President's Day is Monday, and did you know that 12 presidents have visited Superior? Can you name them?

In this month’s episode of the Archive Dive podcast, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek as they count up all of the commanders in chief who have stopped by our port town and discuss the details behind their visits.

Superior Central High School served as the Summer White House for President Calvin Coolidge in 1928.

"The 'air conditioning,'" Meronek said is what drew Coolidge. "You could always count on it to be cooler here than Washington, D.C."

Coolidge wasn't the first president to visit Superior and certainly not the last. According to Meronek, presidents Ulysses S. Grant, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Donald Trump and Joe Biden also came to Superior, either before, during or after their terms.

A perk for some was the proximity to some famous fishing.

"A reason that many, many people — presidents even — came to this area was the Brule River," Meronek said.

Topics discussed in this episode include which president was the best angler, which president may have made secret trips to the area to fish, what was Franklin Roosevelt's connection to Superior, which president may have been rescued from water in Superior as a youth, what was the main reason Hoover visited Superior in 1928, Meronek's recommendations for best books about presidents, and more.

Twin Ports neighbor Duluth has had known visits from 16 presidents, either during, before or after their terms.

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