In this month’s episode of Archive Dive, our focus is on Superior Senior High School (now Superior High School), which brought students from the city's East and Central high schools together in 1965.

The school, which cost $4.5 million, was dedicated on Sept. 12, 1965. It had room for 1,800 students, two pools, a language laboratory, a strict dress code for girls, and a unique circle structure that defined the school for generations. The baby boom generation students attended class in three shifts.

In this episode, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek as they dive into the stories and history of how the school came to be, as well as some of the changes and challenges, especially with a large student population.

Meronek's family was filled with East graduates until she was the first to graduate from the new “space-age“ school.

“I had a good education,” Meronek said. “I will never ever slight that if there had been fewer people there, it probably would have been a little more enjoyable. But, I'm glad that I went to Superior High School because I met people from all over town, and in those days, you did not fraternize outside your neighborhood.”

A unique trait for decades was the circle structure. Architects felt it was more efficient, both with cost and space, as it allowed them to make the corridors shorter and eliminate a stairway.

Meronek remembers one issue in particular that the circle created.

“My problem was that everything looked alike. So you could be there three years and you still didn't know where you were going. Luckily I had a clock right by my locker, so I could always find it,” she said.

Topics also discussed in this episode include Wisconsin’s legislation in 1959 that affected school districts, the impact of Superior Cathedral’s closure in 1969, multiple strikes in the same school year, how the shift structure worked, why the school didn’t have an auditorium, rules on boys' hair length, a homecoming king who went on to become a professional athlete, speculation on why ‘senior’ was dropped from the name, and much more.

Reconstruction of Superior High School, which eliminated the circle, was completed in 2019.

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 mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.

For this month's episode of Archive Dive, we look back at how Superior celebrated the end of World War II.

There was a marked difference in the way the city recognized VE (Victory in Europe) Day in May 1945 and the more celebratory affair in August when VJ (Victory over Japan) Day was announced. In May, churches opened and work in the shipyards continued. The day was filled with prayer and resolve to work harder. The August announcement triggered a day of wild celebration. The only restaurants that remained open ran out of food and Tower Avenue was covered with paper.

In this episode, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by Teddie Meronek, a historian and retired librarian, and Briana Fiandt, curator of collections for the Richard I. Bong Veterans Memorial Center, as they dive into the history and discuss the impact of the war locally.

Besides stories of celebration, other topics mentioned in the episode include prisoners of war from Superior returning, POW camps in Wisconsin, what happened to some of the shipyards, women working in the shipyards, Richard Bong's death, plans for a new grain elevator, early discussion of what eventually became the Blatnik Bridge, what life was like in 1945, a unique advertisement from Roth’s department store, and more.

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 mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.

For this month’s episode of Archive Dive, we examine the children's homes of Superior.

Their history traces back to the Pattison brothers. The city's most recognizable children's home is Fairlawn Mansion, which was built by Martin Pattison.

Following Martin's death, his wife Grace gifted the mansion to the Children's Home and Refuge Association, which had formed in the early 1900s. It served as a children's home for 42 years.

The family home of Martin’s brother, William Pattison, was also used to care for orphans. It would eventually grow into St. Joseph's Children’s Home (also known as St. Joseph's Orphan Home).

In this episode, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek as they dive into the stories and histories of these homes, which helped children who had a troubled home life or who had lost their parents.

There were children’s homes in the city prior to St. Joseph’s and the Superior Children’s Home and Refuge Association, but they all eventually morphed into those two entities. Fairlawn closed as a children’s home in 1962 and St. Joseph’s closed as a the following year.

Why were children’s homes no longer needed?

“Part of it was the population of the children's home,” said Meronek. “They were decreasing and these were both two huge buildings. The other thing was that the state of Wisconsin stepped in and had rules now that they couldn't take in children of a certain age. They needed to be in a foster home and they were really encouraging fostering for kids rather than putting them in these homes, so that was why they ended up closing.”

Lockwood and Meronek also discuss the “smaller Fairlawn,” how the Pattison family became involved with helping area youth, how funding was raised, the characteristics of the children’s chapel at St. Joseph’s, how the historic Fairlawn Mansion was saved, what happened to the St. Joseph’s building, and more.

New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth Media Group 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 mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.