September - Finnish American Cultural Activities

Uutiset
NEWSLETTER OF THE FINNISH AMERICAN
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES, INC.
Sysskuu/September 2013
Finnish American Chamber of
Commerce
Presented by Jouko Sipila
For our September program, Jouko Sipila will tell us
about the Finnish American Chamber of Commerce
Minnesota which was founded in 2010 to promote business, financial, professional, and trade relations between
Finland and Minnesota.
FACC MN is a group of Finnish, American, or FinnishAmerican businesspeople committed to enhancing
business relationships between Finland and Minnesota. Jouko Sipila celebrates the connections between
Jouko, president of this organization, will talk about how Minnesota and Finland and his birthday with his son
FACC MN provides information and advice to Minin Helsinki this summer.
nesota businesspeople about business opportunities in
Finland, fosters relationships between companies and people who are interested in Finnish-Minnesota
trade, and develops new opportunities for Finnish-related businesses in Minnesota.
Jouko was born in Finland and first came to Minnesota as a high school exchange student. He returned
to Minnesota to attend St. Cloud State University, where he met his future wife Kimberly. After SCSU,
Jouko attended the University of Minnesota earning an MBA degree. In 2008, the Sipila family (Jouko,
Kim, and children Anna-Maya and Marko) moved back to
Minnesota.
Program In Brief
Finnish-American
Chamber of Commerce
Jouko SIpila
September 20, 7:30 p.m.
International Institute
1694 Como Ave., St. Paul
If you need transportation, call
Marianne Wargelin
(612) 374-2718
For 15 years Jouko pursued a career in banking, first at
Norwest (before it became Wells Fargo) then at major banks
(Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, and Barclays Capital) in New
York and London. As an entrepreneur outside of banking
and finance, Jouko started Ice Cold Crime, a company that
translates and publishes Finnish crime fiction. ICC expects its
tenth book to come out this fall. FACA 2012-2013
Board of Directors
President:
Bud Berry
(651) 777-6704
[email protected]
Vice President/Program Chair:
Janie Ahola
(651) 455-6152
[email protected]
Secretary:
Ruth Erkkila
(651) 454-5441
[email protected]
Treasurer/Publicity:
Edith Boos
(612) 522-7708
[email protected]
Hospitality:
Richard Harju
(612) 719-4965
[email protected]
Member-at Large:
John Rova
(612) 729-1585
[email protected]
FACA Newsletter
Committee
Editor:
Jeanne Swope
(612) 827-6773
[email protected]
Graphic Design:
Beth Jarvis
(763) 536-9561
[email protected]
Contributing Writers:
Kara Middleton, Joan
Dwyer, Gil Kinnunen, Urho
Rahkola, Bud Berry
Membership/Mailing:
Urho and Pam Rahkola
[email protected]
(651) 429-3319
Finnish American Cultural Activities, Inc. President’s Message
By Bud Berry
The end of summer marks the beginning
of a new year for FACA and the first board
meeting with newly-elected board members.
See the Board Notes in this newsletter for
details about the meeting.
If you have some ideas for speakers and/or
topics for FACA programs, please contact
Janie Ahola, Vice-President and Program
Chair, or share your comments with any of
the board members. Our phone numbers and
email addresses are listed to the left of this page, and are also available on the FACA website, www.finnfaca.org/facaweb2_006.htm
FACA meetings are open to the public. Please consider inviting
friends who are interested in or curious about Finnish or FinnishAmerican culture to be your guests at a future meeting. Finnish American Chamber of Commerce Minnesota
Invites You to a Social Hour and Hockey Game
Come and watch Mikko Koivu,
Niklas Bäckström, Mikael Granlund,
and Erik Haula take on NHL 2013
draft pick #2 Alexander Barkov, Jr.,
and Sean Bergenheim of the Florida
Panthers.
Will we see Mikael Granlund do the ilmaveivi? OK, so who is Alexander Barkov, Jr.? What will former Gopher Erik Haula do?
Details: Minnesota Wild vs. Florida Panthers. Friday, November 15,
2013, at 7:00 p.m. Social hour at 5:00 p.m. Xcel Energy Center, St.
Paul.
We will get together for a social hour before the game—more details
to come.
Around 50 people attended the FACC MN Minnesota Wild Social
Hour and Game last year. Can we make a 100 this year? Act now to
secure tickets. We may be able to accept later signups, but group sitting is not guaranteed.
Our seats will be in the lower bowl, Section 125-126.
To register, go to http://wildfinns.eventbrite.com
To pay by check, email Jouko and mail check payable to FACC-MN
to: Jouko Sipila
Finnish-American Chamber of Commerce Minnesota
5780 Providence Curve,
Independence, MN 55359
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September 2013
Board Notes
Salolampi Phonathon September 24-26
The FACA Board of Directors met August 14,
7:00 p.m., at Perkins Restaurant in Roseville. Present were Bud Berry, Richard Harju, Edith
Boos, Janie Ahola, and Ruth Erkkila. John Rova
was not present. Janie, Ruth and John are new to
the Board. Janie's term will be two years; John and
Ruth will serve three-year terms.
The annual Salolampi Foundation Phonathon
will be September 24, 25, and 26. The dates were
chosen to avoid conflicts with holiday hubbub,
FinnFest planning, inclement weather, and major
elections. There will also be longer daylight hours
for ease of driving downtown for on-site callers.
