PBS on Minnesota tourism
Posted at 11:32 am | Filed Under As Seen On TV, Broadcasting, Discovery Network, TV Reviews Recaps
PBS is a great place to watch documentaries. I got involved in one the other night that was focusing on northeastern Minnesota tourism. They showed one attraction that I really enjoyed and that was one of the mines that 3M runs. There was one display I remember well and that was a switchblade that shot a bullet once it was activated. They claimed that the miners of times past were quite a corrupt crew of thieves, cheats, and liars. As far north as the mine is located most men of the era did not bring their families with them, that’s if they had families. A large percentage of the miners were single and without much of a draw in the area for women, when one did show up it was not unusual for a fight to break out over her attention. Without women close by most of the off hours were spent gambling and drinking. A man feeling like he was cheated at cards was a common cause for a fight if not a death. All the supplies needed were controlled by the company store and they made enough of the miners money back from their purchases that the unwary miner ended up working for free.
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