Jim Ericson from Grand Marais Sell & Swap was the first to say, “write more columns” like this. He was disappointed we only teased him with Cant Road in East Duluth. My wonder past Cant Road wandered several directions.
Was it a person? Was it some tool? Political cant being subtly ridiculed? You can’t say that? We can’t get where from here?
Wandering the www, not the socialist labor union but a seductive information source, we looked around. We found definitions for “Cant” and “can’t” in multiple dictionaries. My favorites: “Can’t” Not able to. [kant] N
Note: we do not pronounce Immanuel Kant’s name [kant]?
Distinguish from “may,” lack of permission as opposed to lack of ability.
From the Grammarist: Can’t is a contraction, which is two words that are combined by eliminating a vowel and replacing it with an apostrophe. Contractions have been used in English since the fifth century, when Saxons and Angles brought them into the language by pushing the Celts to island edges and giving us Camelot.
“Cant” from the Grammarist: “The word Cant has several meanings. First, cant might mean hypocritically pious talk, sanctimonious or self-serving talk. Insert your own examples here. Cant may also mean a phrase or word that has been used so much that meaning has gone out of it.” Consider “awesome” or “tremendous.”
From Lexico: ‘For cant, humbug and moral spinelessness, this took some beating.’ ‘It annoyed Flaubert mightily that purveyors of political cant should be greeted with more ballyhoo than gifted poets.’
We are now well armed with possibilities for Cant.
It turns out the source of the road name is more traditional, named after a prominent Duluth citizen. But before that nugget came through, I learned much that is captivating.
Most important, the www map shows Cant Road as discontinuous, like so many Grand Marais streets. It is County Highway 281 and stops on its way to the big Lake, resuming farther south. If you want to live there, there are several nice sounding houses for sale. Or if you need a job or a variety of products, South Cant Road is your place.
Kasper Outdoor Services, Aerial Athletics Co., Rehold real estate, Bending Birches Greenhouses, Oasis Propane, and Stone Plumbing and Heating grace this road. They are on South Cant Road, which is the portion north of the gap??? For you water chemists, the monitoring site for the Talmadge River is at Cant Road, about two miles from Lake Superior.
More education found our www way to Cant Road. The Talley 30mm Anti- Cant Indicator can be found at www.brownells.com. Turns out it is a fancy level with four legs to determine whether something is canted, not where or angled as it belongs. Collins English Dictionary tersely says, “Tilt, or overturn, especially with a sudden jerk; to set in an oblique position.” Trust authority, including this assertion, but you can look it up.
We also learned that there is a Cant Hook, the long-handled tool we generally associate with levering logs around a boom. According to 20 illegal names worldwide “You can’t (sic) name them that” including, 1069, III, and Adolph Hitler; in France you may not name someone “Nutella.” (1069 was a Minnesota court decision.)
If not giving up in despair, we may seek Cant people on the www.Dex White Pages lists 28 birth records, three death records, and two divorce records but say nothing about a road name. More auspiciously, but still frustrating, were three listings for Cants in Duluth. Regrettably, they allegedly range in age from 113 to 130 years old, so not likely reliable sources.
To the rescue came Duluth Librarian Julie Kapke and local historian David Ouse. They suggest that the likely person guilty of leaving his name on the road was Judge William A. Cant, born in 1863. I hope we can find his 1933 obituary. To be sure Cant Road is his namesake may require a trip to obscure city council records. Perhaps there is a curious city employee willing to volunteer for our trivial erudition.
Wikipedia tells us, inter alia, the following: “Cant was born in Westfield, Marquette County, Wisconsin. Cant received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Michigan Law School in 1885. He was in private practice in Duluth, Minnesota from 1886 to 1895. He was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1895, and was city attorney of Duluth from 1895 to 1896. He was a Judge of the District Court of Minnesota from 1896 to 1923.”
Judge Cant received a recess appointment from President Warren G. Harding on May 21, 1923, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota vacated by Judge Page Morris. He was nominated to the same position by President Calvin Coolidge on December 15, 1923. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 15, 1924, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on January 12, 1933, due to his death.
I wondered how many sotto voce puns from cynical lawyers Judge Cant caused. Now, Jim, aren’t you sorry you asked us to wonder Cant Road?
Steve Aldrich is a retired Hennepin County lawyer, Judge, and mediator, judging from 1997-2010. He and Myrna moved near Highway 61 in 2016. Steve likes to remember that he was a Minnesota Super Family lawyer before being elected to the bench. And he really enjoys weddings, the one thing a retired judge can do without appointment by the Chief Justice.
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