Archive Dive with the Superior Telegram

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 h...

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...

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 sist...

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 b...

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...

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...

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 T...

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 peop...

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...

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 Supe...

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 Norther...

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 Calvi...

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 Ant...

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 histori...

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 fic...

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...

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 re...

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 Buildi...

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...

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 r...

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 remo...

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 th...

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 co...

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 a...

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...