipyards, women working in the shipyards, Richard Bong's death, plans for a new grain elevator, early discussion of what eventually became the Blatnik Bridge, what life was like in 1945, a unique advertisement from Roth’s department store, and more.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
For this month’s episode of Archive Dive, we examine the children's homes of Superior.
Their history traces back to the Pattison brothers. The city's most recognizable children's home is Fairlawn Mansion, which was built by Martin Pattison.
Following Martin's death, his wife Grace gifted the mansion to the Children's Home and Refuge Association, which had formed in the early 1900s. It served as a children's home for 42 years.
The family home of Martin’s brother, William Pattison, was also used to care for orphans. It would eventually grow into St. Joseph's Children’s Home (also known as St. Joseph's Orphan Home).
In this episode, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek as they dive into the stories and histories of these homes, which helped children who had a troubled home life or who had lost their parents.
There were children’s homes in the city prior to St. Joseph’s and the Superior Children’s Home and Refuge Association, but they all eventually morphed into those two entities. Fairlawn closed as a children’s home in 1962 and St. Joseph’s closed as a the following year.
Why were children’s homes no longer needed?
“Part of it was the population of the children's home,” said Meronek. “They were decreasing and these were both two huge buildings. The other thing was that the state of Wisconsin stepped in and had rules now that they couldn't take in children of a certain age. They needed to be in a foster home and they were really encouraging fostering for kids rather than putting them in these homes, so that was why they ended up closing.”
Lockwood and Meronek also discuss the “smaller Fairlawn,” how the Pattison family became involved with helping area youth, how funding was raised, the characteristics of the children’s chapel at St. Joseph’s, how the historic Fairlawn Mansion was saved, what happened to the St. Joseph’s building, and more.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth Media Group digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
For this month’s episode of the Archive Dive, we search for retooled school buildings in Superior.
Many former schools have found a new life after the final bell. Some are apartments. Others are a church, a business center or something else. We dive into ages, dates and histories. When were they built? How long did they last? What are they now?
Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek as they take us on a verbal tour neighborhood by neighborhood, discussing such schools as Itasca, St. Anthony and Margaret, Benjamin Franklin, Lincoln, East, St. Francis, St. Adalbert, St. Louis, Carpenter, MaCaskill and more.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
In this month’s episode of Archive Dive, we explore the story of the World War II veteran for whom the Blatnik Bridge was named for. Thousands of motorists cross the bridge daily, yet many may not know about the man himself.
As a Minnesota congressman, Chisholm native John Blatnik was instrumental in getting the bridge between Duluth and Superior built. As a captain and paratrooper with the U.S. Army Air Force. Blatnik spent eight months working behind enemy lines in Yugoslavia. The work included setting up an escape system for downed American airmen. One of them was a Duluth man: Swante Norlund.
For this episode, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by Briana Fiandt, curator of collections and exhibits for the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior, as they discuss the life of Blatnik.
You can find photos for this episode at superiortelegram.com. You can also find additional episodes here.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
For our 30th edition of Archive Dive, we trace the history of the University of Wisconsin-Superior campus and learn about an “astro-nut” who helped raise money for a Superior hospital.
The community's determination to bring a normal school to Superior was rewarded when the school opened in 1895. Built in the latest design, it featured adjustable desks and a system that sucked away chalk dust from the blackboards. Destroyed by a fire in 1914, the building was rebuilt and has continued to anchor the campus.
In 1962, one of the students at the college spent nearly 100 hours in a space capsule on top of a 40-foot pole to raise money for the memorial hospital fund, dressed in a spacesuit and connected to the Earth by a telephone. This “astro-nut” spent his days eating food delivered by A&W and Chefs, as well as taking calls from local school children.
Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek, both UWS graduates, as they explore the history and stories of what was originally called Superior Normal School. Superior being too far up north and perceived to not have enough "culture" were initial concerns.
“People in the rest of Wisconsin didn't know if we really deserved a normal school here in Superior,” said Meronek. “My favorite story about it is that there was competition with Ashland because they also wanted a normal school. There were several other communities and apparently they just dolled these normal schools out, they had rigorous regulations about who could get it and who couldn't. But Ashland said that Superior was not deserving of a normal school because we just did not have enough culture here.”
Superior would ultimately get the normal school.
“They had to do a lot of campaigning and they had to make those people believe that we were worthy of a school up here and so the regents, the board that really directs the university system in Wisconsin, all the regents came up here by boat and they got tours of the city and they were convinced by people that yes, this is a place, you need a school.”
Built on property donated by the Land and River Improvement Company, the original school was designed by Henry Wild Jones, who also designed many sites in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
“To think that he designed that school and it was almost like a Victorian wedding cake,” said Meronek. “If you see pictures of the old school, it was just a wonderful place. It had about 30 or 40 rooms. It had a gymnasium because what people don't understand is when the school was first built, that was it one building and what they were doing was they were educating people to teach mostly in rural schools.”
Among many highlights, the school taught teachers how to teach kindergarten. They were the first place in Wisconsin that did that and the program was nationally recognized.
“Caroline Barber was the woman who headed this program and it was a coup for Superior that they were doing so well in this,” said Meronek.
In 1914, a fire destroyed the campus, but the regents were determined to rebuild. Classes weren’t missed because of the fire, but instead, held at different places in town, including Central High School. A new academic building was built in a year, which we now know as “Old Main.”
The college would go through a few name changes, including Superior State Teachers College, Wisconsin State College-Superior and Wisconsin State University-Superior before becoming the University of Wisconsin-Superior in 1971.
A unique story involving students happened in May 1962, when Bartley Grant Mauch became the “Astro-Nut.” Mauch was a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon and Superiorites were in the midst of a fundraising drive to build what would become Superior Memorial Hospital, which was to be constructed without state and federal aid, so every dollar raised would bring the project closer to reality. The college fraternity wanted to help and they came up with an idea based on current events of the time.
“It was the Space Race,” said Meronek. “In 1962 John Glenn had just been the first man to circle the earth in a spaceship.
Tau Kappa Epsilon decided to place one of their members in a space capsule atop a 40-foot pole located at the corner of Belknap Street and Tower Avenue, with a goal of raising $1,000 for the future hospital. Mauch wore a space suit and stayed up in "space" until the funds were secured. Equipped with a telephone, Mauch spent his time up above speaking with school children.
“The kids from the schools would call him and ask him questions, like, was he really an astronaut?” laughed Meronek.
Mauch also dealt with winds blowing between 25 and 30 mph and even a threat from someone in Duluth that they would “come over and blow that tower down.” After spending 98 1/2 hours in “space” and raising $1,675, the "Astro-Nut" was back on Earth.
