Duluth or bust.....

The Pigeon River US/Canadian border crossing about 35 miles south-west of Fort William(now Thunder Bay) was an important part of growing up, because the closest large city to us was and still is Duluth, Minnesota(about 185 miles). My family took hundreds of motoring trips to Grand Marais, Duluth and Minneapolis/St. Paul, through the years, and even though one always told the truth about what you purchased across the line, you always felt intimidated by the border officers on either side.

The border crossing as we know it today is in a totally different spot, still on the Pigeon River but much closer to Lake Superior. The b&w photo on the left shows some great 1930's cars taken in front of the Pigeon River Hotel, and the one on the right shows some wonderful 1950's cars. In the colour picture on the right, the old Pigeon River hotel is shown on the far left of the photo, and the new Pigeon River hotel is just to the right of it. The original bridge is shown to the far right, and the actual building where you talked to the officers as you left or returned is in the center. There were stores, souvenir shops and many other buildings on both sides of the river and it was a very popular spot to go for a drive and taste some American beer like Fitgers, Colt 45, Hamms or some American candy such as Black Jack chewing gum, Beemans Pepsin gum, or giant suckers. Do you remember??