DULUTH.com Sept/Oct 2018

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CONTRIBUTORS

Clint Austin

David Ballard Photography

Tony Bennett

Dave Boe

Teri Cadeau

Lisa Kaczke

Dennis Kempton

Bob King

Steve Kuchera

Melinda Lavine

Christa Lawler

Kathleen Murphy

Mark Nicklawske

Kevin Ott

Tyler Schank

Alison Stucke

to our readers

This issue brings to mind how Duluth has a lot of nice views. The Trampled by Turtles concert at Bayfront this summer had a magical quality, the damp air creating fog in front of the stage lights, ore boat passing in the background. The view from above is nice, too — but maybe not for the faint of heart. Paramotoring takes those with the courage to unbelievable heights. Va Bene Caffe takes advantage of its view, with diners able to keep an eye on the big lake. In West Duluth, the iconic Denfeld High School clock tower keeps watch over the neighborhood. And downtown, pedestrians can choose to keep to the street, or kick it up a notch with a hike through the elevated skywalk system. We hope you’ll enjoy taking it all in.

ON THE COVER: Whitney Horky of Duluth adjusts her headset before paramotoring at the Richard I. Bong Airport in Superior on June 27. Pictured here, she is silhouetted against a thunderhead while in the air.

CLINT AUSTIN / DULUTH NEWS TRIBUNE

YOU LIKE ‘CODEINE’ TRAMPLED BY TURTLES FANS DISHED ON THEIR FAVORITES

BY CHRISTA LAWLER

PHOTOS BY CLINT AUSTIN

Codeine, codeine, it’s the nicest thing you’ve … heard. The News Tribune informally polled strangers, friends, colleagues and Twitter-heads to determine Trampled By Turtles’ best song before the band played a homecoming show at Bayfront Festival Park in early July.

“Codeine,” from Trampled’s 2005 album “Blue Sky and the Devil,” is seemingly the fan-favorite.

It got a nod from local musicians. It’s not just Ryan Nelson’s favorite, it’s also the first song he heard by the band — back in the MySpace era.

“That was how I got a chance to listen to local bands as I was slowly getting my skateboard-shoe clad foot in the door,” said Nelson, The Farsights’ drummer.

It’s in Gabriel Douglas’ top picks, too. The 4onthefloor founder offered up his rankings via Twitter: “Midnight on the

Interstate,” followed by “Codeine,” followed by “The Middle,” followed by “The Good Land.”

Speaking of “The Middle” — that’s how Trampled By Turtles opened its sold-out show on a warm-warm Saturday night. The concert was the band’s first mega-event back at its point of origin. They headlined a bill that included Charlie Parr, Bad Bad Hats, The Last Revel, Superior Siren and Teague Alexy Band.

The park was packed, an ore boat did that pass-behindthe-stage thing, and the beer tent served Trampled Golden Ale, a collaboration between the band and Bent Paddle Brewing. And, through some twist of fate, there wasn’t a mosquito in sight at the Harborside venue where the band had been playing a regularly-scheduled summer show before taking a break from touring together.

The 728-foot-long Joseph L. Block sails behind the stage at Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth as Trampled by Turtles performs to a sold-out crowd on July 7.

DULUTH HEARTS DULUTH

As for other fan-favs: Buy local.

Local music fan-pilot-writer-outdoors enthusiast Eric Chandler said he loves all the songs that mention Duluth, including “Duluth.”

“But the song that gets me is ‘Bloodshot Eyes,’” he said. “Perfectly captures how lost and lonely you can feel sometimes. The last lines just slay me every single time: ‘And lie on the earth / for better or worse / let it swallow you whole.’ Every damn time. Even while I was typing it.”

But you don’t have to be living in the 218 to love a Duluth reference. Minneapolis journalist Michael Russo of The Athletic and co-host of “The Russo-Souhan Show” picked “Winners.”

“It depicts Duluth perfectly and beautifully at the end,” Russo said.

He’s talking about the lines “Pretty little city built on the hillside / music in the bars and fire in the sky / We went to the beach and it was covered in ice / And I used to call it home.”

It’s not just that.

“He also lets me use it at the end of my podcasts,” Russo added, referring to singer-songwriter Dave Simonett.

No surprise. The frontman leans sporty.

THOSE WORDS, THO

Speaking of lyrics. Trampled-ites are word-minded folk. Beverly Godfrey, this reporter’s editor, picks “Alone.” She likes the way it starts simply, then builds on itself. It reminds her of how often she will feel one emotion, only to have it shift into another. The lyrics, she said, are sparse, but there is a lot of meaning packed into it.

“Something little can happen that snowballs, layers of complicated wants, needs, thoughts and feelings piling up,” she said. “When that happens, I think it’s good to strip everything down, figure out what’s really important. That’s what I see in this song, a message that’s sad but undeniably true, reminding us to hold on to the people we love.”

For Brooks Johnson, an investigative reporter at the News Tribune, it’s “Victory.”

“Simple melody and soaring fiddle work that parts the clouds, with some help from lines like, ‘Your light in the windowpane said come on in,’” he said.

Jimmy Gilligan of Duluth said the band’s best line of all time is in the lesser known song “Like An Empty House”: “Don’t you tell me honey that your heart is mine / Just tell me how to make it last.”

For Gilligan, Trampled By Turtles plays music that is best enjoyed on the way to an adventure — especially this song. He’s into Erik Berry’s “smooth mandolin stylings” and how the lyrics aren’t all sunshine and rainbows, but also the real and the ugly, he said.

“And (Simonett) sings them so beautifully,” Gilligan said. “I think this is one of the best examples of their solemn, ethereal sound that’s just so catchy.”

Dave Simonett performs with Trampled by Turtles on July 7 in Duluth.

OR NO LYRICS

For as many people who have found lyrics that resonate, Mike Novitzki of The Local Current’s Duluth chapter, likes one with no words at all: “Sounds Like a Movie,” from Palomino.

“(It) starts out insanely fast and accelerates to a simply unfathomable speed,” he said. “They’ve played it at every show I’ve been to since the release of that album in 2010. It usually comes at about the halfway point of the performance, really showcases each individual member’s mastery of their craft, and signifies to the crowd that playtime is over and s––t is about to get real.

“Most people think it’s just an improvisational breakdown and forget it’s an actual song, but it really kicks the evening into high gear.”