Also in this episode, Maria and Teddie discuss UWS students such as Gordon MacQuarrie, J.W. Beecroft, Edith Carlson, Henry Blomberg and Richard I. Bong; the story of another UWS fraternity that raised funds for a memorial to three men who died during the building of the Blatnik Bridge; the impact of Mertz Mortorelli; the role that Superior native and Pro Football Hall of Famer Tuffy Leemans played in getting the New York Giants to hold some summer practices on campus; concerns about educating Minnesotans; and more.
You can listen to previous episodes of Archive Dive at superiortelegram.com.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
In this month’s episode of Archive Dive, we learn about the search for a piece of Richard I Bong’s story — the “Marge” plane.
The Poplar man became America’s Ace of Aces for downing 40 enemy aircraft during World War II, which is the most by any U.S. pilot to date.
The plane was named for Marjorie “Marge” Vattendahl, Bong’s girlfriend who later became his wife. His most iconic plane was one that he only flew for three months before it crashed in Papua, New Guinea 80 years ago. Now an expedition has discovered the crash site of the P-38 Lightning Marge plane.
For this episode, Telegram Reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by Briana Fiandt, curator of collections and exhibits for the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center as they discuss the history and the rediscovery of the Marge plane.
“I think that this plane is the most famous fighter plane out of World War II,” said Fiandt. “It belongs to Richard Bong, who is the top fighter pilot of the war, so there is no more important pilot or plane from that era. Then you add on that, he had this nose art on there of his girlfriend and it was a very sweet little portrait. The press really loved that and they ran with that, and I think that’s why the Marge plane got so famous so quickly, because the press loved the sort of innocence and the sweetness of that nose art and publicized it pretty widely.”
Fiandt was part of a news conference Thursday, May 23 at the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior announcing that "Marge" had been located. Also taking part were members of the Pacific Wrecks team, who joined virtually from Madang, Papua New Guinea.
“When we located the crash site, it was an amazing experience,” said Pacific Wrecks founder Justin Taylan. “The plane had landed in a ravine in the jungle, and over 80 years parts of the wreckage have eroded down a hillside through natural impacts. We entered this ravine at the base and began walking uphill, seeing small parts and larger parts and larger parts. Immediately, I recognized those parts as associated with a P-38 Lightning.”
Taylan and the team eventually saw two engines sticking out of the ground, buried in several meters of soil with only the tips of the propeller and the engine mounts visible above the surface. They were able to confirm the plane's identity as Marge.
“I am humbled to work with this team,” said Taylan. “This is a great day for the Bong Center, a great day for Pacific Wrecks and a great day for history.”
This episode also features comments from Richard Bong's sister, Jerry Bong Fechtelkotter, as well as more details on the expedition and plans for the future.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
For this episode of Archive Dive, we dig into the history of what you could call the bridges of Douglas County.
Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek as they discuss the history and importance of these bridges in connecting Superior and Duluth and Wisconsin and Minnesota.
"When you think about it, you're not only building it in the water, but you're building it in these two communities that the weather is not always the best and they did it in a timely manner," said Meronek. "In those days, you had no safety harnesses and people weren't wearing safety harnesses when they built that bridge."
The John A. Blatnik Bridge, originally named the High Bridge, opened in 1961. It was named for United States Congressman John Blatnik of Minnesota. An estimated 3,000 people from both sides gathered at the main span for the opening ceremony. Over the years, the bridge has been renamed, widened and reinforced. It is currently slated to be replaced, funded in part by the largest grant that the federal government has ever awarded.
"My favorite picture is of the two men when they put in the beam, the high beam above the Blatnik Bridge," said Meronek. The two men, one from Wisconsin and one from Minnesota, got together in the center of the bridge and shook hands because the two cities were now united with this beam."
The Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge opened to traffic in 1984 for a construction cost of $70 million. Named for America's Ace of Aces, it is longer than the Blatnik Bridge by 425 feet. The Bong Bridge replaced the 1927-era Arrowhead Bridge.
"Bruce Hagen, who was mayor at the time, said 'I want people every time you drive over this bridge, I want you to think about how it was built,'" said Meronek. "He (Hagen) said, 'I don't mean construction because it was named after a World War II hero.' He wanted people to think, this is what we're remembering with this bridge. We're remembering this man and everyone else who served this country during World War II."
There is also the Oliver Bridge, which dates back to 1910.
"Through it all, the Oliver Bridge is still there and we should salute the Oliver Bridge because it's still serving its purpose," said Meronek. "The steel plant isn't there anymore but, railroads still travel over it and if we're down to one bridge when they start building the new bridge, are a lot of people going to take that way to Duluth?"
You can hear these stories and more in this episode.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
We dig into the history of two of Superior’s architectural siblings. The Broadway and the Palace theaters. Both the Broadway, which opened in 1912, and the Palace, which opened in 1917, were designed by brothers George and Cornelius Ward (C.W.) Rapp. The Palace stood until 2006 when it was raised by the city in the midst of a legal battle. The Broadway had a shorter shelf life.
What did these sister spaces look like and what famous faces graced their stages? To get the answers, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by frequent guest Teddie Meronek, a fellow theater enthusiast who also happens to be a local historian and retired librarian, as they take us on a trip through time, discussing all things Broadway and Palace.
"(They were) Amazing buildings. I can't believe that we had two of them in this town," said Meronek. “What surprises me about both of these buildings is that they were Rapp and Rapp theaters and I think anybody interested in theater history or the history of old theaters knows that name because they were one of the most famous theatre architectural firms in the country. They built a lot of theatres in Chicago especially because they were originally from Illinois.”
Among the topics that Maria and Teddie discuss in this episode include how the theaters were used; some of the local talents and attractions that performed there; the size and designs of the buildings; and they answer the question of if film legend Judy Garland ever performed in Superior.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
The old post office in Superior has worn many hats since it was completed in 1908.
In addition to a courthouse and post office, it has been home to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Douglas County Historical Society, Internal Revenue Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation and it currently houses a theatre company. Now known as the Superior Entrepreneurship Center, the building has been turned into a one-stop shop for economic development.
For this month's episode of "Archive Dive," Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood and retired librarian and local historian Teddie Meronek dive into the history of the Superior landmark, which was designed by architect Earl Barber. They also discuss other buildings that Barber put his stamp on.
The building cost more than $300,000 to build and adjusted for today's cost, it would have been approximately $10,000,000. Many people have thought the building was only a post office, not knowing about the federal courthouse upstairs. In fact, while most locals have referred to it in recent years as the "old post office," its official name was the Federal Building.
Meronek remembers going to the post office, but she never went upstairs. After getting involved with the Superior-Douglas County Leadership group and attending a meeting on the second floor, she got her first glimpse, noticing a lot of marble and a beautiful view.
“That was the first time I had been above the first floor in that building,” Meronek said. “I got up there and I thought, ‘This is Superior’s best-kept secret.’ It was the most gorgeous room I had ever been in. I thought, ‘Why hasn’t anybody really used this before,’ not knowing anything of the history.”
