Richard J. Kunz oral history interview

Richard J. Kunz (March 29, 1927-November 5, 1998) was a social worker and Executive Director of the Center on Alcohol and Drug Treatment in Duluth, Minnesota. He retired to the house he built on property in Lake county and died in his home near Two Harbors.

Mr. Kunz was born in West St. Paul and graduated from Hamline University, St. Paul, and University of Minnesota Minneapolis with a Masters in Social Work in 1957. He began his career devoted to human, social and community service as a child protection worker for Ramsey County Department of Public Welfare, St. Paul (1957-1961), and served as social services coordinator at Brainerd State University.

He relocated to Duluth to staff the Center of Alcohol and Drug Treatment that had opened in Duluth in September, 1961. The Center and its staff were housed in the Miller hospital, in downtown Duluth in the Torrey building, and in the new Ordean building downtown. The Center operated the Duluth Receiving Center, commonly referred to as the Duluth Detox program, when it was started in December 1972. Located initially at 2001 West 3rd street, the detox center served persons in St. Louis, Carlton, Lake and Cook counties. It was moved in 1974 to 1001 East First street within St.Luke's Hospital. Most of its funding came from the United Way. In 2000, the Center for Alcohol and Drug Treatment purchased and remodel the former Kolar auto dealership at 1402 East Superior Street. It opened its new $2.7 million Duluth detox center home in August 2001.

Dick Kunz's career spanned the shift in public and professional attitudes from the drinker as a "drunk" and a criminal to the assessment of alcoholism as a disease. Drunkenness was taken out of the criminal category by the Minnesota Legislature, which called for detoxification centers to replace jails for drunks.

He served for many years in the ranks and as an office and as president of Minnesota's social work and drug program professional organizations.

He met his wife, a classically trained musician, Joyce Nichols of St. Paul, at Hamlin. Dick and Joyce moved to Duluth from Brainerd, Minnesota in 1965 with their two children, Cynthia and David.