Paradigm Press
$19.50
reviewed by Mike Nardine
Originally published in The Reader Weekly
This Is Duluth by Dora Mary MacDonald is easily the best history of Duluth I’ve read. It begins with the fiery formation of the Duluth gabbro in the Precambrian and ends in 1949 with the estimated population of our fair city at 105,000. First written in 1950, it is being brought out for a second time by Paradigm Press of Ashland, Wisconsin. The book was written in an engaging and entertaining fashion, and I had no problem reading it from cover to cover. But beware, this book was written for most of our fathers and grandfathers. Much history has been made in the last fifty years, many changes of attitude and language. In this book Whites are still Whites, but African-Americans are Negroes and Native-Americans are Indians.
Like any good history book it is filled with facts. I know, I know, facts aren’t as important as feelings these days but they’re still fun to have on hand. Do you know why Duluth was once called “Jay Cooke’s town?” Do you know who built Skyharbor and when? No? Well, I didn’t either, but I do now…
It probably doesn’t make me a better person to know that Duluth derived its name from the French adventurer Daniel de Greysolon, Sieur du Luth, or that Denfeld was the name of a long-serving Superintendent of Schools. I don’t go to parties so I won’t be able to beguile others with trivia like the fact that streetcars were first electrified in 1890 and that London Road got its name from a syndicate in London that bought property in the area before the turn of the century. Still, I’ve always believed an educated man should be at least somewhat knowledgeable and conversant about the place where he lives and this particular book has been a great help in meeting my personal goal.