Listen to this: Archive Dive looks back at East and Nelson Dewey schools in Superior

Duluth News Tribune Minute

This past week, the Superior Telegram released it’s 25th episode of Archive Dive, which is a monthly history podcast where we “dive” into the archives of historic events, people and places in Superior and Douglas County.

For this month’s episode, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood and local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek explore how a federal program helped shape Superior. During the bleakest days of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Works Progress Administration, or WPA. “The New Deal agency” employed millions of job seekers, with an average salary of about $41.57 cents per month. Through public works projects like the airport, a baseball stadium and Itasca School, the program helped shape Superior’s landscape. But, it also helped preserve its history.

Maria and Teddie discuss the benefits of the program and the challenges of the times. Some of the buildings and projects remain today. The Great Depression started in 1929 and things had changed throughout the country, including in Superior.

“If you look through old newspapers, in the late 1920s, you see that Superior was booming," said Meronek. "There were all these new businesses opening up. You go and you look a couple of years later and they are all gone, so it was tough times. The WPA did not start until 1935, so there was a gap there. Four or five years where it was hard for everyone. No jobs. No money. The WPA came in and things started to change.”

You can find that episode at superiortelegram.com or wherever you also get this podcast. You can find addtional episodes here.

In case you missed last month’s episode, we are resharing it here. In January, Maria and Teddie explored the histories of East High School and Nelson Dewey School in Superior and some of their notable graduates. Enjoy!