UNDER COVER

While they have plenty of original material to mine, it can’t be ignored that Trampled can kill a cover — whether it’s

the Pixies’ “Where is My Mind” or Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees” or some Grateful Dead.

The band went live on Facebook with a Tom Petty cover the day after his death. No preamble, just the cracking-open of cans and then they filed into the room and began playing “Wildflowers” — which later ended up on a limited edition album and is now available for streaming.

It’s Breanne Tepler’s current pick.

“It was what so many of us needed in those early stages of grief,” said Tepler, who fronts Breanne Marie and the Front Porch Sinners. “I could listen to that on repeat all day.”

It’s the memory of a past concert that sticks with Duluthian Joel Wuorio.

“When they closed with ‘Whiskey’ at Bayfront a few years ago is still my all-time favorite live music experience,” he said via Twitter. v

Christa Lawler is a features reporter, Clint Austin a photographer, for the Duluth News Tribune.

Banjo player Dave Carroll plays with Trampled by Turtles on July 7 in Duluth.

THE BUZZ FROM ABOVE

PARAMOTOR PILOTS TAKE IN UNIQUE VIEWS FROM TINIEST OF AIRCRAFT

BY CHRISTA LAWLER

PHOTOS BY CLINT AUSTIN

The Aerial Lift Bridge, when seen from directly above, is an intimidating structure. The usual ground-view doesn’t adequately show off its height and mass and the way it is put together, according to Whitney Horky, who has looked down from the seat of her paramotor to see the bridge directly beneath her dangling feet.

(Though, when flying, Horky refers to her feet as “landing gear.”)

“It’s incredible how humans on earth get used to a certain view,” she said.

Horky and her boyfriend, James Jensen, are among a relatively small group of adventurers taking in the vistas from hundreds of feet above the ground — motorized paragliders harnessed on their backs. He has been at it for more than a year; she started a few months ago, unable to sit idly by and watch him.

“I wasn’t going to stay on the ground long,” she said.

A paramotor looks like a relic from early aviation, falling somewhere between a pair of wings strapped to a back and a flying machine. A chair, similar to a car seat, is strapped to a protective cage and a propeller. There is a motor, fuel tank and

20-plus-foot canopy.

A pilot wears the 50-pound gear like a backpack and is strapped into the seat.

Horky and Jensen jokingly refer to it as flying with a glorified lawn mower and a bedsheet.

A pilot starts out running, described as a short-strided “turkey-hopping,” and continues the motion into the sky, until about 15-20 feet above ground — in case the flight doesn’t take.

“You want to be able to have your landing gear down,” Horky said.

Accidents happen, but typically when the pilot is on the ground, according to Doug Buhr of Twin Ports Powered Paragliding. Because of the canopy, mid-flight engine loss isn’t a disaster.

“It’s the most fun form of aviation there is,” said Buhr, who said he has been flying anything he can since the 1990s. “It’s like you’re flying your lawn chair.”

He estimated that there are about 600 people actively flying in the United States. The niche sport is, at this point, unregulated.

Doug Buhr of Poplar flies while paramotoring at the Richard I. Bong Airport in Superior on June 27.

TAKING FLIGHT

Both Horky and Jensen are adventurers. His resume includes two careers, both extreme enough to be featured as televised reality series. He has jumped out of airplanes and recently tried to paddle the Mississippi River, but was thwarted when a storm took his canoe. He paramotored through the winter and once buzzed by a bystander who wanted a hi-five.

Horky, 31, has skydived, enjoys camping and has traveled the world alone. This is the first extreme sport she has invested in, she said.

Within the relationship, he is the wild one and she is the voice of reason. Her go-to in suspect weather: You never have to fly.

Jensen, who started paramotoring last summer, is selftaught. He used to wonder what the ground looked like from the air, he said, then drones came along. He thought that was good enough until he saw a video of a paramotorer in Dubai.

For his first flight, Jensen, 30, scouted out a private airstrip and got approval from its owner. On the big day, he knocked

on the property owner’s door and no one was home. No biggie.

“Send it,” Jensen recalled thinking.

That inaugural flight, he said, was like experiencing the first drop on a roller coaster — for 10 minutes straight.

Horky opted for a flying mentor, Buhr, and began the early training phases this past winter. In the spring, she began working with the canopy, referred to as a wing.

“Once you grasp that, you throw an engine on your back and go for it,” she said.

Horky got her groove during a fly-in — a meetup with other enthusiasts.

“It’s amazing,” she said. “There aren’t a lot of descriptive words for it. It’s very freeing. You pretty much always have a smile on your face.”

They try to get out a couple times a week — though recently managed to hit five-out-of-six days — just before sundown.

“It’s like really good sex,” Jensen said. “You forget how good it is, then you have it.”

Doug Buhr of Poplar flies while paramotoring at the Richard I. Bong Airport in Superior on June 27.

James Jensen of Duluth turns in the sky while paramotoring.

James Jensen of Duluth checks the lines on his wing before paramotoring at the Richard I. Bong Airport in Superior on June 27.

THROWING WINGS TO THE WIND

The couple met up with Buhr at the Richard I. Bong Airport in Superior in the early evening in late June. The temperature was in the low 80s, the wind on the brink of too windy. The crew waited it out. Waiting is so common in the sport that it has its own term: parawaiting.

After more than an hour, Jensen decided to throw caution — and his wing — to the wind.

“I’m going to go cool down,” he announced.

Jensen fired up his motor, the whir consistent with a lawn mower, ran about 20 yards and ascended into the air — first buzzing close over the heads of his friends. Big grin. The headwind slowed him; the tailwind sent him sailing back beyond

his starting point.

Later, closer to sunset when the wind had died down, Horky, Buhr and Jensen all got a chance to fly. A News Tribune photographer reported that a passing train whistled at Jensen, and his responding whoop could be heard from the ground.

It’s really a sport for anyone, Buhr said. It isn’t costprohibitive — gear is about the same as a decent motorcycle. A good judge of whether it’s a match, according to Horky:

“YouTube paramotoring,” she said. “That’s a great place to start. Get out and see it in person. It’ll either put you in love with it or scare you away.”

Christa Lawler is a features reporter, Clint Austin a photographer, for the Duluth News Tribune.

Whitney Horky of Duluth prepares her canopy.

It’s amazing. There aren’t a lot of descriptive words for it. It’s very freeing. You pretty much always have a smile on your face.

