Friday
Feb052010
Miss Minnesota
Friday, February 5, 2010 at 8:43PM
There she is.
Throughout my tenure in Washington, DC, people have called me Miss Minnesota. While I sported no tiara or evening gown, I was an ambassador of sorts. People on the East Coast believe Minnesota is a vast arctic tundra navigated only by dog teams and explorers wearing blimp-sized parkas.
"Does anyone actually live in Minnesota?" my students would ask. "What is there to do? Sit in the house? Stare at the wall?"
I grew up in the 32nd state, the Land of 10,000 Lakes. (Let's make that 11,842 lakes over 10 acres in size.) "Yes, in fact, more than five million people live in Minnesota," I would answer my students. Then I would tell them about the Mall of America, the world's largest mall, complete with amusement park, aquarium, and more stores than you can visit in a weekend of shopping. I would remind them of the professional football, baseball, basketball, and hockey teams headquartered there. Minnesota morphed into Mecca, the land of never ending Super Bowl Sundays and vast food courts of burgers and fries.
Yes, Minnesota has some good shopping. And some good health care (Mayo Clinic, anyone?). And just a teeny tiny bit of fishing in the 11,842 lakes. And maybe, possibly, some hiking or hunting or canoeing in the more than two million acres of forest.
Minnesota is also home to Duluth.
Situated at the tip of Lake Superior, which is the largest freshwater lake in the world by some measures.
Duluth takes its name from a French fur trader who first explored the area in the 1600s, and in the 1800s was one of the most bustling cities in the United States. It was, and still is, home to the world's largest inland port, and the westernmost point of the Atlantic shipping route.
My hometown is also home to the world's largest freshwater sandbar, which at over six miles long, is wide enough for a road down the middle with houses and beaches on either side.
You may recognize the Aerial Lift Bridge, one of only two bridges ever built like it in the world (the other was dismantled in the 1930s). The Lift Bridge was built in 1905, and has been in continuous operation since then. It connects residents of the sand bar, called Park Point, with the mainland, and it also raises up to let boats and ships from all over the world into Duluth's harbor to pick up iron ore and grain.
If you're from Duluth, you would recognize this boat as a "thousand footer," a boat that traverses the Great Lakes and measures over 1,000 feet in length. Thousand footers have a unique shape, and the public library there is built to mimic the same shape, with the U-shaped bow and the raised stern.
In the summer, the bridge raises and lowers 20-30 times a day, and in the winter once the shipping season has ended, hardly at all.
Duluth was once home to the largest population of millionaires per capita of any city in the United States, the shipping, mining, railroad, and timber industries having made wealthy men of smart investors. The city is sprinkled liberally with majestic century-old homes, many of them quarried red stone and brick. The most recognizable is the estate that once belonged to Chester and Clara Congdon, known as Glensheen.
This is but a small portion of their mansion found on the shores of Lake Superior. I volunteered here as a docent in college, and it was here that I came to take my sunrise pictures a few days ago.
In Minnesota, all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.
The Mississippi River begins in Minnesota, and is the dividing line between the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Minnesota is home to the largest community of Finnish people outside of Finland, and was initially settled almost entirely by Scandinavian immigrants. This Scandinavian heritage is still seen in the culture of the state, particularly the northern regions like Duluth, where the local meteorologists are named things like Sven, and a regular column in the newspaper is titled, Eh?
I could go on here, people. And I probably will on another day. Gosh darn it if I didn't really earn the nickname Miss Minnesota. I don't know why my brain stores this kind of information, but it does, and if something doesn't stop me, I could ramble for hours. I can make a Minnesota connection out of just about anything. Pick a topic, any topic, and I will find a connection.
Try me, if you're up for it. I will answer you in the comments.
I really must stop for now, I can feel the engines revving, and once they're warmed up, they're hard to shut down. Better to just turn off the ignition now and come back tomorrow evening, when I'll have some old school yarn pics for you!
Throughout my tenure in Washington, DC, people have called me Miss Minnesota. While I sported no tiara or evening gown, I was an ambassador of sorts. People on the East Coast believe Minnesota is a vast arctic tundra navigated only by dog teams and explorers wearing blimp-sized parkas.
"Does anyone actually live in Minnesota?" my students would ask. "What is there to do? Sit in the house? Stare at the wall?"