So when did she start diving into the history of the building?
“As soon as I got back to the library after that,” said Meronek with a laugh. "Everybody should get a chance to see it one time in their life because it is Superior's best-kept secret. Really."
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
In this month’s episode of Archive Dive, we look at how a federal program helped shape Superior. During the bleakest days of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Works Progress Administration, or WPA. The New Deal agency employed millions of job seekers, with an average salary of about $41.57 per month. Through public works projects like the airport, a baseball stadium and Itasca School, the program helped shape Superior’s landscape. But, it also helped preserve its history.
For this episode, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek as they look at the benefits of the program and the challenges of the times. Some of the buildings and projects remain today. The Great Depression started in 1929 and things had changed throughout the country, including in Superior.
"I don't think we can even imagine what it was like back then," said Meronek. "So many people were out of work."
Meronek also said, “If you look through old newspapers, in the late 1920s, you see that Superior was booming,there were all these new businesses opening up. You go and you look a couple of years later and they are all gone, so it was tough times. The WPA did not start until 1935, so there was a gap there. Four or five years where it was hard for everyone. No jobs. No money. The WPA came in and things started to change.”
In her research, Mereonek found that in 1935, the average unemployment rate across the United States was 20 percent.
“You have to find a solution and they came up with the WPA,” said Meronek. “It put people to work in Superior. They built things like the sewer system, they put in sidewalks, the repaved streets and they built buildings.”
Maria and Teddie will also discuss how parks, artists and musicians benefited; who the materials belong to; the story of a freckle contest; Wheel Day; and much more. Meronek even shares an interesting story about her parent's Honeymoon as they were married during the Great Depression.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
In this month’s episode of Archive Dive, we dive into the history of notable graduates of East High School and Nelson Dewey School. The list includes two Superior mayors, a football legend, the last of the great press agents and a woman who wrote music books for children.
Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek as they discuss the building of both schools, how the students and teachers survived the Great Depression and World War II, as well as the rivalry that grew between East High School and Central High School and much more.
"What people don't know about East End now is that - I grew up in East End so I remember that it was just like a small town, and the schools in East End weren't built next to businesses, they were built in neighborhoods and they were all surrounded by homes," said Meronek. "East End had a high school, it had a public grade school and two parochial schools, within blocks of each other and their business district included a movie theater and East End had the only branch library - an actual library building - and we had a dime store, dry cleaners and a bank, two drug stores, two hardware stores, restaurants, two hair salons, dentists, doctors - I mean, it was like a small town in itself."
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly at superiortelegram.com. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
In this month’s episode of Archive Dive, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood and local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek explore the lives of three famous photographers with ties to Superior. David Francis Barry, Ray Jones and Esther Bubley.
Barry was a noted photographer of the American west, who specialized in Native American portraits. He also captured the people and places of the Twin Ports with his lens after opening a photography business in Superior.
Jones rose to glamorous heights and won several Academy Awards as the head of Universal Studio’s still photography department during the golden age of Hollywood.
Bubley was a freelance photographer who found her niche as a photojournalist, balancing corporate clients with magazine work. Her intimate photos of everyday people graced publications such as Life and the Ladies Home Journal.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
The Hotel Superior reigned supreme as the place to stay, until a new development until the Androy Hotel came along.
In this month's episode of Archive Dive, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek as they look back on what gave the Hotel Superior it's edge, the community fundraising campaign that built the Androy Hotel and the notable people connected to both.
"Everybody started building at once," said Meronek. "You not only have the Hotel Superior in downtown, you have the Euclid in East End, which was a big hotel. But then, you had the Broadway Hotel, which most people if they remember the building at all, remembers it as the Broadway Flats, because it eventually turned into apartments and that was on Hammond Avenue and Broadway, the intersection there. So, there were a lot of big hotels being built because there were a lot of people coming into Superior at that time, setting up businesses and starting businesses and coming into to entertain at the Grand Opera House."
What made the Hotel Superior the place to stay in Superior?
"It was kind of fancy. If you see pictures of it's dinning room and that. It was a very Victorian-looking hotel that we would consider, y'know, rather nice. Anybody who was anybody who came through Superior and needed a hotel room probably stayed there, because it was downtown," Meronek said.
A few decades after the Hotel Superior, the Androy Hotel, dubbed "the Million Dollar Hotel," opened.
“They started talking about the Androy Hotel in 1922, and so, by that time, the Hotel Superior was over 30 years old and it was from a different era," said Meronek. "These were the roaring 1920s and there were a group of businessmen that thought that they needed a hotel in downtown Superior. The Hotel Superior wasn’t in downtown. It was at the fringes of downtown Superior, they were talking about the business district downtown.” It was people that were in the association of commerce and the commercial club, those men who got together and said, ’We need something for the businessman. Downtown Superior needs to make a statement.’”
Also in this episode, Maria and Teddie discuss how the Hotel Superior helped the Grand Opera House; an urban legend involving actors going to and from the hotel and the opera house; some of its early amenities; a connection to the Titanic; the efforts to raise money to build the Androy Hotel; how Superior teased Duluth about getting a downtown hotel and how Duluth responded; some interesting fundraising events at the Androy Hotel; how both hotels served another housing need in the 1960s; and more.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
For this month’s episode of Archive Dive, we dip into a true crime as we discuss the unsolved 1897 murder of Joseph Blackburn.
An eccentric and a recluse, Blackburn became wealthy providing supplies to lumbermen in the timber-rich area near Gordon. Not one to trust in banks, he was rumored to keep a chest of gold. When he was killed by a blow from behind, robbery was the suspected reason. Searches for the fabled treasure went on for years and even led a judge to exhume the body of Blackburn’s wife Mary, who had been buried in a glass-lidded coffin. But gold was never found.
Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by Doug MacDonald as well as Brian Finstad, both of the Gordon-Wascott Historical Society, as they explore Blackburn’s life, death and possible suspects, including one who was acquitted and another who gained infamy out west.
The murder happened 126 years ago, in October 1897.
MacDonald, who is the great-great grandson of Antoine and Sarah Gordon, the founders of Gordon, is also related to Blackburn, a great-great-great uncle, as Blackburn was Antoine Gordon’s brother-in-law.
Blackburn, who was in his mid-60s when he died, has been the subject of a lot of fascination and speculation over the years, including why he wasn’t a fan of banks.
“I am fortunate being related through my grandfather and his dad, William Gordon, that we got a lot of first-hand information,” says MacDonald. “Not just rumor, but facts. He didn’t believe in paper money, he only believed in hard (money), which backs itself, gold and silver. Anybody can print, but you can’t make gold or silver.”
Other members of MacDonald's family, at one point, owned Blackburn's home, after it was moved about 10 miles near Wascott.