YOUTHS, MENTORS MAKING A DIFFERENCE

KIDS PLUS YOUTH LEADERSHIP ACADEMY HELPS HARBOR HOUSE CRISIS CENTER

BY TONY BENNETT

PHOTOS BY DAVID BALLARD PHOTOGRAPHY

Tracy Bennett and Luke Wohlwend in front of a transitional house in Superior run by Harbor House.

Since the early 1990s, the Northland Foundation’s Kids Plus Program has been committed to the idea of improving the lives of young people across the region through a number of initiatives. Their Kids Plus Youth Leadership Academy, a program for ninth-graders that pairs them with adult mentors to plan and execute communityservice projects, is one that has already proven successful in its mission to educate youths about what it takes to make a difference.

Recently, the Kids Plus Youth Leadership Academy took on a service project centered around the Harbor House Crisis Center in which mentors and mentees aimed to make the Harbor House’s Emergency Shelter and their Transitional Living Center more welcoming through the installation of things like fire pits and patios, repairs to fencing, fresh coats of paint, and so on. It’s a direct way to show kids how a little hard work and smart planning can directly lead to impactful, demonstrable improvements in the lives of people who might be in need of just that.

Tracy Bennett is a mentor with the Kids Plus Youth Leadership Academy, and has been for the better part of a decade. The Superior resident is a court reporter who, at the time she got involved, was just looking for a way to be a positive force and lend a hand to others.

“I had always wanted to give back to my community,” Bennett said, “to try to be involved in as many ways as I could. A family member of mine saw the link where they were looking for mentors. I liked the program, because you just show up and guide the kids. It’s not like you have to come up with activities. I also liked that it takes kids from Superior and Duluth. Bridging the two communities interested me.”

Bennett said each Youth Leadership Academy service projects begins at the start of the school year. Students come together as a group to learn skills.

“It’s intriguing to me to see the difference from the beginning of the year,” she said. “They really change in a lot of ways between September and May.”

Bennett said she sees students finding opportunity through the program even though they might not have been involved in many school activities.

“They’re not, like, National Honor Society students, or the president of the class, or the captain of the football team,” Bennett said. “It’s not necessarily those kids. It’s just great, the variety of personalities that get into the program and the changes that they make throughout the year.”

Bennett said every group is different, but they’re united in a desire to help.

“They want to help people, or they want to help animals, or they want to make the community a greener place,” she said.

Bennett has been a mentor for projects that benefited Animal Allies, St. Ann’s, Hartley Nature Center, and more, including the recent one at Harbor House.

“I thought the transitional-housing one was really good,” Bennett said. “Most of the kids have a parent who drops them

off, and they know where their next meal is. The people in the house that they worked on, it wasn’t necessarily like that (for them). It was good for them to see how good they have it, and how different it could be but for one event. This year was a good year, I thought. They did the shelter house and the transitional house.”

Luke Wohlwend is a mentor in the program, as well, but he has a unique perspective on it, as he is a former youth participant. He credits the program with helping him develop as a young man in myriad ways, and he said that it continues to enrich him as an adult.

“This is my sixth year as a mentor,” Wohlwend said. He has kept at it as an undergrad and during medical school. “When I was a kid, I wasn’t necessarily super confident. But they saw something in me I didn’t see in myself. They always pushed me and gave me opportunities and encouraged me.” Today, Wohlwend participates in the program from the other side of the fence. “As a mentor, I thought it would be empowering to continue to bring that forward with youth, today,” he said.

“These are skills that, as a ninth-grader, you don’t learn in school,” Wohlwend said of the program’s benefits. “They don’t teach you to contact organizations, to write a press release, to try and raise money. Those are life skills that should be taught, that this program does a great job showing you how to do.”

Tracy Bennett agreed. “They’re our future,” she said of the youths in the program. “Ninth-graders are going to eventually be the leaders of our country and our world, and I just think that guiding them to be part of the community, to interact with people from other communities not like themselves, is really important for future leaders.”

Tony Bennett is a Duluth freelance writer.

Tracy Bennett and Luke Wohlwend are mentors for Harbor House in Superior.

LOVING THE LIFE

COMPETITION BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER THROUGH THEIR PASSION FOR DOGS

BY DAVE BOE

Centuries ago, living “a dog’s life” was a negative thing, but today, things are looking up for our canine companions.

Dogs are loved and nurtured by their owners, as evidenced at the All Breed Dog Show at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center, July 12-15. Organized by the Duluth Kennel Club, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary, the show included about 3,000 canines that filled Pioneer Hall, vying in different awards, including Groups, Sporting Group, Hound Group, Herding Group and Working Group, and, the top prize, “Best in Show.”

The breeds went from A to Y (no Z): Afghans, boxers, chows, English setters, German shepherds, Irish setters, poodles, silky terriers, Yorkshire terriers and many more.

Eight judges and hundreds of competitors participated in the event over four days. That included Erica Brookshire, plus her mom and daughter, all from St. Cloud. Brookshire brought a pair of English springer spaniels to show. She said she remembers having dogs in her life since she was a child.

“It was really my mom who got the family started in the hobby of breeding and competing our pets,” she said.

She sparked the interest in her family members.

“I brought in my daughter, Riley, when she got older,” she said. “So, we’re fourth-generation owners, breeders and competitors.”

The work means early morning hours, late evenings and long miles. Brookshire said they generally travel to Minnesota events, but also attend some Midwest shows, and have participated in the nationally known Westminster Kennel Club Show in New York.

“You do it for the love of the hobby,” Brookshire said. “Getting the dogs ready, grooming them, preparing them, then getting out into the show. Also making great friends with other owners. Socializing. We look for each other.”

Show chairman Michael Milton organized and ran the event. He also is the kennel club’s president. Like Brookshire, Milton has been involved with dogs most of his life, and off-and-on professionally for 30 years, mainly boarding and grooming. About six years ago, he joined the kennel club, which has about 60 members, and became president last November.

Aubrey Wagner holds a Whippet Piper dog while judge Gail Strack looks over the muscle tone of the dog during the Duluth Kennel Club Dog Show at Pioneer Hall.

PHOTOS BY DAVID BALLARD PHOTOGRAPHY

“We all have one thing common: We’re serious about the caring for, breeding, the participation, and the quality of the shows,” Milton said. “We also would like to see more youth participation. It’s nice to see the kids involved. They’re the future.”

