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.

For this month’s episode of the Archive Dive, we search for retooled school buildings in Superior.

Many former schools have found a new life after the final bell. Some are apartments. Others are a church, a business center or something else. We dive into ages, dates and histories. When were they built? How long did they last? What are they now?

Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek as they take us on a verbal tour neighborhood by neighborhood, discussing such schools as Itasca, St. Anthony and Margaret, Benjamin Franklin, Lincoln, East, St. Francis, St. Adalbert, St. Louis, Carpenter, MaCaskill 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.

In this month’s episode of Archive Dive, we explore the story of the World War II veteran for whom the Blatnik Bridge was named for. Thousands of motorists cross the bridge daily, yet many may not know about the man himself.

As a Minnesota congressman, Chisholm native John Blatnik was instrumental in getting the bridge between Duluth and Superior built. As a captain and paratrooper with the U.S. Army Air Force. Blatnik spent eight months working behind enemy lines in Yugoslavia. The work included setting up an escape system for downed American airmen. One of them was a Duluth man: Swante Norlund.

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 in Superior, as they discuss the life of Blatnik.

You can find photos for this episode at superiortelegram.com. You can also find additional episodes here.

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.

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 mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.

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 mlockwood@superiortelegram.com.