“We would go around as kids, knocking on the walls, looking for his (Joseph’s) money,” says MacDonald. “I can remember as a kid, saying to my dad, ‘Dad, maybe it’s up in the crawl space where the rafters are at?’ Dad goes, ‘No, I have already checked it.’”
“It is interesting when you read the articles about the murder, you can tell that people were sort of following day-by-day of this whole drama because the articles get longer and more elaborate,” says Finstad. “It is also the name Blackburn and buried gold and the wife in the glass coffin and murdered with a pole axe, it all is just such a dramatic story and it is kind of ironic for someone who just kind of wanted to be left alone in the wilderness and was known for being reclusive that he ends up having the most dramatic story ever that over 100 years later that we are still talking about.”
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
This month's episode of Archive Dive features the second part of a two-part series looking back on the life of the legendary Bud Grant.
When the Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Minnesota Vikings head coach passed away March 11, 2023, it prompted an outpouring of sympathy from throughout Minnesota and his hometown of Superior, Wisconsin. The 95-year old Grant was an all-around athlete at Superior Central High School and beyond. In his later years, Grant enjoyed the outdoors and time with family at his cabin in Gordon.
For this episode, Superior Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by University of Wisconsin-Superior Communicating Arts senior lecturer and longtime sportscaster Tom Hansen, who grew up going to Vikings' practices at the old Midway Stadium in St. Paul.
Hansen was often in the same vicinity as Grant when he worked as a ticket taker and security for Vikings games at the old Metropolitan Stadium and early days of the Metrodome, but he would get to know Grant during his broadcasting career. Hansen interviewed him at special appearances in the Twin Ports and occasionally at University of Minnesota Duluth football games, where some of Grant's grandchildren played.
"Every sport he (Grant) touched, he was magical," says Hansen. "Superior was a big part of who he was and where he came from. "
Among Grant's athletic achievements, he played football, basketball and baseball at the University of Minnesota, before turning pro and playing in the National Basketball Association with Minneapolis Lakers from 1949-1951, winning a championship with them in 1950. Grant then went on to compete in the National Football League for two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Canadian Football League with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for four seasons, playing on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball for both teams.
After his playing career, he went on to coach the Blue Bombers for ten seasons, guiding them to six Grey Cup appearances, including four championships. In 1967, he became the head coach for the NFL's Minnesota Vikings and went on to guide them for 18 seasons, leading them to four Super Bowl appearances. In 1983, Grant was selected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and in 1994, Grant received his biggest athletic honor when he was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
"It is the character that always drew me to Bud," says Hansen. "That there was the right way of doing things, there was the wrong way of doing things, but there wasn't a 'short cut' way of doing things. You had to earn that spot on the team, you had to earn that spot being a good teammate or being a captain. There are no short cuts in some of those things and so, his character really stood out."
Among the many players Grant coached was Superior native Doug Sutherland, who played defensive tackle for the Vikings from 1971-80. Sutherland passed away April 5, 2022 at the age of 73.
The Vikings announced that they will be honoring Grant all season long, including with special patches on their jerseys for their 2023 season opener Sunday, Sept. 10 at home against Tampa Bay.
When Grant passed away March 11, 2023, it was 56 years to the day when he was hired as the Vikings head coach in 1967.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
This month's episode of the Superior Telegram's Archive Dive podcast features the first part of a two-part series looking back on the life of the legendary Bud Grant.
Digital Producer Dan Williamson fills in this month for Maria Lockwood as he's joined by one of Grant's grandchildren, Natalie Grant, currently a reporter/multimedia journalist at KXLY-TV (ABC) in Spokane, Wash., and a former Northern News Now anchor/reporter in Duluth/Superior. Natalie is the daughter of the late Bruce Grant, a former Minnesota Duluth quarterback.
Born Harry Peter Grant, Jr., on May 20, 1927 in Superior, Bud Grant is remembered as a hall of fame coach who guided the Minnesota Vikings for 18 seasons, including four Super Bowl appearances. On March 11, 2023, Grant passed away at the age of 95. May 21st, the day after what would have been his 96th birthday; numerous friends, fans and family members memorialized him at a public celebration of life at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The Vikings first NFL season was in 1961 and Grant would become the team’s head coach in 1967, retiring in 1983, but coming out of retirement for one more season in 1985. In 1994, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 2023 marks the first Vikings season since 1966 without Grant directly connected to the team - either as the head coach, former coach or consultant.
"He was grandpa to me," says Natalie Grant. "Honestly, he was a stoic guy, but he also loved a smile and loved to laugh. He loved his family more than anything. But, yeah, for me, he was just grandpa. I was born in 1996 and he was inducted into the (Pro Football) Hall of Fame a couple of years before that, so I kind of missed in my lifetime of him being this big NFL coach in a sense, and so to me, I didn't quite realize how big of a deal he was to the state of Minnesota until I was a lot older."
The Vikings were a big part of his amazing life filled with athletic achievements, but there was more to his life than football. He was a U.S. Navy vet and an avid outdoorsman, spending as much time as he could at his cabin in Gordon. What he was most passionate about though was a large, family. Bud and his wife Pat had six children and from there, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Some of the family members, including Natalie, eventually found their way to the Northland.
"That's something that my grandpa that I really connected on whenever I would go visit him out at his cabin in Gordon, we'd sit and we'd talk and he'd share stories about growing up in Superior and how the city looked a lot different than it did now. "
In this podcast, Natalie shares many special stories and memories of her grandfather, including the best advice he ever gave her.
"You learn more when listen rather than talking," says Natalie Grant. "That's something that I really try to apply in a lot of situations in my life, especially being a journalist. That, I think is something that has been really impactful for me in my life."
Maria returns next month for part two of our series, as she’ll be joined by another NNN alum, longtime sportscaster and current Communicating Arts senior lecturer at the University of Wisconsin Superior, Tom Hansen as they “dive” into more about the great Bud Grant.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
In this month’s episode of Archive Dive, we explore Central High School. The school, which opened in 1910, educated a roster of famous students, including football legends Ernie Nevers and Bud Grant, author Gordon MacQuarrie, photographer Esther Bubley and America’s Ace of Aces Major Richard I. Bong.
The building itself made history in 1928 when it became the Summer White House for President Calvin Coolidge. Despite a grassroots effort to save the historic building, it was torn down in 2004.
Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by retired librarian and local historian Teddie Meronek as they look back at the history and impact that the school, it’s staff and students had on the community. Meronek co-wrote a book titled “Central A to Z - The History of a Superior School.” While not a student at Central, she was one of many supporters who tried to save the building.
“I thought it was important to support it because the Wisconsin Historical Society doesn’t put up a marker in front of a building unless it’s important, and there was (one) in front of Central designating it as the Summer White House,” says Meronek. “There was something so iconic about it when you knew the history of it and you knew the people who had gone to school there and you’re thinking, what did they have in the water there at Central where there are just all these amazing people that came out of that school?”
