FAR LEFT PHOTO BY KRISTIN OJANIEMI; OTHERS BY JIM KURTTI
All ages dance at Juhannus (midsummer) in Toivola, Michigan, on Agate Beach, where Juhannus kokko (midsummer bonfire) burned. The Juhannus salko (midsummer pole) at the Finnish American Heritage Center in Hancock. Minna Hokka, a Finnish folk instrument expert, crafts a birchbark horn during a course on harvesting birch.
Finland recently ranked as the happiest country on Earth.
And this wasn’t a one-off. For the sixth year in a row, the Nordic nation ranked at the top of the annual World Happiness Report, conducted by the United Nations Sustainable Development Network.
Finland also recently joined NATO, becoming the 31st member state on the same day as the 74th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
And now Duluth is expecting a gathering of a few thousand or so Finnish-Americans and Finnish-Canadians for five days this summer of cultural celebration to experience and learn about the Nordic culture at FinnFest USA. In fact, Duluth has been declared the permanent home for the annual festival that once migrated to a different area each year.
The convergence of all this Finnish headline news makes it a good time to recognize the strong Finnish presence in the Lake Superior region and explore just how so many Finnish folks settled here.
‘Always, It Was About Jobs’
Several waves of Finnish immigrants came to the United States and Canada, with a tiny group of 30 or so first arriving as early as the 1600s, when what is now Finland was a wilderness area and part of Sweden, according to Jim Kurtti,
JIM KURTTI COLLECTION
Immigrant elders of the Bethany Lutheran Church (formerly a Suomi Synod) in Covington, Michigan
honorary consul of Finland for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, who lives in Painesdale.
A large second wave started coming in the mid- to late-1800s and early 1900s. “It was a great wave of immigration that
Meanwhile, Finland, which by that time had become part of Russia, declared its independence from the Russian Empire in 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Still another immigration wave occurred post-Finnish independence and into the 1920s, with a number of Finns emigrating to Canada this time because of a tighter immigration policy in place in the United States, said Jorma Halonen, a retired Thunder Bay resident who is active with the Thunder Bay Finnish Canadian Historical Society. Smaller immigration waves happened even later, with a spike occurring as late as the 1960s.
Why did so many emigrate from Finland?
“There were jobs here … always, it was about jobs,” says Jorma. In the United States, mining was the big draw, especially copper mining in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and iron ore mining on the Iron Range of Minnesota. In Canada, the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway and then later the burgeoning forestry industry offered plenty of jobs. Others found opportunities in farming, especially since, in Finland at that time, only the eldest sons inherited the family farm and property.
Jim, the honorary Finnish consul, agrees. “It was economics, plain and simple. There was famine in the mid-1800s, but the catalyst of emigration was overpopulation in the rural areas and hard economic times. They were motivated to come.”
In fact, most of this region’s European immigrants were unskilled laborers escaping famine, poverty, and religious or
JIM KURTTI
A century-old historic sauna owned by Jim Kurtti in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
political strife, according to the 2012 book Lost Duluth, by Tony Dierckins and Maryanne C. Norton.
“Let me dispel one of the great immigration myths,” adds Jim. “They didn’t come here because it looked similar to Finland. They didn’t have Google maps back then. … I’m sure it was comforting once they were here, but that wasn’t the great motivator.”
Currently, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that nearly 100,000 Minnesotans claim Finnish ancestry, with Michiganders a close second at 93,000. In addition, about 130,000 people of Finnish descent live in Canada, according to the Finland Embassy in Ottawa.
Finnish Regions Emerge
A large number of Finnish immigrants settled in the Lake Superior area, with three pockets emerging as major Finnish regions: Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Minnesota’s Iron Range and Thunder Bay in Ontario.
The UP and the Keweenaw. There are six counties in the western U.P., says Jim, where Finns are the majority ethnic group: Gogebic, Ontonagon, Houghton, Keweenaw, Baraga, and Marquette.
The job opportunities that lured Finnish immigrants to the U.P. were iron mining and especially copper mining, earning the region the nickname Copper Country. In fact, during the early years of the copper mining era, Michigan produced up
JIM KURTTI
The Hepokoski children pose in front of the Finnish American Heritage Center in Hancock. The children represent the small group of bilingual youngsters in the region.
to 90% of the nation’s copper.
These days, the majority of active mines are for iron ore but really only one copper (and nickel) mine – all in the central U.P. near Ishpeming.
Unlike the copper mines, Finns’ cultural influence remains pervasive in the U.P., especially in places such as Hancock, on the Keweenaw Peninsula, where you’ll find bilingual street signs (English and Finnish), you’ll hear Finnish language spoken, and you’ll see Finnish flags everywhere. Finlandia University (originally Suomi College) located there is sadly set to close later this year after 127 years. But the Finnish American Heritage Center, North Wind Books and other cultural assets may transfer to the Finlandia Foundation.
“There is so much ‘Finnishness’ here that people of Finnish descent and non-Finns don’t recognize it necessarily being a cultural influence,” says David Maki, director of the Finnish American Heritage Center and managing editor of The Finnish American Reporter, both based in Hancock. He used his own accent as an example. Even though he’s lived in Michigan all of his life, he knows he has Finnish overtones in his speech. “Those who recognize my accent know it is Finnish, but others will say, ‘Boy, you’ve got a real Yooper accent.’ What people recognize as U.P. culture is Finnish culture.”
