Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Sunday 12/9/2012

The snowstorm blinded many of the cameras from seeing yesterday. The video shows what was available.

James R. Barker departed at 02:50
Walter J. McCarthy Jr. arrived at 05:55
Frontenac (CA ) departed at 12:50
Lee A. Tregurtha departed at 18:40

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Saturday 12/8/2012

American Integrity arrived at 00:50
CSL Assiniboine departed at 07:20
Victoriaborg (Dutch) departed at 13:00
Lee A. Tregurtha arrived at 15:30
James R. Barker arrived at 15:40
Alpena arrived at 23:05

December 8, 1961: The Duluth-Superior Bridge Opens to Traffic

The Blatnik Bridge side-by-side with the remains of the Interstate Bridge.

By: Tony Dierckins Zenith City Online - On this day in Duluth and Superior in 1961, the Duluth-Superior Bridge opened to automobile traffic, the first modern bridge to span the St. Louis Bay between the neighboring cities, known since the 1890s as the Twin Ports. The new span replaced the Interstate Bridge, a swinging toll bridge that stretched from Rice’s Point in Duluth to Connor’s Point in Superior from 1897 until 1961. (It was partially dismantled in 1971, and a remaining portion of the bridge still stretches from Rice’s Point and is used as a fishing dock.) To allow shipping traffic to pass beneath the structure, the 7,975-foot bridge rose 120 feet above the water. It quickly became known as the High Bridge. In order to build the 2,800-foot approach to the new bridge, nearly the entire Garfield Avenue Residential District was razed. In 1971 the bridge was renamed the John A. Blatnik Bridge in honor of the DFL congressman from Chisholm who played a major role in making the bridge a reality. When the bridge was rededicated in Blatnik’s name in 1971, Secretary of Transportation John Volpe said that Blatnik “played a key role in establishing and fostering the foundation for this magnificent [Interstate Highway] program back during the Eisenhower Administration.” John Blatnik was a big supporter of the St. Lawrence Seaway, helped pass the 1972 Clean Water Act—and voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964. When he retired after 28 years in office (1947–1975), Jim Oberstar—Blatnik’s administrative assistant—took his place in Congress. Oberstar served until January, 2011.

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Friday 12/7/2012

Great Republic arrived at 04:05
Philip R. Clarke arrived at 04:20
Birchglen arrived at 05:05
Mesabi Miner departed at 06:15
Victoriaborg (Dutch) arrived at 10:30
Philip R. Clarke departed at 15:05
Great Republic departed at 15:45
Birchglen (CA) departed at 16:05
CSL Assiniboine arrived at 22:30

December 7, 1940: Duluth’s USS Paducah Arrives in Brooklyn

By Tony Dierkins: Zenith City Online
On this day in 1940, the USS Paducah—training vessel of the Duluth Naval Militia—and her crew of naval reservists from Duluth arrived in Brooklyn, New York, where it would spend the next few years training sailors for battle during the Second World War. Launched in 1904, the Paducah was a Dubuque-class gunboat that joined the U.S. Navy’s Caribbean Squadron in 1906. During World War I the Paducah operated out of Gibraltor, escorting convoys on the way to North Africa, Italy, the Azores, and Medeira. She returned to duty in the Caribbean before arriving in Duluth in June of 1921, replacing the USS Essex. From 1940 to 1945 the Paduch was a common site on Chesapeake Bay, where she trained Naval Armed Guard Gunners. The gunners were sailors and officers who served on armed merchant vessels because the navy itself did not have enough ships to protect the merchant fleet. After the war the Paducah was sold to an individual in Florida, who then sold her to the Israeli group Haganah and renamed her Geula or “Redemption.” She was eventually turned into a merchant ship before being sold for scrap in 1951. Read the Veteran Memorial Hall’s entry on the Paducah here, and the personal story of Paducah sailor Steve Blach here.

Duluth Harbor Boat Traffic for Thursday 12/6/2012

Cornelia (Lib) arrived Duluth at 15:05
Mesabi Miner arrived at 17:20