Meronek also felt the architecture made the building stand out.
“When you think about it, there is some of the best architecture in Superior on Belknap (Street). There was Central, there is the old courthouse, there’s the Hammond Avenue Presbyterian Church, there is the Masonic Lodge which is now the Elks, there’s that great Belknap Electric building which was built as a duplex back in the 1890s and then, you go down to Belknap and Tower (Avenue) and there is Globe News. I just thought that this is a stupendous piece of real estate here that has all these great buildings and so, to see Central go was really, really sad.”
Also during this episode, Maria and Teddie discuss how Earl Barber won the competition to design the building and why well-known architect Carl Worth didn’t; what name did the school start out as, the additions in the 1920s and 1930s; the contributions from Webster Chair Factory owner Andrew Webster, the significance of the James J. Hill statue out front; the story of Lulu Dickinson and a strike; Principal Clifford Wade and the tributes after his death; the Summer White House and what other future presidents visited Central High School; how was Central used after Superior High School was built; the Central and East rivalry; and much more.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
This month’s episode of Archive Dive focuses on Antoine and Sarah Gordon, who founded the town of Gordon. The couple played a key role in growing the community following the end of the fur trade era. Their 1858 log cabin, which served as a home, hotel and trading post for the stage coach line, is listed on the Wisconsin Register of Historic Places.
Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by Antoine and Sarah’s great-great-grandson Doug MacDonald, as well as Brian Finstad — both of the Gordon-Wascott Historical Society — as MacDonald shares stories of Antoine and Sarah that were passed along in his family.
Antoine (pronounced An-twine) was born in 1812 in Sandy Lake, Minnesota and died in 1907. Sarah was born in 1827 in Burnett County, Wisconsin and died in 1911. They met on Madeline Island, married in 1843 and went on to have three daughters and two sons.
Antoine was community-minded and involved in many things, including as a storekeeper in Gordon. He founded a mission that became the Catholic Church. He also started the first school in Gordon. This, despite the fact that he didn’t have much schooling of his own.
“He really only had not even a six-month education, but yet, he spoke five languages,” says MacDonald. “Latin, Sioux, Chippewa, English, French.”
What brought Antoine and Sarah to the Gordon area?
“He was up and down the St. Croix River trading in years past,” says MacDonald. “He thought that it (Gordon area) was a choice spot apparently and apparently, it was.”
Finstad jokes that Antoine and Sarah “founded the best town in Douglas County.”
“I think they are some of the most interesting historical figures of the area,” says Finstad. “In their time, they had wide influence. They were so well-connected, if not related, to people in sort of fur-trade era society and the local native communities. Their story is just an interesting story. They moved around a lot and they were well-connected and had a lot of interesting events.”
Also in this episode, Maria, Doug and Brian discuss when Antoine walked from Gordon to Crow Wing in Minnesota in the 1860s to see his cousin, Chief Hole-in-the-Day, what came out of that visit and did Antoine’s 12-year old son William make the trip; how Antoine and Sarah met; what was Gordon before it became a town; Antoine’s generous heart; how he helped the area during a smallpox outbreak; where can we see Antoine and Sarah’s influence today in Gordon; the process of getting the log cabin listed on the historic register; who owns their log cabin these days; stories of Antoine and Sarah’s grandson Father Phillip Gordon; Antoine’s penmanship and letter writing style; Sarah’s involvement in the fur trade; and much more.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
Let's take a trip back to the heyday of Superior ship building.
In May 1943, the famous Dionne quintuplets visited Superior to launch five cargo ships — at once — at the Walter Butler Shipyards. At the age of 8, the Canadian girls were the first quintuplets known to survive their infancy and were bonafide superstars.
Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by retired librarian and local historian Teddie Meronek as they discuss the quintuplets’ visit and the importance of Superior’s shipbuilding industry during World War II.
The Dionne quintuplets — Yvonne, Annette, Cécile, Émilie and Marie — were born May 28, 1934 near Callander, Ontario, Canada. They were celebrities in their home country and around the world, as they were frequently featured in newspapers and their images and likenesses could be found on products, toys and more.
"When I do the mural tour at the Superior Public Library, I always tell people they were the Kardashians for the 1930s,” Meronek said.
The five cargo ships would be going to England for the war effort during World War II. With five ships to be launched, they hoped the five Dionnes could christen them.
"They said they were going to be named after them (Dionne quintuplets), but the names of the ships were decided long before they were even built,” said Meronek. "There was this old story that if you change the names after they had been originally named that it was bad luck for anyone who sailed on them, so they didn't name them after the girls. But together, they called them the Quint Fleet."
On May 9, 1943, which was Mother’s Day, the Dionnes took part in a two-hour ceremony that featured dignitaries from Wisconsin, Minnesota and Canada. The sisters, whose primary language was French, sang "God Bless America" in English. An estimated crowd of between 18,000 and 25,000 attended, and witnessed the most ship launches in one day — not just in Superior, but anywhere.
It was great publicity for Superior, Meronek said. It had the attention of Gordon MacQuarrie, a Superior native and reporter for the Milwaukee Journal (now the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).
“Gordon MacQuarrie said this was the biggest day in Superior since (President) Calvin Coolidge came here to set up his Summer White House (in 1928),” said Meronek.
Also in this episode, Maria and Teddie discuss if then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt considered attending the launch; comparisons between Walter Butler Shipbuilders and Globe Shipbuilding Company; what liquid was in the bottles that the Dionnes used to christen the ships; why the Superior Telegram didn’t have photographs of the Dionne quintuplets’ visit; the unique lives of the famous quintuplets; and more.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
This month’s episode of Archive Dive focuses on two Superior Central High School graduates who made a name for themselves in the literary arena.
Gordon MacQuarrie was a newsman, reporter and the nation’s first outdoors writer. An avid hunter and angler, MacQuarrie is credited with establishing the modern school of outdoor writing. His magazine stories of the Old Duck Hunters Association Inc, a fictional group based on friends, family and neighbors in the Barnes area, remain popular today.
John William “J.W.” Beecroft graduated with MacQuarrie from Central. Beecroft began his career as associate for Crowell Publishing and went onto become the sole editor for Doubleday’s Literary Guild, the Book League of America and the Dollar Book Club. As an editor, he made choices that influenced what millions of Americans read.
Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by retired librarian and local historian Teddie Meronek as they discuss the early and professional lives of MacQuarrie and Beecroft.
“If you look into the history of Central High School, you know that there were extraordinary people that came from Superior, Wisconsin,” says Meronek. “Small town, big things.”
While it doesn’t appear their paths crossed often, MacQuarrie and Beecroft shared similarities of having parents from Canada, working on the high school yearbook, graduating from Central High School in 1919 and spending part of their post-secondary education at the Superior Normal School, now known as the University of Wisconsin-Superior. One was an extrovert and the other was an introvert, but both provided reading enjoyment to many readers in the region and across the nation.
