Volunteers Clean Up Bentleyville After Blizzard on Chilly Christmas Eve

DULUTH, Minn.– Volunteers and community members braced the cold winds and chilly temps to help clean up Bentleyville after the blizzard.

The harsh weather from Wednesday’s snowstorm struck Duluth’s Christmastime icon. Nearly half a foot of snow covered the area in a blanket of snow, topped off with gust of up to nearly 50 miles an hour by the shores of Lake Superior. The winds wrecked signs, barricades, and even some light displays.

“The wind just did a really good job on us down here,” said Bentleyville Organizer Nathan Bentley.

Wednesday night, Bentleyville organizer Nathan Bentley put out a call for help on Facebook asking for volunteers to come in Christmas Eve morning.

Around 30 volunteers answered the call on a cold and windy Christmas Eve morning. Crews got to work moving out any displays that were damaged, putting signs and barricades upright again, plus clearing out a lot of snow that’s been blowing around Bayfront Park.

Bentley says he was surprised to see so many people battle the elements to come and help out.

“It’s Christmas Eve, we understand people have plans and a lot of different things going on in people’s lives,” said Bentley. “We are very pleased and excited for the number of people that came out here.”

From Bentleyville volunteers to just members of the community, everyone came to battle the elements and pitch in. Two of those volunteers included Justin the father and son duo Spencer Peck.

“We love Bentleyville, we love Duluth and we love that we can help out a little bit,” said Justin, who was there with his son Spencer.

The father and son duo have helped out in setup and take down of Bentleyville in year’s past but have never helped after a snowstorm like this on top of the chilly temps.

“Shoveling and a lot of sign repair so far,” said Spencer. “These signs have been ripped in half and the supports are broken and the cement is frozen to the ground. It’s a lot of hard work.”

With factors like the pandemic, bad weather, and Christmas Eve, Bentley knows there are plenty of other and warmer things they could be doing. But says a big ‘thank you’ to those that toughed it out to put Bentleyville back together.

“It’s really appreciated because I mean it is truly brutal out there right now. It’s very, very cold. The winds off of wherever they’re coming from are just causing havoc out there so it’s very much appreciative for the people that came down here,” said Bentley.

Bentleyville remained closed on Thursday due to the cold weather.