Running the show means making sure every logistical, administrative, medical and entrepreneurial cog is moving. Helping Milton are other members of the kennel club and community. Still, Milton is rarely in one spot long.

“I can’t get from one side of the hall without running into people who want to talk,” Milton said. “When I first came to these events, I knew a few people. Now it’s in the hundreds. It’s turned (into) a huge social network that goes beyond the shows.”

In some ways, Milton said, the owners are a breed of their own, sharing that common bond with dogs.

“I do love ‘the dog’s’ life,” he said. “It wouldn’t be the same without them.”

Dave Boe is a Duluth freelance writer.

Erica Brookshire and her daughter Riley of St. Cloud, Minn., groom Emrys, a English Springer Spaniel at the Duluth Kennel Club Dog Show at Pioneer Hall. Brookshire has attended the Duluth Kennel Dog Show since she was a young girl, and her daughter Riley is a fourth-generation participant in showing dogs.

Marissa Shepherd of Minneapolis keeps her eyes on the judge while she stills Tim, an English Cocker, while in the judging ring.

PLATED: PASTA PERFECTION

VA BENE CAFFE TAKES ADVANTAGE OF INTIMATE LAKESIDE SETTING

BY DENNIS KEMPTON

Italian-American restaurant Va Bene Caffe anchors the downtown cultural corridor on East Superior Street with its bright facade, tall windows and warm color palette, set in front of the backdrop of Lake Superior.

It’s an intimate space — small enough to be romantic on a beautiful summer night in the main dining room or on the enclosed patio with spectacular views of the lake. It’s also bright and airy enough to host a party for some of your best friends.

The Italian-American cuisine we’ve come to love in the United States since the 1950s is based largely on the culinary history and recipes of southern Italian immigrants. They’ve adapted traditional recipes for the palate of Americans to great success. Va Bene, under the ownership of Jim and Mary Kay Berarducci, is a restaurant definitely in that tradition.

The menu is large, with just over 50 dishes encompassing antipasti, soups and salads, pasta, beef and fish, pizzas and paninis. The antipasti are a fresh and modern sampling of traditional pairings, including one of my favorites, fresh pear and Pecorino slices with extra virgin olive oil and fresh cracked black pepper.

Diners watch as a ship passes by in Lake Superior while dining at Va Bene Caffe in Duluth.

PHOTOS BY CLINT AUSTIN / DULUTH NEWS TRIBUNE

A dining area at Va Bene Caffe in Duluth offers an outdoor feel with protection from the elements.

Salsiccia e Panna (sausage and cream) is one of my favorite dishes in Italian cuisine. I have to say, the pasta prepared at Va Bene is perfectly made. It’s delightfully chewy with perfect texture and resistance. This dish is served rightfully with conchiglie rigate, more commonly known as shells. There’s a pasta for every sauce out there, and the conchiglie are delightful for catching the rich cream and tomato sauce. The sausage was cooked well. I would have loved more herbs, but this dish was one I kept savoring as comfort food, and it’s a generous portion. The restaurant prepares its own sauces, including this dish’s gorgonzola cream sauce.

The Arrabiata al Padre Ricardo is a great representation of the cross currents of Italian pasta dishes in genuine ItalianAmerican cuisine. I love that it’s a spicy sauce — Arrabiata literally means angry. That this sauce is made with the meaty and highly desirable San Marzano tomato tells you immediately that this is a hearty and robustly flavored dish. And it’s served with penne, very traditional for the sauce. Again, perfectly cooked pasta. Hands down. The spice is what you have to watch out for. It’s got a full-throated kick, so be very specific about your comfort level when you order.

The dining room at Va Bene Caffe in Duluth features bright colors and natural light.

Arrabiata al Padre Ricardo at Va Bene Caffe in Duluth.

On service, this dish was far too spicy for me, and I have a high tolerance. It was so spicy that it made appreciating the other flavors of the sauce difficult. When the server was asked for a new serving because of the spice, she suggested the kitchen could just add more sauce to mute the spice. However, a new dish was ultimately prepared, and the second service was much more reasonable. It’s a perfect sauce for the flavorful sausage and penne — at the right temperature.

But, Italian cuisine is more than pasta. On to the Seared Scallops with Polenta. The scallops were tender and textured nicely. I wanted more of the light orange glaze, as it was probably a bit too light. The only flaw in this dish was the polenta, which should be creamy. This polenta was a beautiful color for the dish, but it flaked on my fork, breaking off onto the plate instead of being part of the sensory delight of scooping up a scallop in a heaping, creamy bite with the polenta.

The Berarduccis have created a beautiful restaurant in a gorgeous location. With house-made desserts deliciously on display and with the front of the house filled with those boutique foodie items that every tourist loves to find, Va Bene is as near a village-like southern Italian-American restaurant as you can find for miles and miles.

With the serving staff having a bit more food culture knowledge, polished and ready to understand and meet the standards the restaurant so aspires to achieve, dining with the one you love or with friends on a weekend getaway up to the Zenith City would be as close to being in Italy on the coast as you could hope to find in these parts.

Dennis Kempton writes food and entertainment reviews for the News Tribune.

Salsiccia e Panna at Va Bene Caffe in Duluth.

Scallops and Polenta at Va Bene Caffe in Duluth.

TWIN PORTS BIKERS RIDE WITH JESUS

SEED OF ABRAHAM MOTORCYCLE CLUB

TAKES ITS MINISTRY TO THE STREETS

BY MARK NICKLAWSKE

Tim “Rocket” Folsted loved to ride motorcycles for a long time and always enjoyed sharing the experience with others but he felt more could be done with two wheels and a leather jacket.

Then he learned about Twin Ports chapter of the faithbased Seed of Abraham Motorcycle Club.

While attending Hillside Community Church in downtown Duluth, Folsted met “the biggest cheerleader this club ever had” and saw how the born-again community used motorcycle fellowship to reach people in need.

“To me it was a passion for First Street, a passion for the people that live there. The homeless. The impoverished,” he said. “I just thought: ‘Man we can make a difference.’ The church makes a difference, but if we can get out and continue to do this and show Christ’s love for the marginalized and the people Jesus hung out with, I think it would be a really good thing.”

After meeting members and working through the strict screening process in 2011, Folsted knew the Seed of Abraham

Motorcycle Club was authentic and real. He joined the group and now serves as its national president. The commitment is emphasized with a prominent forearm tattoo.

