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 he only flew for three months before it crashed in Papua, New Guinea 80 years ago. Now an expedition has discovered the crash site of the P-38 Lightning Marge plane.

For this episode, Telegram Reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by Briana Fiandt, curator of collections and exhibits for the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center as they discuss the history and the rediscovery of the Marge plane.

“I think that this plane is the most famous fighter plane out of World War II,” said Fiandt. “It belongs to Richard Bong, who is the top fighter pilot of the war, so there is no more important pilot or plane from that era. Then you add on that, he had this nose art on there of his girlfriend and it was a very sweet little portrait. The press really loved that and they ran with that, and I think that’s why the Marge plane got so famous so quickly, because the press loved the sort of innocence and the sweetness of that nose art and publicized it pretty widely.”

Fiandt was part of a news conference Thursday, May 23 at the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior announcing that "Marge" had been located. Also taking part were members of the Pacific Wrecks team, who joined virtually from Madang, Papua New Guinea.

“When we located the crash site, it was an amazing experience,” said Pacific Wrecks founder Justin Taylan. “The plane had landed in a ravine in the jungle, and over 80 years parts of the wreckage have eroded down a hillside through natural impacts. We entered this ravine at the base and began walking uphill, seeing small parts and larger parts and larger parts. Immediately, I recognized those parts as associated with a P-38 Lightning.”

Taylan and the team eventually saw two engines sticking out of the ground, buried in several meters of soil with only the tips of the propeller and the engine mounts visible above the surface. They were able to confirm the plane's identity as Marge.

“I am humbled to work with this team,” said Taylan. “This is a great day for the Bong Center, a great day for Pacific Wrecks and a great day for history.”

This episode also features comments from Richard Bong's sister, Jerry Bong Fechtelkotter, as well as more details on the expedition and plans for the future.

New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at [email protected].

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, but you're building it in these two communities that the weather is not always the best and they did it in a timely manner," said Meronek. "In those days, you had no safety harnesses and people weren't wearing safety harnesses when they built that bridge."

The John A. Blatnik Bridge, originally named the High Bridge, opened in 1961. It was named for United States Congressman John Blatnik of Minnesota. An estimated 3,000 people from both sides gathered at the main span for the opening ceremony. Over the years, the bridge has been renamed, widened and reinforced. It is currently slated to be replaced, funded in part by the largest grant that the federal government has ever awarded.

"My favorite picture is of the two men when they put in the beam, the high beam above the Blatnik Bridge," said Meronek. The two men, one from Wisconsin and one from Minnesota, got together in the center of the bridge and shook hands because the two cities were now united with this beam."

The Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge opened to traffic in 1984 for a construction cost of $70 million. Named for America's Ace of Aces, it is longer than the Blatnik Bridge by 425 feet. The Bong Bridge replaced the 1927-era Arrowhead Bridge.

"Bruce Hagen, who was mayor at the time, said 'I want people every time you drive over this bridge, I want you to think about how it was built,'" said Meronek. "He (Hagen) said, 'I don't mean construction because it was named after a World War II hero.' He wanted people to think, this is what we're remembering with this bridge. We're remembering this man and everyone else who served this country during World War II."

There is also the Oliver Bridge, which dates back to 1910.

"Through it all, the Oliver Bridge is still there and we should salute the Oliver Bridge because it's still serving its purpose," said Meronek. "The steel plant isn't there anymore but, railroads still travel over it and if we're down to one bridge when they start building the new bridge, are a lot of people going to take that way to Duluth?"

You can hear these stories and more in this episode.

New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at [email protected]. 

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 sister spaces look like and what famous faces graced their stages? To get the answers, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by frequent guest Teddie Meronek, a fellow theater enthusiast who also happens to be a local historian and retired librarian, as they take us on a trip through time, discussing all things Broadway and Palace.

"(They were) Amazing buildings. I can't believe that we had two of them in this town," said Meronek. “What surprises me about both of these buildings is that they were Rapp and Rapp theaters and I think anybody interested in theater history or the history of old theaters knows that name because they were one of the most famous theatre architectural firms in the country. They built a lot of theatres in Chicago especially because they were originally from Illinois.”

Among the topics that Maria and Teddie discuss in this episode include how the theaters were used; some of the local talents and attractions that performed there; the size and designs of the buildings; and they answer the question of if film legend Judy Garland ever performed in Superior.

New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at [email protected].

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 been turned into a one-stop shop for economic development.

For this month's episode of "Archive Dive," Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood and retired librarian and local historian Teddie Meronek dive into the history of the Superior landmark, which was designed by architect Earl Barber. They also discuss other buildings that Barber put his stamp on.