Also in this episode, Maria and Teddie talk about some of the other notable names during the time period of the late 1910s and early 1920s that were Central graduates; MacQuarrie’s interest in music; and Beecroft’s interest in the theater; and much more on MacQuarrie and Beecroft.
MacQuarrie died in 1956. Beecroft died 10 years later in 1966.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
This month’s episode of Archive Dive focuses on the Grand Foot Path, a trail that traverses from St. Croix Falls to Madeline Island. Known by many names over the years, it was used for travel by foot, horseback and via stagecoach as the area developed. Echos of the foot path remain as various trails in Douglas County.
Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by Brian Finstad, historian with the Gordon-Wascott Historical Society, as they discuss the trail's Native American origins, and how it grew it become an important travel circuit Finstad, a native of Gordon, grew up with the foot path "in his backyard" as segments went right through property his family owned.
"It is always interesting to me that there were communities that were very historically connected together because of how people traveled that today, we don't think of as very connected," said Finstad. "The Grand Foot Path (St. Croix Trail, Bayfield Trail, Stagecoach Line) fell out of use when the railroads came to the area. As soon as the railroads came in, it very quickly disappeared. Even in the 1880s, you'll find that they were already writing about it as it was something from long ago history."
Also in this episode, Maria and Brian look at how the foot path influenced business, careers and traveling; its multiple names; why it had the attention of a U.S. Senator from Minnesota; why it was national news in newspapers in the 1850s and 1600s; why it's hard to find mentions of it in Wisconsin and Minnesota stagecoach history; where you can see segments of the trail; the significance of Gordon's Moccasin Road; plans for an auto tour of the trail, and much more.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
We take a peek inside of one of Superior’s grandest buildings, the Grand Opera House.
Buildings designed by Carl Wirth anchored downtown Superior in the late 1800s. His most elaborate design was the Grand Opera House on Belknap Street. The lavish theater opened in 1890 and entertained Superior residents for years before it was destroyed by fire.
In this month’s episode of Archive Dive, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek to discuss the history of the opera house and its next door neighbor, the New Jersey Block. Also designed by Wirth, the New Jersey Block is now known as the Globe News Building.
“If there is a building that I could rebuild in Superior, it would be the Grand Opera House,” said Meronek.
What was it that set it apart?
“It was so exotic,” said Meronek. “Because it was a Moorish design. It had all kinds of fancy exterior decorations and stained glass.”
It cost $75,000 to build the 1,200-seat Grand Opera House, which hosted its first performance August 11, 1890 for an opera called "Martha." During its existence, the theater was the site of plays, vaudeville acts, wrestling and boxing matches, high school graduations and more. It also hosted a memorial service after President William McKinley was assassinated in 1897 while President Theodore Roosevelt spoke there running on the Bull Moose ticket.
The building was supposed to be fireproof, but dealt with fires in 1909 and 1911. A fire in 1939 was ultimately its demise.
During this episode, topics include how the Grand Opera Houses' interior looked; the dismay over a loss of a valuable piece of equipment; the role then-Superior Telegram owner John T. Murphy had with the Grand Opera House; the early days of the New Jersey Block; the mystery of when Globe News officially became Globe News and more.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
Fire destroyed two storied Superior warehouses one bitterly cold day, Jan. 6, 2022 . No one was injured, but Superior Mayor Jim Paine called it “a terrible tragedy for the city.”
In this month's podcast, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is once again joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek as they discuss the history of the Osborne Warehouse and the Twohy Mercantile Building, also know as the Bayside Warehouse, which were built in the 1890s. Built with large pieces of timber, which was slower to burn, both were prominently mentioned in newspaper articles as being fire safe.
"They must have thought they were safe and they were, if you really think about it, as they were over 100 years old when they burned down, 120 years old," said Meronek. "I would have loved to have seen them in their hey day of what they looked like.”
The buildings had so much life and so many different businesses come through their doors. The Osborne Warehouse was the first one to be built, with construction beginning in the fall of 1892. It was not financed by Osborne, but by the Land and River Improvement Company and was used as a grocery wholesale center. But with internal issues, it was never utilized by Osborne. It would be utilized by the Bemis Company, which made bags. Other companies would use it as a warehouse, but really didn’t have a stable occupant until Sivertson Fisheries in the 1970s.
Near the Osborne Warehouse was another grocery warehouse, The Twohy Mercantile Building. Built in 1894, it was financed by Edmund Twohy, who was also the first fire chief of Superior. Within the warehouse, there was a cigar manufacturing center. Twohy went into business with Peter Eimon, and eventually left the business. Years later after Eimon opened a warehouse on Winter Street, Twohy would return to the original building and the grocery wholesale business.
In this episode, they'll discuss the other businesses that occupied the buildings, the financial panic in the United States in the 1890s, the connection President Franklin D. Roosevelt's family had to Superior, could Superior have been "the Chicago of the North" and more.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
Did you know that Superior hosted royals during the World War II era? The Crown Prince and Princess of Norway visited Superior, not once, but twice during that time. Newspapers of the day were filled with information about the royal visitors and their activities and the Crown Prince even took in a Superior Blues baseball game at their newly built stadium.
In this month's podcast, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek as they look back at the visits from Prince Olav and Princess Martha. The first visit was in 1939 during a goodwill tour of the United States for the royals. That included a few days in Superior, coincidentally at the same time the city observed its 50th birthday of being an incorporated city.
“One of the factors was because of the large Scandinavian population in the Twin Ports,” says Meronek.
Maria and Teddie also discuss another reason for the royals' visit, which included time in Duluth for a dedication of a well-known monument.
While the 1939 trip involved celebrations, the tone was different in 1942 as World War II was underway. Germany had attacked Norway, with the royal family able to escape. Prince Olav and Princess Martha again found themselves in Superior as part of an organized trip to get support from allies as the U.S. was now part of the war.
“Prince Olaf and Princess Martha wanted to make it perfectly clear that they didn’t want a lot of celebration. It had to be a simple visit because of what was going on in the world," says Meronek. “The prince spoke about what had happened and that we all needed to stick together.”
The people of Superior asked the royals to visit again and they said they would. Ultimately, they didn't return to Superior. However, their son, King Harold V, along with his wife, Queen Sonja, visited Duluth in 2011.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
We follow the trail of a portrait of a local veteran who lost his life in World War I. The portrait of Henry Blomberg was taken down during a renovation of Old Main on the University of Wisconsin-Superior campus. But the name for the portrait was lost. Years later, the portrait’s identity was discovered.
In this month’s episode, retired librarian and local historian Teddie Meronek joins Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood to guide us through the mystery.