“It’s tattooed on my heart,” he said. “I just want to do this thing right.”

The Seed of Abraham Motorcycle Club was founded in Massachusetts in 1992 and has chapters all over the United States. The Lake Superior Chapter was established in 2006 by Beth Yeshua Twin Ports Rabbi Tim Anderson. The all-male motorcycle club serves born-again riders through evangelism, fellowship and personal edification.

Around Duluth, The Seed of Abraham is headquartered and supports activities at The Encounter, a community center, concert venue and skate park for teens on First Street. It serves hot meals at the Union Gospel Mission and raises money for people battling addiction at the Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge. The group provides security at concerts and summer events and rings Salvation Army bells over the holidays.

Gary Kestikalo (Sisu), a member of the Seed of Abraham Motorcycle Club, prays with Byron McLean and his wife, Karen, in downtown Duluth before the club took off for an evening ride. The McCleans are homeless and stopped to talk to the members of the club while they waited to start riding. Photos by David Ballard Photography

The club also works to spread the message of God in difficult places — like among other riders.

Gary “Sisu” Keskitalo found the Seed of Abraham Motorcycle Club during a bike blessing at The Vineyard Church in Duluth. He said the group mixes with riders from all walks of life, which provides a unique ministry opportunity.

“I felt the calling to go out and witness to some of these guys, try to show them the love of Christ. It’s not always easy,” Keskitalo said. “Bikers have a bad rap, and that’s one reason we fit in because we’re trying to show the communities that there are a lot of good biker people in our area.”

“We feel the calling that God can use us to approach these guys wherever they’re at,” he said. “If it’s at a bar, we’ll go to a bar. We’ll reach them wherever they are. That’s what Jesus did. We’re trying to do what he did.”

Bruce “Roadblock” Anderson, a club member since 2014, said it can be difficult to build trust in motorcycle culture. But it all starts with being honest and genuine.

“It’s a matter of showing up and getting to know people and being genuinely interested. One of the things that bikers in general are is that they are a really, really good judge of character.” he said. “I think you need to be as genuine as you can possibly be in every situation, whether it’s a comfortable situation or not.”

Good communication through technology also helps.

Club member Ben “Nanu” Mork, who co-owns a downtown Duluth clothing store, said social media helps the group reach out into the biker world and spread the word of God to everyone.

“For the longest time you would see just the negative things in the big press — which was very, very few and far between — but that’s all the general public thought about,” he said. “Now everyone is hooked into social media, and you can see all the great things that all the clubs do throughout the year and throughout the county. You’d be shocked to see how much money is raised just by motorcycle clubs for great organizations.”

Keskitalo said the first Christian bike clubs were only established 25 years ago.

“I think that’s helped change the perception of what biker people are,” he said. “Bikers, they’ve got good hearts. Maybe you’d never believe it but there are a lot of gentlemen that are big guys, rugged looking, but they’ve got good hearts.”

Caleb Black (Meatball) and Tami Boyd ride their motorcycle down Highway 210 near Carlton recently.

Gary Kestikalo (Sisu), left, Tami Boyd, and Caleb Black (Meatball), share a laugh over a break during a recent evening ride of the Seed of Abraham Motorcycle Club.

The back patch of Gary Kestikalo’s (Sisu) leather vest declares his membership in the Seed of Abraham Motorcycle Club

Members of the Seed of Abraham Motorcycle Club ride down Highway 210 over the bridge over the St. Louis River during a recent evening ride.

Gary Kestikalo (Sisu) rides his motorcycle with other members of the Seed of Abraham Motorcyle Club during a recent evening ride.

Tom Bester (Doggfather), and Stephanie Bester, right, along with Bruce Anderson, and Tim Folsted ride together with other members of the Seed of Abraham Motorcycle club near Carlton during a recent evening ride.

Bikers, they’ve got good hearts. Maybe you’d never believe it but there are a lot of gentlemen that are big guys, rugged looking, but they’ve got good hearts.

Mork said hundreds of bikers attend the annual Vineyard Church bike blessing in Duluth. The event, now 20 years old, is one of many regular events that foster a healthy bike community. “It’s been a lot of fun for us to be involved in, where you can go out and pray for a bunch of guys you wouldn’t normally see,” he said. “It’s clubs, it’s civilians, it’s men, it’s women, it’s children. Everybody showing up all under the same roof. It’s just loads of fun.”

In 2015, the Lake Superior Chapter hosted the national Seed of Abraham Motorcycle Club meeting at Encounter.

Now, members say, the club has a place at local church

events, on the gritty streets of downtown Duluth or at national events, such as the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Members are husbands, fathers and grandfather and work as carpenters, electricians, physical therapists and small business owners.

“If you can live it out and be authentic, we’re doing something that we’re called to do,” Folsted said. “We’re blessed to be able to combine our love for motorcycles with our love for Christ. That’s it in a nutshell.”

Tim Folstead (Rocket) (left) and Ben Mork (Nanu), share a laugh before they take off for a recent evening ride with the Seed of Abraham Motorcyle Club.

Mark Nicklawske is a Duluth freelance writer. He also reviews music and theater for the Duluth News Tribune.

COLLABORATION CAN BE KEY FOR DULUTH’S CRAFT BEVERAGE BOOM

BY ALISON STUCKE

PHOTOS BY DAVID BALLARD PHOTOGRAPHY

David Moreira is a man of taste. He likes to think about taste, talk about taste, experience taste and revel in taste. He mixes and matches flavors — using beer, wine, coffee, spirits, liqueurs to create unique beverages with a drop of this, an essense of that.

Moreira works at two craft beverage businesses in Duluth. He is bar manager at Duluth Coffee Co.’s Roasteria in downtown Duluth, and he is “liquid justice provider” and cocktail room manager of Vikre Distillery in Canal Park.

Moreira moved to Duluth from White Bear Lake, Minn., in 2007 to go to school at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

He graduated with a fine arts degree in printmaking. His work, which has been displayed at the Duluth Art Institute, can be seen on band posters, skateboard decks, at least one parklet.

He was originally contacted by Duluth Coffee Co. to create art to hang on the shop’s walls. When they learned that he worked for Vikre Distillery, they were intrigued by his ability to mix unique flavors and hired him to work in their Roasteria — which Moreira refers to as a “tasting room.”