I grew up in the 32nd state, the Land of 10,000 Lakes. (Let's make that 11,842 lakes over 10 acres in size.) "Yes, in fact, more than five million people live in Minnesota," I would answer my students. Then I would tell them about the Mall of America, the world's largest mall, complete with amusement park, aquarium, and more stores than you can visit in a weekend of shopping. I would remind them of the professional football, baseball, basketball, and hockey teams headquartered there. Minnesota morphed into Mecca, the land of never ending Super Bowl Sundays and vast food courts of burgers and fries.
Yes, Minnesota has some good shopping. And some good health care (Mayo Clinic, anyone?). And just a teeny tiny bit of fishing in the 11,842 lakes. And maybe, possibly, some hiking or hunting or canoeing in the more than two million acres of forest.
Minnesota is also home to Duluth.
Situated at the tip of Lake Superior, which is the largest freshwater lake in the world by some measures.
Duluth takes its name from a French fur trader who first explored the area in the 1600s, and in the 1800s was one of the most bustling cities in the United States. It was, and still is, home to the world's largest inland port, and the westernmost point of the Atlantic shipping route.
My hometown is also home to the world's largest freshwater sandbar, which at over six miles long, is wide enough for a road down the middle with houses and beaches on either side.
You may recognize the Aerial Lift Bridge, one of only two bridges ever built like it in the world (the other was dismantled in the 1930s). The Lift Bridge was built in 1905, and has been in continuous operation since then. It connects residents of the sand bar, called Park Point, with the mainland, and it also raises up to let boats and ships from all over the world into Duluth's harbor to pick up iron ore and grain.
If you're from Duluth, you would recognize this boat as a "thousand footer," a boat that traverses the Great Lakes and measures over 1,000 feet in length. Thousand footers have a unique shape, and the public library there is built to mimic the same shape, with the U-shaped bow and the raised stern.
In the summer, the bridge raises and lowers 20-30 times a day, and in the winter once the shipping season has ended, hardly at all.
Duluth was once home to the largest population of millionaires per capita of any city in the United States, the shipping, mining, railroad, and timber industries having made wealthy men of smart investors. The city is sprinkled liberally with majestic century-old homes, many of them quarried red stone and brick. The most recognizable is the estate that once belonged to Chester and Clara Congdon, known as Glensheen.
This is but a small portion of their mansion found on the shores of Lake Superior. I volunteered here as a docent in college, and it was here that I came to take my sunrise pictures a few days ago.
In Minnesota, all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.
The Mississippi River begins in Minnesota, and is the dividing line between the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Minnesota is home to the largest community of Finnish people outside of Finland, and was initially settled almost entirely by Scandinavian immigrants. This Scandinavian heritage is still seen in the culture of the state, particularly the northern regions like Duluth, where the local meteorologists are named things like Sven, and a regular column in the newspaper is titled, Eh?
I could go on here, people. And I probably will on another day. Gosh darn it if I didn't really earn the nickname Miss Minnesota. I don't know why my brain stores this kind of information, but it does, and if something doesn't stop me, I could ramble for hours. I can make a Minnesota connection out of just about anything. Pick a topic, any topic, and I will find a connection.
Try me, if you're up for it. I will answer you in the comments.
I really must stop for now, I can feel the engines revving, and once they're warmed up, they're hard to shut down. Better to just turn off the ignition now and come back tomorrow evening, when I'll have some old school yarn pics for you!
Reader Comments (31)
If this post didn't make you want to visit Duluth I don't know what post would!!!
We've lived in MN for 4 years and have talked about going to Duluth every summer. This year we might actually make it!!!
How did I miss the Lift Bridge in the background on the last photo?? Sneaky!!
My whole family is from Minnesota, and some of them are in Duluth. I have many happy childhood memories of visiting my grandparents there and watching the ships come in.
I have no idea how Duluth connects to future Yarnista plans, but I'm looking forward to finding out. This was a great post! Thank you!
I learned about the Lift Bridge when I took architecture classes in college. What a beautiful place! I'd like you to connect pickles to Duluth please :P Hope you had a happy visit!
Well, I live next door in Wisconsin (Sheboygan) and have been to Duluth for the big quilt show held there every four years. Didn't know this much about MN or Duluth --- very interesting! Wondering how/what this all means?!?!? :)
I wondered if that was where you were. As a MN resident myself for just over a year, I have come to love the state even more. It was my second home for years with our family cabin on Cass Lake as the only vacation spot I had ever been to. We drove through Duluth every year on our way to Eau Claire to see my cousins and skipped rocks near the lift bridge and visited that museum with the creepy mannequins that are supposed to be sailors.
Pickles? Pickles are easy, I could go one of several different directions with pickles. I could go the direction of Thomson Berry Farm, which manufactures private label condiments for grocery stores.
