history mystery solved!

An alert reader sent us his discovery after seeing this photo printed in the Dec. 3 issue of the Pine Knot News. Sean Sundquist said he recognized it as a shot of what was known as the Outlaw Bridge over the Pigeon River in far northeastern Minnesota, a forerunner to the U.S.-Canada connection on Highway 61 near Grand Portage. A wooden bridge was erected by Rotary members from the area in 1917 in a rather remote area northwest and inland from the current highway along Lake Superior. A hotel went up (see sign in photo) on the Canadian side in 1923, so this picture is likely taken from the U.S. side looking into the Canada wilderness. The bridge was replaced in 1930 with a steel version, so this picture was taken sometime in the mid-1920s. "The flags in the picture look like the Ontario flag, with the small Union Jack in the upper corner," Sundquist said. Carol Klitzke, director of the Carlton County Historical Society, said she's curious about how the photo ended up in the collection there. "I wonder who might like to have the photo, since it doesn't fit in our collection," she said.