Blomberg was born in Superior on Aug. 3, 1892 and after moving with his family to Aitkin, Minnesota, returned to Superior in 1914 to attend college as 22-year-old non-traditional student. During his time on campus, Blomberg was an active in sports, the student newspaper and was president of the debate team.
He also joined the Wisconsin National Guard, and after his 1916 graduation went with a group that was patrolling the United States/Mexico border. After graduating with a two-year degree in education, he spent a year teaching in Virginia, Minnesota. The U.S. would soon join World War I and having registered for the draft, Blomberg went to Texas to train and would eventually go into battle in France in 1918 with the U.S. Army’s 32nd Division. Blomberg performed many acts of heroism, including in the battles of Juvigny and Argonne. It was at Argonne on Oct. 5, 1918 where Henry lost his life, just five weeks before the end of the war.
After his death, Lt. Blomberg was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross which, after the Medal of Honor, is the nation's highest military honor. (Superior native Dick Bong also earned the Distinguished Service Cross in 1943).
Blomberg’s friends with the Superior Normal School debate team commissioned a painting of him, at a cost of about $300, and presented it to the college, where it hung in the auditorium for many years. But during a renovation, the portrait was taken down and put into storage and in the process, the name plate was lost. Without the name plate, it would be difficult to identify the person in the painting.
Almost 100 years after Blomberg’s death, Meronek wrote an article about him, and in this episode, she shares how her writing helped lead to the rediscovery of the portrait, which now hangs with a name plate on UW-Superior’s campus.
“That just makes me happier than anything I think I’ve ever done in all my time at the library,” says Meronek. “Every time I’m in Old Main, I stop and say hello to Henry.”
Throughout this episode, Meronek goes into detail about Blomberg’s life, time in school, his military career, his untimely death and more.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
We unspool the story of a 1892 stained glass window that was meant to showcase Douglas County at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. Designed by Tiffany Studios, it included whaleback ships, grain elevators and a bird’s eye view of Superior. When Douglas County commissioners traveled to see it displayed in the Wisconsin Building, they hated it. They called it a “perfect botch,” demanded Tiffany remove the window and commissioned a new one. No photographs of the window exist, just a sketch. Where it is now remains a mystery.
We’ll also learn about the only passenger whaleback ever built, the S.S. Christopher Columbus, which was built in Superior and ferried passengers to and from the Chicago World’s Fair.
It was over 100 years after the Chicago World's Fair in the 1990s when local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek first became aware of the stained glass window and she's been researching it ever since. In this month’s episode of Archive Dive, Meronek joins the Superior Telegram’s Maria Lockwood to discuss both the window and the whaleback.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
For 120 years, the Carnegie Library has stood on the corner of Hammond Avenue. The Superior City Council voted in July to purchase the time-worn building to repair it to a viable state. It was the first of 63 libraries to be built in Wisconsin with funding from industrialist Andrew Carnegie. The structure opened in 1902 and served the public until 1992 when the current library was opened. Since then, the vacant building has been the focus of big dreams, but none of them have panned out.
In this month’s episode of Archive Dive, local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek joins the Superior Telegram’s Maria Lockwood to take us on a trip through the building’s history, and discuss its importance to the people of Superior.
“It has meant so much to so many people over the years,” says Meronek. “Superior had its first library association in 1869 and we are a city that always prized libraries and what they could provide everybody in town.”
The Library was built in 1901 and opened in 1902 at a time when Superior’s population was approximately 30,000 people. Just three employees were on staff when the three-story sandstone library on Hammond Avenue opened its doors. The main floor featured chandeliers and nice furniture and the majority of the attractions, such as the children’s room. The public meeting rooms were located in the basement and the board room and art room were located upstairs. A mezzanine was added in the 1930s to help with space issues.
“They ran out of room almost immediately.”
Before the Hammond Avenue location added the mezzanine, Superior added another Carnegie library, as they received $20,000 in 1917 to build the one-story brick East End Branch on East Fifth Street.
Meronek grew up visiting both locations and would eventually go on to work at both sites, calling her career a “dream job.” Both locations closed their doors at the end of 1991, making way for the current Superior Public Library building on Tower Avenue. The East End branch was turned into a private residence, but the library on Hammond sits empty. Meronek has also been involved in historical preservation and hopes the building is part of Superior’s future.
“I said this at the city council meeting, not every old building can be saved, nor should it be saved, but this one needs to be saved. We have the first Carnegie library in Wisconsin. There are other cities that would kill to have a Carnegie library, we have two of them, the first and the last, and I think that we owe that building, just for the fact that it survived 120 years and has been mishandled and abused for the last 30 years of it, we owe it to that library to do what we can to save it.”
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
Edith Carlson was a librarian who had a two-year campaign to build a Frank Lloyd Wright house in Superior. Had it succeeded, the design that Wright dubbed “Below Zero” would have been nestled in Superior’s Central Park neighborhood, near Lenroot’s Funeral Home and across from Gouge Park. The connection between the world famous architect and Carlson has captured the imagination of writers on two continents.
Local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek has written about Carlson. In this month’s episode of Archive Dive, Meronek discusses her journey in researching Carlson and how an email from writer Philippa Lewis of England led to learning more. Carlson has quite a story, and in her, Meronek found a kindred spirit, even though she had passed away before their paths could cross.
“When I finally tracked down what she did at the library, going through annual reports and things, I found that she was first hired as a general assistant, but then she became the station’s librarian, which made me feel good because that is what I was hired to do when I first went to work for the Superior Public Library,” said Meronek. In those annual reports, Meronek could see that Carlson was a determined advocate for literacy. “She was always petitioning for more books, more shelves, more space for the people she served.”
That determination led to Carlson reaching out to the world-renowned Wright, an architect who designed over 1,000 structures in his lifetime, when Carlson decided it was time to build a house. She lived with her parents and was savvy about finances, saving enough money to purchase land near Gouge Park on 4th Street, strategically along a bus line as Carlson didn’t have a car.
While Wright was famous and in high demand, Carlson wasn’t afraid to ask questions or even challenge him. During correspondence, an assistant wrote, “This is Mr. Wright’s 204th house.” Carlson scribbled in a note, “Well, it may be his 204th house, but it is my first.” She took the project very seriously, knowing it would likely be the only house she’d ever build in her lifetime.
“She had no problem standing toe-to-toe with him, saying this is what I need, this is my house and this is what I need, and most people would say, ‘It’s Frank Lloyd Wright,’” said Meronek.
The correspondence between Carlson and Wright went on for two years and the project faced various delays. In the end, ground would not be broken for a Frank Lloyd Wright house in Superior. The Great Depression had an effect, as around 1940, librarians in Superior took pay cuts and time off without pay. Suddenly now with slim paychecks, Edith couldn’t afford the price. She would eventually build a house near her parents’ home and the “Below Zero” house would eventually be built, just not for Carlson and not in Superior. Instead, the design was used elsewhere.