But I think I'll go the route of Gedney Pickles. Gedney has declared themselves "The Minnesota Pickle" (there used to be commercials with someone singing, Gedney... it's the Minnesota pickle!). Many of the cucumbers grown for Gedney come from farms throughout the state, some near Duluth.
Additionally, Gedney manufactures the Archer Farms brand of pickles for Target. Target is a Minnesota company, and one of the earliest Target stores ever built was in my hometown of Duluth.
If you enjoy shopping at Target -- and Lord knows I do -- you have Minnesota to thank for it.
There you are.
As a native, I believe it is a true art the local media have for making a local connection to any major news story around the world and having that be a major story on the 10:00 news.
Here's an easy one -- Woody Allen and Duluth.
Whoa! That about sums it up.
Very neat! I am a big fan of lots of details packed into a small spot.
How about.... palm trees?
Woody Allen once said he didn't know where Duluth was. Poor thing.
Yay! I'm from MPLS. Random MPLS fact: it was the inspiration for "Funkytown" by Lipps, Inc.
Coconuts come from certain types of palm trees. Coconut husks were often used to improve the flavor of lutefisk.
Lutefisk is a Scandinavian dish that consists of dried fish that's been reconstituted with lye and then served with a sauce. I've never eaten it, nor do I care to, but there are still traditional Christmas lutefisk events all over MN for "old timers," particularly in church social halls.
I really can't imagine that anything would improve the flavor of lutefisk.
True enough, true enough. But you can't blame them for trying.
We've been to Duluth twice, but the first time was really just a pit stop for lunch. Both were part of cross-country moves and it was faster to drive through the US than through Northern Ontario. The second trip involved spending an afternoon at the waterfront and walking the dogs down that sand bar....a lovely day indeed. I'm sure we will go back for a vacation at some point - that's how impressed we were with the town.
I now live at the other end of the Great Lakes, in the Thousand Islands region near the Eastern tip of Lake Ontario. Just as pretty, but different. Still cold.
Still too cold for me but I do love the history and could listen for hours.
I was raised by a mother who could take one word and tell a story. I somewhat take after her in that way, as you can tell by my long comments. ;-))
Here's a stumper for you as I know no connection. The Brooklyn Bridge prototype named the Covington [KY] and Cincinnati [OH] Bridge, then renamed the Roebling Bridge after it's designer. No fair saying both have lovely histories and were innovative for their times.
Fun game.
How about a connection between In-n-Out Hamburgers and Duluth?
John Roebling, designer of the Brooklyn Bridge, had a grandson who died on the Titanic. The son of the founder of Quaker Oats also died on the Titanic, on his way back from Europe to Minnesota, where he lived.
In-n-Out? Easy. My mother, Yarnista's Mama, loved to eat at In-n-Out when she was a little girl. She later moved to MN. ;P
I love Minnesota! I lived in Minneapolis for 10 years. It's where I got married and my 2 daughters were born, so I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for the state. And we never would have left if not for the climate. I was born in Tennessee and I never got used to the huge snowstorms in April. April, for godsakes! Or the fact that sometime in late February, when I was long-since tired of watching the snowplows rumble down the street, my mother would chirp on the phone one Sunday afternoon that the daffodils were blooming. And I'd know I had months to go before spring. But I loved it enough to stay 10 years and if it weren't for those winters I'd be there still.
Anyway, your entry reminded me of the local news teams in MN who would always (and I mean always!!) find a Minnesota Connection to every national or international story. It was always fun to see what they'd pull out of their hats - the person in the news once lived in MN? Too easy! A cousin! Ancient Aunt! Someone connected to the story would appear in Duluth or Apple Valley. I loved it. Always gave me a smile.
Enjoy the snow for me. We're cold here in TN this winter and I've been thinking about MN a lot lately.
How did you figure out those links. I'll give you kudos for pulling that one off. Too funny, yet morbid. LOL Woman, you slay me.
Born and raised and living in St. Paul, MN. It's been snowing all day, but it's beautiful! (And I can say that because I'm working from home.)
Nice to meetcha Miss Minnesota! I'd be Miss Iowa! I live in Maine now... I totally, totally can relate to how you feel being far from home. Your recent post resonates with me because I still miss home so very much. It HURTS! We're having so much fun out here in Maine, but my heart is in Iowa. Maybe someday we'll move back and if we do, I'm totally taking a road trip north to visit you and go to Grandma's for some onion rings.
Awesome. I never actually thought about it like that. Keep posting great info. Thanks.