From the Archive: Saturday Evening Post Profiles Duluth

This week in 1949 the Saturday Evening Post — perhaps the nation’s most popular magazine at the time, known for its covers featuring the works of various artists, including Norman Rockwell — profiled “apple-cheeked, blue-eyed, tow-haired Duluth”in an essay written by Arthur W. Baum. Baum‘s essay paints a rather whimsical picture of Duluth, where “the number of cribbage boards around town is astounding, and the presence of a near-perfect 28 hand in a tussle between two teams of the City Cribbage League is a matter for a serious news report.” And despite its light-hearted approach (and that it repeats the fable that Duluth‘s ship canal was dug by hand), it contains a pretty good historic depiction of Duluth and perhaps my favorite description of the Zenith City’s development: “Duluth’s history is a long series of counterpunches at circumstances and events. When Duluth wins a round, it habitually comes up off the canvas to do it.” So take a dive into our archive and enjoy Mr. Baum’s essay in its entirety, HERE.

The cover of the April 16, 1949, Saturday Evening Post, which featured the accompanying article about Duluth by Arthur W. Baum.