“She bemoaned the fact that it just wasn’t her loss, she also thought of it as Superior’s loss,” said Meronek.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
A pre-1900 going-out-of-business sale prompted two brothers, Theodore Julius (T.J.) Roth and Alois August (A.A.) Roth to open up their department store in Superior instead of Chippewa Falls.
After opening in 1889, Roth Brothers department store offered a wide variety of items, from paint to records, while the owners wove themselves into the fabric of the community.
According to retired librarian and local historian Teddie Meronek, growing up in the area, everybody knew Roth's.
“They (T.J. and A.A.) had experience in running general stores, so they knew what people wanted.”
In this month’s episode of Archive Dive, Meronek shares the origins of the Roth brothers and their experience with general stores; how the closing of the Beehive Bazaar in Superior caused a change of plans; and how a coin toss played a part in the story.
The Roth brothers were innovative, offering questionnaires to customers; running unique ad campaigns; delivering purchases by sleigh; adding groceries to their inventory; and selling rose bushes, flower seeds and much more.
You could find everything at Roth's and while you were there, you could even ride an elevator, or two elevators at one of their locations. Roth’s also had the first public restroom in the area, though it’s not the kind you might think.
“I just remember going there and you could buy anything you wanted. If you needed a birthday card, it was there — or perfume or makeup and you could go upstairs and get something new to wear and you could also go get your hair done,” said Meronek. “It was such an icon, I think, and something that has totally disappeared from our small towns. Small town department stores that are independently owned.”
After the owners passed away, the store stayed in the family and remained open for many years. Its closing was announced in 1977 and the store made its final sales in 1978.
The legacy of Roth Brothers department store lives on, even inspiring the 2012 play “You’ll Find It at Roth’s” that was performed at the Douglas County Historical Society. Is a sequel a possibility?
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com .
Garden clubs bloomed in Superior for many decades, not only beautifying the city, but affecting change. Even today, their plantings and their footprints can be found in Superior. The clubs usually consisted of a group of ladies who would get together and work on gardens in their area. It was a social outlet, where they bonded over gardening and would take care of community gardens in public places.
“It always seemed like they were doing something for someone else, for the betterment of the community,” said local historian and retired librarian Teddie Merenok.
Meronek has studied their impact on the community, which ran actively from the 1920’s through the 1990s. In this month’s episode of Archive Dive, Meronek shares the origins of the first garden club in Superior. The Superior Garden Club, later known as the Central Garden Club, was organized in 1926 by sisters Mabel Stratton and Faith Kennedy. Their passion for gardening came from their father, Robert Kelly, the manager of The Land and River Improvement Company.
It turns out, Mabel and Faith weren’t the only ones passionate about gardening. They were going to cap their enrollment at 30, but everyone in town wanted to belong to it. By 1939, Superior had the largest garden club in the state, with almost 300 people. Eventually the club would be broken down into auxiliaries, sometimes along neighborhood lines. Other garden clubs formed and would spread throughout Douglas County.
“They just loved these flowers, loved gardening and just wanted everyone to enjoy it as much as they did,” said Meronek.
Club members learned landscaping, held flower shows and events, sponsored school clubs, and were ahead of their time in promoting planting gardens that would attract bees, birds and wildlife. The clubs also kept their notebooks, addresses, newspaper clippings and pictures in scrapbooks as colorful as the gardens that they tended.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
“Hitch a ride” on the South Shore Railroad through Douglas County during this month’s Archive Dive podcast. Brian Paulson, local historian and member of the Old Brule Heritage Society, joins us again to explore the vanished communities that sprang up along the tracks of what was officially known as the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway in the early 1900s.
“These were not actually towns. They were not incorporated towns. They were all smaller hamlets or settlements that were located within the large town of Brule,” said Paulson. "The town of Brule at the time, the boundaries were from the Superior city limits all the way eastward to the Bayfield County line and on the north-south line, from the shores of Lake Superior to what is now Highway B. So the township of Brule at the time covered about the northern third of Douglas County and all of these settlements that we are going to be talking about were located within that expansive town of Brule.”
A number of these communities changed names multiple times, depending on who held more money or influence in the area. Hop aboard the Limited in Superior's East End with us to visit Rock Crusher, Andersonville and other communities that have been lost to time. Paulson also shares a story of the South Shore Railroad fixing up their railroad from Superior to Winneboujou in order to look good for President Calvin Coolidge, who spent time in northwest Wisconsin in 1928.
“It’s always a pleasure to share a bit of our local history with the folks,” said Paulson.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.
Over a century ago, an arch honoring Civil War veterans stood over the intersection of Broadway Street and Tower Avenue in Superior.
“It was like our Aerial Lift Bridge,” said local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek. “It was so iconic even though many people have never seen it. It’s because of the postcards that people know about it.”
On this month’s episode of Archive Dive, Meronek shares the origin story of the 90-foot tall arch that was built in 1900 at a cost of $500. The structure that welcomed members of the Grand Army of the Republic didn’t last long, however, as it started to deteriorate from the elements and was taken down in the 1920s.
Today, there is renewed interest in bringing the arch back to Superior.
“I hope it happens this time,” said Meronek. “I’d love to see it. I think it’s a beautiful thing.”
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Subscribe here or visit superiortelegram.com for information on upcoming episodes.
Before U.S. Highway 2 brought visitors into Superior from the east; there was the Northern Pacific Railroad. And in the early 1900s there were many small communities along that rail line. Communities that today have almost completely disappeared.
“I don’t like to call them ghost towns,” Brian Paulson, a local historian, said. “Mostly because they weren't towns, they were settlements that were located in the large and expansive town of Brule. And in the 1900s Brule covered a huge area in Douglas County, basically the northern third of the county.”
Paulson, a member of the Old Brule Heritage Society, explains that the logging boom brought people to the area but the railroad determined where these towns popped up. They came quickly, they served their purpose and then they were gone.
Today, the Tri County Corridor Trail follows the same route the Northern Pacific Railroad once did. On this week’s episode of Archive Dive, we travel east to Ashland along that route with Paulson who shares the stories of these vanished communities, many of which have been reclaimed by nature.
New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Subscribe here or visit superiortelegram.com for information on upcoming episodes.
Welcome to the first episode of Archive Dive by the Superior Telegram.
Each month, host and Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood dips into the archives of historic events, people and places in Superior and Douglas County with local historians.
In our first episode, we look back at a Superior wedding that transfixed the nation. The Feb. 10, 1945 marriage of America’s Ace of Aces Maj. Richard I. Bong and his sweetheart Marge Vattendahl.
Local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek guides us through how the couple met, how many eggs it took to make their 700-pound wedding cake and the tragedy that ended their marriage just 6 months after they said their vows.
New episodes of Archive Dive air monthly. Subscribe here or visit superiortelegram.com for information on upcoming episodes.