The Roasteria offers beer, wine and liquor as a way to talk about coffee, according to Eric Faust, owner of Duluth Coffee Co.

Eric Faust, owner of Duluth Coffee Company, stirs fresh roasted coffee beans with his hand as they are stirred and cooled in the roaster at their downtown location.

Eric Faust, owner of Duluth Coffee Company, explains to Mary Moore and Marilyn Moore his roasting process at the Duluth Coffee Company in downtown Duluth. The two women were visiting Duluth and happened to wander by while Faust was roasting with the front door open.

David Moreira pours liquor for a caramel chameleon at Vikre Distillery in March 2017. Steve Kuchera / Duluth News Tribune

Eric Faust, owner of Duluth Coffee Company, watches freshly roasted coffee beans while they are being stirred and cooled in the roasting area of Duluth Coffee Company in downtown Duluth.

“We’re a coffee-focused company, but it’s our way to bring synergy to the craft beverage industry,” he said.

The Roasteria is the place where Duluth Coffee Co. keeps its 70-kilo, drum-style coffee roaster. It’s more than eight feet tall, and it fills the front of the room. Every Monday and Tuesday, Charlie Comnick, director of coffee operations, fills the drum with green, raw coffee beans, and roasts enough to sell and distribute for the week.

Some days, Comnick opens the garage-style door of the business, and the coffee smell fills the air for blocks.

At the other end of the room is a bar with taps pouring the product of its collaborations with local breweries and specialty cocktails house-made with fine spirits — some from Vikre Distillery. The cocktails have names like “When Palomas Cry” (Tattersall’s orange and grapefruit cremas and Copper & Kings

apple brandy, thyme and lemon) and “Misnomer” (Vikre’s boreal juniper gin, ginger, cardamom and cranberry).

By working at both Vikre and Duluth Coffee Co., Moreira represents just one of several crossovers of the craft beverage industry in the area. Bent Paddle Brewing Co. worked with Duluth Coffee Co. to make Cold Press Black Ale, and Earth Rider Brewery in Superior to make Earth Rider Duluth Coffee Pale Ale.

Moreira said that working at the Rosteria has helped him to truly appreciate coffee as a craft beverage.

“I wasn’t a coffee drinker before I worked here,” he said. “Now it’s fun to taste and explore different coffees, and to find out how dynamic coffee can be.”

Alison Stucke is a Duluth freelance writer.

The heart of good coffee is quality beans. Duluth Coffee Company gets its raw beans from countries around the world and roasts them in their location in downtown Duluth.

The roaster at Duluth Coffee Club stirs fresh roasted beans.

Charlie Comnick, Director of Coffee Operations, lounges on stacks of raw coffee beans as he takes a break during a morning of roasting at Duluth Coffee Company in downtown Duluth.

SPACE INVADERS THE

SECRETS OF DULUTH DENFELD

BY CHRISTA LAWLER

In a battle between a swimming pool and a clock tower, the architects won — though, in the lower levels of Denfeld High School there are still traces of the aborted aquatics mission. This past spring, a reporter and photographer were offered a super-size nooks and crannies look at the West Duluth-based school’s highest heights and lowest depths by an outgoing tour guide, Joe Vukelich.

The recent retiree literally wrote the book on the school. “Come Back Home: A History of Denfeld High School” is a five-chapter collection of stories, alum and old-old photographs.

Here are some fun facts about the inner workings of Denfeld High School.

NO NUKES

There is a tunnel that runs beneath the building at 4405 W. Fourth St., and it once was considered an acceptable fallout shelter. It even held pre-packaged crackers from the Civil Defense, though they’ve since been eaten recreationally.

Turns out this wouldn’t have been a great spot to wait out the bomb. They wouldn’t have been able to keep air circulating without letting the big bad wafts in.

Speaking of tunnels: According to urban legend, there is one that leads from the school to Public Schools Stadium. That’s false.

A MESSAGE FOR HUNTERS

There are hidden messages in the walls on the third floor — bas-relief images. According to Vukelich’s book, the woman with her finger to her lips is a nod to it being a place of creative breath and, potentially, a wink-wink about an on-campus time capsule; the monkey is a message of human folly; the winged griffin, in mythology, guarded a treasure chest of gold. But the gold was really sunshine. “So the architect’s secret message is to have Denfeld be the land of perpetual sunshine,” Vukelich wrote in his book.

HAUNTED OR NOT

The big question: Is the auditorium, a grand space that cost 10 percent of the $1.5 million dollar cost of the entire school construction in 1925, teeming with spirits? Shrug. There are plenty of past students and staff with anecdotal evidence: figures in the audience, boards inexplicably falling from the ceiling, a certain chilly spot on the stage.

But no one has ever wrangled a figure to the ground and ripped off its mask Scooby-Doo-style, so.

In unrelated news: plenty of biggies — literally and figuratively — have played that stage: Johnny Cash, Ed Sullivan, the Ink Spots and a circus elephant.

Speaking of beneath the school: There is an onsite sinkhole that is referred to as Lake Denfeld.

The former entrance of Denfeld High School reads “An open mind, a pure heart, an eager intellect, a brotherliness for all.” Though the design is no longer visible from outside, it can be seen in the common area just after the skylight. Tyler Schank / Duluth News Tribune

POOL V. TOWER

There is a sunken area in the lower levels of the school — in some ways a memorial to the former principal who lost the pool versus tower battle against the architects. The class of 1991 made light of it in the yearbook, noting that you can’t swim in the tower but they still like it.

Room 3101, marked Tower Entrance, is the point of access. It’s normally off limits, but as seniors near graduation, it’s onlimits. Its highest height requires scaling a narrow ladder with a steep incline. It offers a 180-degree look at West Duluth, and a looksee into yesteryear. Past students have signed the floor, the walls, the ceiling and some have lined the windows with student ID cards. The tower tours started in the mid1990s — though some have doubled back to scribble a name, including members of the class of 1964.

Christa Lawler is a features reporter for the Duluth News Tribune.

Views of West Duluth can be seen from the Denfeld High School clock tower.

Joe Vukelich explains that contrary to urban legend, the tunnel beneath Denfeld High School does not lead all the way to Public Schools Stadium.

