Those of us who drive west on U.S. Highway 2 have been watching The Big Fish deteriorate for years now.
You know it if you've seen it: It's a fish-shaped "building" in Bena, Minn., that used to be a cafe, and it was listed in May as one of the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota's 10 Most Endangered Historic Places.
Good news: Former Bena resident Gary Kirt has donated $10,000 to help fix it up, and owners Paul and Linda Reimer are rehabilitating the roadside attraction.
The 65-foot-long Big Fish was built in 1958 as an ice cream and hamburger stand, according to the Preservation Alliance.
"We're putting brand new teeth in it and everything," Paul Reimer told the Bemidji Pioneer.
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Reimers said they are remodeling the Big Fish Supper Club next door to the Big Fish, and both attractions should be open before winter.
Just walk around
The University of Wisconsin-Superior's First Nations Studies Center will host the 17th annual Fall Walk-Around at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Pattison State Park.
The public is invited to the free event that ushers in the fall season. The event will start with a ceremony and include an optional walk around the park's lake. A chili lunch will be held in the pavilion of the Nature Center to close the day.
Pattison State Park is south of Superior on Wisconsin Highway 35. For more information, contact the First Nations Studies Center at (715)
394-8358.
Another way to deal with a bobcat
A Duluth resident who read our stories this week about a Hermantown man's battle with a bobcat sent us a clipping from a 1916 issue of the Duluth Herald describing how a Lakeside man dealt with a bobcat in his neighborhood.
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The copy reads, in part, "Attacked by a large wildcat while walking through his own back yard at 4021 Cooke Street, Lakeside ... Robert Rasmussen fought off the beast, first with a small ax and later with a large club. Finally, the cat ran into a partially built house next to Rasmussen's and was killed by a well-directed blow from the club, which broke its back.
"'I'll teach 'em to steal my fish," Rasmussen said in a matter-of-fact tone."
So that's how they did it in 1916. We here at the Eh? desk are glad last week's story ended with the bobcat running into the woods.
See the 1916 clipping on Sam Cook's blog at duluth
newstribune.com. Click on the blogs tab.
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