Minnesota’s Iron Range. Thousands of Finns and other European immigrants came to this area for iron mining jobs. They worked along three mining ranges: The Vermilion, which began shipping ore in 1884, the Mesabi, which started ore shipments in 1892, and the Cuyuna, which first shipped ore in 1911, according to the Minnesota Historical Society. These days, six mines still operate on the Range.
Like many immigrants, Finns had to deal with discrimination and hostility. Finns became derisively known as “Finlanders,” a derogatory term, during those early days, says Paul Metsa, a native of Virginia on the Range, where many Finnish descendants still reside and frequent Virginia’s historic, 117-year-old Finnish-American community center, Kaleva Hall. Paul, an award-winning singer/songwriter, who recently moved after 40 years from Minneapolis to Duluth, is proud of his Finnish heritage and growing up on the Range.
“The Finns were kind of the black sheep of the Range in the late 1800s and early 1900s because they brought over a lot of their socialist ideals,” Paul says. In fact, several historical sources cited Finns’ early involvement in labor organizing and in early cooperative movements, making them outliers. “They were the bedrock of the union and co-op movements.”
Still other Finns settled in the Duluth area, especially in Esko, just west of Duluth, and in Finland, up the North Shore, 6 miles inland from the Big Lake. The town’s name comes from the large number of early Finnish settlers.
Thunder Bay. Those Finns who emigrated to Canada also came for jobs, first for the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and later, after the railway was built, for plentiful jobs in Canada’s forestry industry.
By 1911, about 3,000 Finnish immigrants were living in what was then Port Arthur-Fort William, says Jorma of Thunder
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St. Urho among the modern utensils and Finnish-themed books at The Kitchen Nook & The Finnish Book Store in Thunder Bay.
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Products from The The Pulla Lady in Thunder Bay.
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A Moomin water bottle beside a pulla bread at Finnport in Thunder Bay.
Bay. By 1921, the number was up to 4,500. From those early days, a robust Finnish district developed on Bay and Algoma Streets, which included a number of stores where only Finnish was spoken and remains a location of Finnish commerce.
Harri Kurtti, cousin to Jim Kurtti, owned and operated Harri Bakery on Algoma Street for 32 years before he retired five years ago. In fact, a baking job is what brought him to Canada from Finland. “It was 1978, I heard of a place that was looking for a Finnish baker, so I flew to Canada without speaking any English and I have been here for 45 years. … When I arrived, there were so many Finns here I didn’t need to speak English.”
That was certainly the case in the kitchen of the famed Hoito Restaurant, which resided in the basement of the Finnish Labour Temple, built 1909-10. The Finnish Co-operative of Thunder Bay was trying to maintain the building and eventually had to sell it. Not long after that, it burned just before Christmas in 2021 and now a new building, recognizing the old structure’s history, is being rebuilt.
These days, though the Finnish district is not as robust, Thunder Bay remains home to about 14,000 Finnish-Canadians, one of the largest Finnish communities in Canada, says Jorma.
Contentment, Sisu & Saunas
All of that history leads back to where this article began: Finland’s ranking as the happiest country on earth. Does that ranking extend to those Finnish descendants now living in North America?
For the most part, yes, but several sources qualified the definition of happiness.
“It’s really more contentment,” clarifies Phyllis Fredendall, professor emeritus of fiber and fashion design at Finlandia
JIM KURTTI
Students admire the hämäläinen-style Finnish river boat, built by the Calumet, Laurium, Keweenaw High School shop class in conjunction with the Finnish American Folk School at the Finnish American Heritage Center.
University and director of the Finnish American Folk School. Phyllis adds that the happiness label is a bit ironic because, “If you go to Finland you might wonder, ‘are they really happy’ because Finns don’t reflexively smile…it is not an outward thing.”
Ari Eilola agrees that, for Finns – whether in Finland or here – happiness is more about feeling content. Ari, who is the executive administrator of FinnFest USA and moved to Duluth from Helsinki in 2004, points to a recent New York Times article that said as much. “Finns know when they have enough … you don’t have to go overboard and have five cars and two houses.”
“Finns appreciate and are satisfied with what they have rather than dwelling on what they haven’t yet achieved or acquired,” says David, the managing editor of The Finnish American Reporter. That said, “Finns aren’t a complacent people, no one is settling for mediocrity. They strive to succeed.”
They are also driven by the spirit of “Sisu,” which is mentioned frequently by Finns. The literal translation of this word means “guts.” Other translations list courage, a strength of will, determination, perseverance, an inner strength.
With a smile, Paul, the singer/songwriter, says the best definition of Sisu he has heard is: “Determination beyond all reason.”
David elaborates, with tongue firmly in cheek, “The Finnish-American word for ‘bullheaded’ is ‘Finnish-American’ … or maybe the word for ‘persistent’ would be better.”
Finns also extol the health benefits of the wood-fired sauna, a tradition their ancestors brought to North America, and which has now become a hot trend (see sidebar).
Finally, all of these topics: Finnish history, happiness/contentment, Sisu, and saunas, along with other Nordic culture topics, will be explored, celebrated, and on display this July in Duluth at FinnFest USA (see sidebar). As FinnFest’s Ari says, “FinnFest is a mixture of events to keep the collective memory of Finnish culture alive and well in North America.”
Seems fitting that this will happen on the shores of the Big Lake, in the heart of a region that so many Finnish descendants call home.
Check Out a Few Famed Finns from Our Region:
top row from left: Jessica Lange, Beatrice Ojakangas (photo by Thomas Strand Studio), Tanner Kero and Blake Pietila. Bottom row from left: Albert Pudas, Pentti Lund, David Salmela and Kevin Tapani.