WHAT WE’RE INTO FUN

I am spending time on my mountain bike lately exploring different areas of Duluth’s ridgeline on the Duluth Traverse. The trail gives access to forests, creeks and vistas where nature integrates within our unique urban setting. It is peak mountain bike season in Duluth. Time to grab a bike and find adventure not far from your backyard. Lester Park, Spirit Mountain and Hartley Park are all great starting points.

The nearly complete 40-mile mountain bike trail through Duluth is a joint effort between COGGS and the city of Duluth and features a single-track trail easy enough for novice mountain bikers, but it’s open to walkers, too. Be sure to visit coggs.com for more information and trail maps.

CLINT AUSTIN, Duluth News Tribune photographer

I’ve been going on a lot of road trips as I teach my 16-yearold to drive. It’s a great time of year to fill the tank and hit the road. Make a special playlist of songs, buy some snacks and look for funny things to photograph. People-watching also is allowed.

We bought fudge in Grand Marais, root beer in Finland, and a bomber hat in Ely — because winter is never far away. I also bought a candle that smells like campfires. I realized later that I basically bought a candle that smells like smoke, and that doesn’t make a lot of sense, but I still love how it smells.

(Beth’s Fudge and Gifts and the Finland Cooperative can be found on Facebook. Isle of Pines Root Beer, rootbeerlady. com; Steger Mukluks & Moccasins, Mukluks.com; Cozy Nest Candle Company, Cozynestcreations.com)

BEVERLY GODFREY, features editor

I’ve started running on the Superior Hiking Trail, specifically sections in or near West Duluth. There are parts that are so hard — I’m looking at you, 100ish log steps at a wicked incline near Spirit Mountain — that you have no choice but to stop everything and laugh, so gorgeous that you have to whoop from its highest points, and so interesting that it’s a wonder the trail isn’t more crowded. (Thank goodness it isn’t.) Trail running sort of feels like being a character in a video game and it’s a great way to think about absolutely nothing but trail running — or else you’ll take a mega-digger. Recently an entire storm happened while I was in the woods and I didn’t even know.

CHRISTA LAWLER, Duluth News Tribune reporter

Mountain bikers ride the Piedmont trails in Duluth.

PHOTO BY HANSI JOHNSON

The Finland Cooperative is easy to find at 6648 Highway 1. Beverly Godfrey / Duluth.com

Less than a mile from the start of the Superior Hiking Trail at Spirit Mountain, there is a neverending set of wooden stairs that is wonderfully impossible.

CHRISTA LAWLER / DULUTH.COM

I have been taking yoga-on-the-lake classes, hosted by Evolve, near Endion Station on weekend mornings in July. While I’m not spectacular at the yoga part, doing yoga on a Saturday morning in the grass looking out at the sun shining on Lake Superior provides a unique way to interact with the lake that provides an alternative to my usual walks along the Lakewalk. Classes like yoga on the lake or at Glensheen or Enger Park have popped up this summer — and provide good reminders to step out of the day-to-day rut and try new things outside my comfort zone.

LISA KACZKE, Duluth News Tribune reporter

I’ve been interested in podcasts for a couple of years, but now that I’ve started driving more for my job, my collection of podcasts has grown. When I’m looking for reality, I turn to “You Must Remember This” to learn more about Hollywood’s first century. When I want a laugh, I cue up “How Did This Get Made?” to revel in the enjoyment of bad movies with the show’s comedians. I’ve also found a wealth of scripted science fiction and mystery with “RABBITS,” “The Message” and “Life After.” And I’ve even found musical theater in podcast form with the short but sweet “36 Questions” and the hilariously improvised “Off Book.” It’s nice to have a variety to choose from when I drive up and down the North Shore.

TERI CADEAU, Lake County News Chronicle reporter

The Duluth area has seduced my palate once again. Love Creamery opened in June in Lincoln Park, and while I’d tried their fare before, I was happy to step into their dedicated space. There are eco-friendly tastetesting spoons and cups, and their sweets were even better than the delightful, scoop-like tiles on the wall. The salted caramel is a potent force to be reckoned with, and a clerk said it’s a Duluth favorite. Each bite is full, hitting squarely the flavors in its name, leaving you wanting more. I will be back.

First time also at Great! Lakes Candy Kitchen in Knife River. You can smell the sweet when you walk through the door. Behind the intimate and cozy candyscape, I caught a glimpse behind the scenes, where there are tables of apron-clad people hard at work. The clerk was charming, sharing a brief history of the candy shop, and each person behind the counter I asked knew their sugary go-tos. I tried four or five different treats, and the blueberry almond bark was tops. More recommendations: something with toffee and something with mint.

MELINDA LAVINE, Duluth News Tribune reporter

PH0TOS BY STEVE KUCHERA / DULUTH NEWS TRIBUNE

DULUTH RELICS

MEMORIES OF THE FLAME RUN DEEP

BY KATHLEEN MURPHY

My journey to find information on a Duluth relic began this time with a deceptively simple item: a postcard. One of the smaller postcards I remember from my childhood, about three by five inches, the kind I could buy for a quarter in the 1980s. This postcard was undated and neither addressed nor mailed, but someone wrote on the back in cursive writing: “Had a cruise on here Aug. 1969.”

On the front, a small red and white passenger boat cut through the Duluth Canal, brightly colored flags decorating the deck and what looked like over half the boat’s passengers crowded at the bow of the boat. They were probably getting ready to look up as they passed under the Aerial Lift Bridge, much as excursion passengers do today.

What caught my attention, however, was the name on the side of the boat: The S.S. Flame. This took me by surprise. I knew the Flame as a restaurant down by the harbor that closed when I was a child, but an excursion boat? Curious, I posed the question online. What I received in response was an absolute flood of memories and nostalgia. The Flame might be gone, but it obviously holds a special place in the minds of many

Duluthians. People wrote to tell me of prom dates, family reunions, watching famous players perform in the Rooster Room, and the feeling of family for those who worked there.

Jimmy and Ruth Oreck, owners of the Flame, were indeed some of the original partners in the Duluth harbor excursion business. Their restaurant had been a staple along the Duluth harbor since the early 1940s, providing an excellent view of the Aerial Lift Bridge as well as ship traffic passing under it. A bell was rung in the restaurant whenever a ship passed in front of the restaurant’s expansive glass windows, and Jimmy himself often announced the name of the ship and other statistics for the diners. Including an excursion boat in 1959 probably seemed like a natural addition to the posh, marinerthemed restaurant.

