Duluth Places: Woodland

I was assigned to Woodland neighborhood in Duluth. As I drove through the area, one thing I immediately took note of was the housing and living spaces. Being a student at UMD, many of the houses that I have seen in Duluth are currently occupied by college students. As such, many college houses have what you would typically expect, such as a multitude of cars parked in front and odds and ends used as decorations. The Woodland area is a relatively more quiet part of town, and many of the houses and living spaces are clearly occupied by families and non-student residents. Continuing through the area, the Community Center caught my attention. Specifically, the Fryberger Arena. As a former hockey player and hockey fanatic, the arena immediately caught my attention. Upon further inspection, I noticed that they were celebrating the arena’s fiftieth anniversary. This immediately stuck out to me as a great idea for my story.

I returned home to do some online research on the arena and found some great articles that detailed the history of Fryberger. I even discovered that I had participated in hockey tournaments and games there as a kid.

I went back once more to the arena to scope out some of the surround area and the rest of the Community Center. I also entered a few of the local bars. It is clear that the Woodland bar scene is definitely more of a slower pace and quieter than the downtown bars that college students frequent more often.

After my second visit, I decided that the story I wanted to present on Fryberger Arena was not about the arena itself, but of the people that have played there. From another job, I can get into contact with some high level hockey players that have played in Fryberger and get their stories of their experiences at the arena.