Remembering Albert Woolson in Duluth...

Interesting link in the Duluth News Tribune Attic today, recalling the life and death of Albert Woolson, the last Union Army Civil War survivor, in Duluth some 55 years ago. The posting was prompted by the death of the last American soldier who served during World War I. My comment about Woolson is appended to the Attic posting and below. Check it out HERE.

Jim Heffernan says:

February 28, 2011 at 9:00 am (comment made in The Duluth News Tribune Attic)

Woolson used to visit some Duluth schools around Memorial Day each year. I saw him in the early 1950s at the old Lincoln Junior High in the West End. We kids didn’t appreciate the history associated with this very old man, and when he spoke, his words were largely unintelligible because by then — 103-104 years old — he was deaf. It was only later that I realized what a brush with history being in the presence of a Civil War veteran was. Here’s a bit more history: Our principal, Sigurd Ode, would present Woolson with a box of cigars in appreciation for his visit. The days of cigars being proffered on the stages of public schools are over too.