7 minute read
Along the Shore Part 2
Celebrating joy: Duluth’s annual spectacle
By Laura Durenberger
DULUTH—The residents and visitors of Duluth sure know how to celebrate the holiday season. Bentleyville, the Christmas City Express (the North Shore Scenic Railway’s version of the Polar Express), Glensheen’s Christmas Tree event, and more.
But one event has been celebrated for decades, and this year will be its 65th season: The Christmas City Parade.
The Christmas City Parade started in 1958 to celebrate the start of the holiday shopping season and falls on the Friday before Thanksgiving. According to Explore Minnesota, the parade has around 70 floats representing local businesses and organizations, 20 bands and a dozen dance groups from Duluth and surrounding areas, local royalty, and includes Santa’s first stop to Duluth for the year.
The parade has become a long-standing tradition since its beginning, and one that many people count on to ring in the season. The only year the parade did not happen was in 1963 due to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The parade even took place during the pandemic, which was one of the few years the parade route changed. Normally, the route runs along Superior Street (starting at Fitger’s and ending at 5th Ave W.), but in 2020 the parade route moved to Harbor Street, which runs in front of the William Irvin ship. This change in route allowed local Duluth news station and event organizer Northern News Now (formerly Northland’s NewsCenter and KBJR 6 News) to film each float as it went by the station, to ensure that parade participants could safely social-distance. Some dance and band performances were filmed before the parade and added during the broadcast and online for extra precaution. 2020 was also the first year that no spectators were allowed to come in person—making the route change and live broadcasting even more important.
In normal years, spectators have the opportunity to brave the elements (wind, cold, and snow being the main ones) and watch the parade in person—which usually draws hundreds of people. According to Visit Duluth, the parade is the most attended public event in the northland. Many more spectators watch live on Northern News Now or live-stream online across Minnesota and even in other states. The station also replays the event on television throughout the holiday season and on Christmas Day.
But it’s not just the parade that draws people in. There is also a Christmas tree lighting ceremony, which is broadcast live by Northern News Now, that happens before the parade. Other fun activities include photo and coloring contests, publicly voted awards for best float, and even different parade themes or dedications.
In 2021, the parade was dedicated to essential workers due to their tireless work during the pandemic. The general public even had an opportunity to nominate an essential worker to be honored during the event.
In 2022, the parade was dedicated to David Tomassoni, who passed away earlier in the year after a battle with ALS. Tomassoni had served in the Minnesota Legislature for almost 20 years.
One other major piece of the parade tradition includes a song that is played during every parade called the “Christmas City Song.” In the early 1960s, the news station (now Northern News Now) reached out to singer and tv host Merv Griffin to produce a song exclusively for the parade. Griffin agreed and commissioned the song along with the NBC Orchestra. If you’re not familiar with the tune, you can listen to it on YouTube.
This year’s parade will take place on Friday, Nov. 17. Route details, streaming and broadcasting details, start time, and other information will be announced soon. You can learn more about the parade on Facebook at: ChristmasCityParade, or on the Northern News Now website at: bit.ly/christmas-city.
Military roots: Cargill’s ancestral tale
By Michelle Miller
DULUTH—At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, World War I officially ended. Originally known as Armistice Day, this federal holiday was renamed Veterans Day in 1954, honoring all U.S veterans. Duluth author Kathleen Cargill descends from a long line of veterans, which was unveiled to her by asking the question, “How did my uncle and aunt meet?”
Cargill is a cultural anthropologist with a Master’s Degree in Anthropology, and is a member of the Minnesota Historical Society and Minnesota Genealogy Society. Inspired by her family’s story, she wrote her latest book, The Minnesota Beautician and Photographer Who Went to War: A Detailed Reference and Guidebook for Genealogy Research, released in 2020.
Her uncle, Alfred Payton, born and raised in Wayzata, Minn., met Manuella “Monnie” Palmatier from Osakis, Minn., while they were both stationed in Ohio during World War II. He was a Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy and she was a government clerk. Payton served his country in four different ways throughout his lifetime. As a teenager, he was part of the Civil Conservation Corps in northern Minnesota near Isabella. When he turned 18, he worked as a cook aboard the SS Arizona, his favorite vessel, a model of which adorned his desk for years. When World War II began, he enlisted and served on several ships throughout the Pacific War era. When the war ended, he joined the Ready Reserve until retiring in 1955.
In her book, Cargill chronicles her uncle and aunt’s relationship during their military careers in a fact-based narrative. This approach is both easy to follow and engaging for the reader. Cargill enhances the accounts with authentic photographs, letters, and excerpts from military paperwork. She described it as an “archaeological dig” and consulted veterans to help fill gaps in the narrative. Through her research, she allowed “the story to come out on its own, letting the data lead the final result.” Cargill received the 2021 Minnesota History Award for this publication, and says that it’s designed to be easily utilized as a textbook. The Minnesota Beautician and the Photographer Who Went to War can be found at The Art Dock in Duluth.
Family military service for Cargill’s immediate relatives includes five uncles serving in World War II, several cousins in the Korean and Vietnam wars, and a brother serving with the U.S. Army Intelligence. One cousin is MIA, and she prominently wears a POW/MIA pin with the hope he will be found. Her passion and training in genealogy also led her to discover a family connection to the Revolutionary War. Her four-time great-grandfather served in 1733 after coming from Germany and settling in Pennsylvania. With confirmed facts, Cargill was eligible to join the Daughters of the American Revolution, and did so this past April. The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are direct descendants from a soldier of the revolutionary period aiding in the United States’ independence. The nonprofit organization promotes education and patriotism with a motto of “God, Home, and Country.”
Cargill, a Duluth resident since 1993, is now retired from the College of St. Scholastica, where she taught anthropology. Her additional books include Letters From Lucia: A Young Woman’s Travels as World War II Looms and Waiting For the Big One: An Ethnography of Rural Southern Fire Fighters. She welcomes comments and questions inspired by genealogy and military history, as well as input about her publications. You can email Cargill at: kmcargill6@gmail.com.