The building cost more than $300,000 to build and adjusted for today's cost, it would have been approximately $10,000,000. Many people have thought the building was only a post office, not knowing about the federal courthouse upstairs. In fact, while most locals have referred to it in recent years as the "old post office," its official name was the Federal Building.

Meronek remembers going to the post office, but she never went upstairs. After getting involved with the Superior-Douglas County Leadership group and attending a meeting on the second floor, she got her first glimpse, noticing a lot of marble and a beautiful view.

“That was the first time I had been above the first floor in that building,” Meronek said. “I got up there and I thought, ‘This is Superior’s best-kept secret.’ It was the most gorgeous room I had ever been in. I thought, ‘Why hasn’t anybody really used this before,’ not knowing anything of the history.”

So when did she start diving into the history of the building?

“As soon as I got back to the library after that,” said Meronek with a laugh. "Everybody should get a chance to see it one time in their life because it is Superior's best-kept secret. Really."

New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at [email protected].

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 and Itasca School, the program helped shape Superior’s landscape. But, it also helped preserve its history.

For this episode, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek as they look at the benefits of the program and the challenges of the times. Some of the buildings and projects remain today. The Great Depression started in 1929 and things had changed throughout the country, including in Superior.

"I don't think we can even imagine what it was like back then," said Meronek. "So many people were out of work."

Meronek also said, “If you look through old newspapers, in the late 1920s, you see that Superior was booming,there were all these new businesses opening up. You go and you look a couple of years later and they are all gone, so it was tough times. The WPA did not start until 1935, so there was a gap there. Four or five years where it was hard for everyone. No jobs. No money. The WPA came in and things started to change.”

In her research, Mereonek found that in 1935, the average unemployment rate across the United States was 20 percent.

“You have to find a solution and they came up with the WPA,” said Meronek. “It put people to work in Superior. They built things like the sewer system, they put in sidewalks, the repaved streets and they built buildings.”

Maria and Teddie will also discuss how parks, artists and musicians benefited; who the materials belong to; the story of a freckle contest; Wheel Day; and much more. Meronek even shares an interesting story about her parent's Honeymoon as they were married during the Great Depression.

New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at [email protected].

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 of both schools, how the students and teachers survived the Great Depression and World War II, as well as the rivalry that grew between East High School and Central High School and much more.

"What people don't know about East End now is that - I grew up in East End so I remember that it was just like a small town, and the schools in East End weren't built next to businesses, they were built in neighborhoods and they were all surrounded by homes," said Meronek. "East End had a high school, it had a public grade school and two parochial schools, within blocks of each other and their business district included a movie theater and East End had the only branch library - an actual library building - and we had a dime store, dry cleaners and a bank, two drug stores, two hardware stores, restaurants, two hair salons, dentists, doctors - I mean, it was like a small town in itself."

New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly at superiortelegram.com. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at [email protected].

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 Twin Ports with his lens after opening a photography business in Superior.

Jones rose to glamorous heights and won several Academy Awards as the head of Universal Studio’s still photography department during the golden age of Hollywood.

Bubley was a freelance photographer who found her niche as a photojournalist, balancing corporate clients with magazine work. Her intimate photos of everyday people graced publications such as Life and the Ladies Home Journal.

New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at  [email protected].

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 people connected to both.

"Everybody started building at once," said Meronek. "You not only have the Hotel Superior in downtown, you have the Euclid in East End, which was a big hotel. But then, you had the Broadway Hotel, which most people if they remember the building at all, remembers it as the Broadway Flats, because it eventually turned into apartments and that was on Hammond Avenue and Broadway, the intersection there. So, there were a lot of big hotels being built because there were a lot of people coming into Superior at that time, setting up businesses and starting businesses and coming into to entertain at the Grand Opera House."

What made the Hotel Superior the place to stay in Superior?

"It was kind of fancy. If you see pictures of it's dinning room and that. It was a very Victorian-looking hotel that we would consider, y'know, rather nice. Anybody who was anybody who came through Superior and needed a hotel room probably stayed there, because it was downtown," Meronek said.

A few decades after the Hotel Superior, the Androy Hotel, dubbed "the Million Dollar Hotel," opened.

“They started talking about the Androy Hotel in 1922, and so, by that time, the Hotel Superior was over 30 years old and it was from a different era," said Meronek. "These were the roaring 1920s and there were a group of businessmen that thought that they needed a hotel in downtown Superior. The Hotel Superior wasn’t in downtown. It was at the fringes of downtown Superior, they were talking about the business district downtown.” It was people that were in the association of commerce and the commercial club, those men who got together and said, ’We need something for the businessman. Downtown Superior needs to make a statement.’”