But before the elegant restaurant at the harbor, before the excursion boats and the bell, Jimmy Oreck opened a small, simple barbeque stand. It opened in 1931 and was located on London Road at Fourteenth Avenue East — where Valentini’s is located today. It wasted no time in becoming a Duluth hot spot.

A postcard of the S.S. Flame, a harbor excursion boat operated behind the Flame restaurant and precurser to today’s Vista Fleet.

PHOTOS BY KATHLEEN MURPHY

A fold-up postcard from the original Flame on London Road and 14th Ave. E., postmarked June 15, 1942 to a Pvt. Ray Flyman in Florida. Inside, the postcard reads “Duluth Minnesota, June 10. You can see we are on the move, getting ready to go fishing. Yours, Dad.”

By the end of the decade, the little stand had expanded into a full-fledged restaurant, easily identifiable by its unique Art Deco exterior and decor, the flame red rooster logo, and a large walk-in glass rotisserie where customers could watch their meats being prepared. This location burned down in 1942, prompting the Orecks to purchase and convert an old warehouse on the waterfront.

One Duluth native tells memories of hot summer nights when “our dad would forego the car and wrangle us kids onto the boat to pick up my mother, who waitressed at the Flame.” Ron Garatz, an antiques collector from Duluth who showed me items from his Flame memorabilia collection, remembers going to the Flame with his mother as a young child. “Sometimes they would let kids ring the bell,” Garatz said. “But only one ring. No more.”

Michele Pearson is one of Jimmy and Ruth Oreck’s granddaughters. “I believe I have the questionable fame of being the first person ever to run through the restaurant in my pajamas,” Pearson said. She was a young child when the original Flame closed for good in the early ’70s, but when Mickey Paulucci of Grandma’s restaurant fame re-opened the Flame in 1983, Pearson worked first at the coat check, then as a cocktail waitress. “His (Mickey’s) food tasted fabulous,” Pearson said, “but it was nothing like the old Flame. There were no longer any popovers, barbeque or fried chicken, no frog legs or char broiled steak.” She noticed that customers

seemed to miss the Art Deco motif, as well as the references to the shipping industry right outside the giant windows. “The ship’s wheel no longer sat on the stair landing,” Pearson said. “I probably heard people complain about its absence more than anything.”

The Flame closed for good in the mid-1980s. In 1988 the building with the familiar rooster logo was demolished to make way for construction of the Great Lakes Aquarium. Fortunately for all the Duluthians who remember the Flame with great nostalgia, the restaurant auctioned off everything. When I first inquired if anyone had memories or memorabilia from the Flame, countless offers came in to show me items such as dinner plates, coffee cups, old fold-out postcards and photos. Ron Garatz had a collection of dinnerware and matchbooks, one of which even advertised the Flamette, a smaller spin-off restaurant located near the terminus of Interstate 35 today. Garatz also had a special item for me to photograph that he wouldn’t divulge until I arrived.

It was worth the suspense. Garatz is the proud owner of one of two rounded, etched glass light covers that lit up the bottom of the staircase, the original flame red rooster strutting across the glass. Online searches revealed no pictures of the etched glass intact, which would be interesting to see. Anyone? Find this story on the Duluth News Tribune’s Facebook page to tell us what your favorite Flame memories are!

Kathleen Murphy is a freelance journalist who lives in Duluth.

Collector items from the Flame restaurant include a menu from the harbor location, a dinner plate and sugar bowl with the famous red rooster, and four matchbooks. Moving clockwise after the rooster on the plate, the matchbooks come from the Flame at the harbor, the re-opened 1980s Flame, the Flamette on London Road and 26th Ave. East, and the original Flame on London Road and 14th Ave. East.

One of two etched light covers from the Flame at the harbor. The cover is owned by Ron Garatz, who remembers the covers being incorporated into the staircase.

His (Mickey’s) food tasted fabulous, but it was nothing like the old Flame. There were no longer any popovers, barbeque or fried chicken, no frog legs or char broiled steak.

A menu from the Flame on the harbor, date uncertain. A small note in the top left hand corner reads: “Due to the Government Amusement Tax, there will be an additional charge of 20% after 9:30 P.M.” A full lobster dinner is advertised for $4.25, and the half fried spring chicken is advertised as being “served on a flaming sword.”

DULUTH SKYWALK

SYSTEM MARKS 40 YEARS

BY KEVIN OTT

Duluth can be a challenging place to navigate, especially during the winter. The hilly streets and extreme temperatures often make foot travel a freezing and slippery endeavor.

This is one of the reasons why the Holiday Center and Skywalk first opened in downtown Duluth in 1978, connecting the Normandy Inn to First National Bank. The goal of this skyway was to allow people to explore one of the main hubs of the city while avoiding the busy traffic of Superior Street below.

Duluth’s skywalk has been expanded several times since it was first constructed. A majority of it was built in 1979 for about $6 million. Today, it spans 3.5 miles across downtown and stretches above I-35 to the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. People can walk to many restaurants, bars and shops downtown while staying in climate-controlled comfort.

As one can likely imagine, the downtown area looked quite different 40 years ago. In the sprawling shopping district of the Holiday Center, many businesses have come and gone because of changing trends in retail. But one store has withstood the test of time, and that is Allison’s Hallmark Shop — a store that used to have the highest rent in the entire city, according to a University of Minnesota Duluth survey.

“I remember when the skywalk first opened and not being

able to see the store across the hall because of all the people,” said Sandy Cloutier, manager of Allison’s Hallmark for the past 40 years. “Times have definitely changed since then.”

Cloutier cites the growing popularity of online shopping as one of the reasons why many stores around the skywalk have eventually closed. Other areas of Duluth, as well as the entire country, have experienced this trend as brick-and-mortar stores — such as Younkers, Sears and Kmart — have closed. Hallmark stores have had their share of troubles as well.

“People used to pick up a card for any occasion and send it. It was very personal,” Cloutier said. “Now, they usually send a text and call it good.”

Kevin Ott is a Duluth freelance journalist.

Walkers in the Skywalk between 3rd and 4th Avenue West glance out the window to check on the progress of the Superior Street restoration on May 16. At right, Brad Collander, heavy equipment operator, uses an excavator to remove dirt, debris and old pipe from below street level. Photos by Bob King / Duluth News Tribune

Sandy Cloutier, manager of Allison’s Hallmark in the Holiday Mall, looks over Father’s Day cards at the store on May 16.