Also in this episode, Maria and Teddie discuss how the Hotel Superior helped the Grand Opera House; an urban legend involving actors going to and from the hotel and the opera house; some of its early amenities; a connection to the Titanic; the efforts to raise money to build the Androy Hotel; how Superior teased Duluth about getting a downtown hotel and how Duluth responded; some interesting fundraising events at the Androy Hotel; how both hotels served another housing need in the 1960s; and more.

New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at [email protected].

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 for the fabled treasure went on for years and even led a judge to exhume the body of Blackburn’s wife Mary, who had been buried in a glass-lidded coffin. But gold was never found.

Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by Doug MacDonald as well as Brian Finstad, both of the Gordon-Wascott Historical Society, as they explore Blackburn’s life, death and possible suspects, including one who was acquitted and another who gained infamy out west.

The murder happened 126 years ago, in October 1897.

MacDonald, who is the great-great grandson of Antoine and Sarah Gordon, the founders of Gordon, is also related to Blackburn, a great-great-great uncle, as Blackburn was Antoine Gordon’s brother-in-law.

Blackburn, who was in his mid-60s when he died, has been the subject of a lot of fascination and speculation over the years, including why he wasn’t a fan of banks.

“I am fortunate being related through my grandfather and his dad, William Gordon, that we got a lot of first-hand information,” says MacDonald. “Not just rumor, but facts. He didn’t believe in paper money, he only believed in hard (money), which backs itself, gold and silver. Anybody can print, but you can’t make gold or silver.”

Other members of MacDonald's family, at one point, owned Blackburn's home, after it was moved about 10 miles near Wascott.

“We would go around as kids, knocking on the walls, looking for his (Joseph’s) money,” says MacDonald. “I can remember as a kid, saying to my dad, ‘Dad, maybe it’s up in the crawl space where the rafters are at?’ Dad goes, ‘No, I have already checked it.’”

“It is interesting when you read the articles about the murder, you can tell that people were sort of following day-by-day of this whole drama because the articles get longer and more elaborate,” says Finstad. “It is also the name Blackburn and buried gold and the wife in the glass coffin and murdered with a pole axe, it all is just such a dramatic story and it is kind of ironic for someone who just kind of wanted to be left alone in the wilderness and was known for being reclusive that he ends up having the most dramatic story ever that over 100 years later that we are still talking about.”

New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at [email protected].

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 Superior Central High School and beyond. In his later years, Grant enjoyed the outdoors and time with family at his cabin in Gordon.

For this episode, Superior Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by University of Wisconsin-Superior Communicating Arts senior lecturer and longtime sportscaster Tom Hansen, who grew up going to Vikings' practices at the old Midway Stadium in St. Paul.

Hansen was often in the same vicinity as Grant when he worked as a ticket taker and security for Vikings games at the old Metropolitan Stadium and early days of the Metrodome, but he would get to know Grant during his broadcasting career. Hansen interviewed him at special appearances in the Twin Ports and occasionally at University of Minnesota Duluth football games, where some of Grant's grandchildren played.

"Every sport he (Grant) touched, he was magical," says Hansen. "Superior was a big part of who he was and where he came from. "

Among Grant's athletic achievements, he played football, basketball and baseball at the University of Minnesota, before turning pro and playing in the National Basketball Association with Minneapolis Lakers from 1949-1951, winning a championship with them in 1950. Grant then went on to compete in the National Football League for two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Canadian Football League with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for four seasons, playing on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball for both teams.

After his playing career, he went on to coach the Blue Bombers for ten seasons, guiding them to six Grey Cup appearances, including four championships. In 1967, he became the head coach for the NFL's Minnesota Vikings and went on to guide them for 18 seasons, leading them to four Super Bowl appearances. In 1983, Grant was selected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and in 1994, Grant received his biggest athletic honor when he was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

"It is the character that always drew me to Bud," says Hansen. "That there was the right way of doing things, there was the wrong way of doing things, but there wasn't a 'short cut' way of doing things. You had to earn that spot on the team, you had to earn that spot being a good teammate or being a captain. There are no short cuts in some of those things and so, his character really stood out."

Among the many players Grant coached was Superior native Doug Sutherland, who played defensive tackle for the Vikings from 1971-80. Sutherland passed away April 5, 2022 at the age of 73.

The Vikings announced that they will be honoring Grant all season long, including with special patches on their jerseys for their 2023 season opener Sunday, Sept. 10 at home against Tampa Bay.

When Grant passed away March 11, 2023, it was 56 years to the day when he was hired as the Vikings head coach in 1967.

New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at  [email protected].