By Ruth Erkkila
The need for scholarships for Salolampi Language
Village campers increases every year. Tuition costs
are established by Concordia Language Village and
rise consistently each year, making it more difficult
for families and youth to attend Salolampi and experience Finnish language and culture. Therefore,
the Board of Directors of the Salolampi Foundation has elected to increase scholarships to help
defray tuition costs.
Officers for the next year will be: President Bud
Berry, Vice President Janie Ahola, Treasurer Edith
Boos, Secretary Ruth Erkkila, Hospitality Chair
Richard Harju.
Duties of officers and committee chairs were reviewed. The by-laws list a membership committee;
Bud will consider a possible chair for this committee.
The Phonathon Committee needs volunteers. We
are seriously appealing to everyone to call fellow Finnish folks from the Lutheran Community
Foundation in downtown Minneapolis or from
your own homes. We need people to help us with
inputting information on a computer. This task
requires no prior computer skills, and we supply
the computers. We also need the help of people
who do not like to do telephone work but would
stuff envelopes and process forms. Please consider volunteering.
The vice president/program chair has programs
for September and October. In October, Marianne Wargelin will talk about FinnFest 2014, to be
held in Minneapolis.
The next board meeting will be Wednesday, September 18 at 7:00 p.m.
October FACA Program to Feature
FinnFest 2014 Plans
In October, our program presenter will be K.
Marianne Wargelin, President of FinnFest USA
and Honorary Consul of Finland in the Twin Cities. She will talk about plans for FinnFest 2014, a
new kind of FinnFest featuring events on several
dates and in several places.
You may have already received a postcard at the
beginning of September, reminding our Finnish
friends that we will be calling to raise scholarship
funds. When you receive your call, please be generous: your dollars will enable the Finnish culture
and heritage to be passed on to a new generation. You may also donate online at our secure server. The URL is salolampi.com; the first screen has a
button for donate. Donations can be made either
by PayPal or a credit card. As of July, planning had begun for events including a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the
modern Finnish immigration to the U.S. on or
about Memorial Day 2014 in Cokato, MN; events
in Minneapolis August 10–12; events in Helsinki,
Finland, August 28 to September 1; and a Russian
River Cruise (including Karelia) September 1–13.
Please call or email Linda or Ruthann if you can
help in any way. Linda: (763) 420 -237 or
[email protected]; Ruthann: (612) 788-3905
or [email protected]
Conversational Finnish Class
Tuesdays, 4:00-5:25 p.m.
St. Anthony Library
Corner of Como and Carter Ave.
St. Paul
Everyone is welcome.
For more information, please call
Urho Rahkola at ( 651) 429-3319
Finnish American Cultural Activities, Inc
Welcome New Members!
Phillip and Donna Erickson, Plymouth
Tervetuloa!
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September 2013
FACA Members at FinnFest 2013
ment Protocol Office. When Finnish President
Kekkonen came to meet President Kennedy, Elsie
asked her boss in the typing pool if she could go
see the arrival of the Finnish president. The boss
replied that they were too busy to let her go. A
couple of hours later the boss got a call from the
Protocol Officer with Mrs. Kekkonen at the Blair
House saying that Mrs. Kekkonen was extremely
upset and no one could understand her. Elsie was
dispatched to the Blair House. Mrs. Kekkonen
could not find the dress she was going to wear to
the state dinner that evening with the Kennedys.
They were then able to locate the dress and that is
how Elsie’s career began that led to being Protocol
Officer on Air Force Two. Richard Harju
We have collected comments from FACA members who
attended FinnFest 2013 in Hancock and Houghton, MI,
in June. FinnFest offered hundreds of possibilities—performances, tours, toris, seminars, bonfire, Nordic Walk,
too many things to list. Here are a few things that were
particularly memorable.
The opening ceremony with a mixture of storytelling and outstanding performances was a delight and set the stage for a memorable FinnFest
experience. Also there were multiple options every day to explore and enjoy. Vergene Ollila-Routhe
My wife and I enjoyed FinnFest, as we have with
all the ones we have attended (I’ve been to 15).
The area is beautiful, the people friendly and we
felt very welcome to be there. It was a wonderful vacation! The FinnFest was well-planned and
executed. Steve Koivula
I was lucky to be on the morning tour to the
Hanka Homestead. This restored pioneer FinnishAmerican homestead is deep in the woods, as it
was when the Hankas settled there. They built or
made everything themselves—tools, sauna, barn,
aitta, house, root cellar, milk house (my favorite
thing: built over a stream so the milk cans could
be lowered in the water to keep cool). With our
socks rolled over our pants-legs against mosquitos and ticks, we listened to reenactors tell the life
stories of family members—hardship, misfortune, fortitude. The homestead is a monument
to ingenuity and sisu. Drama was provided on the
tour when the bus we rode in on got thoroughly
mired in a field while turning around to face the
road out. A large tractor took the better part of an
hour and broke several chains pulling it out. Success at last—we did not have to be “floated down
the river” or join the Hanka family and settle in, as
some suggested. Unfortunately, the afternoon tour
had to be cancelled. Jeanne Swope
I attended the Marcelle Doby-Williams art exhibit at the Juttila Center in
Hancock. Marcelle was the
daughter of Velma Doby,
who has always been active
in the Finnish community and was a long-time
member/participant in the
early FACA groups. To the
right is one of my favorites
of her art. Marcelle passed
away in 2010. Velma lives
in Brule, Wisconsin.
Karen Luoma-Varichak
At Gus Fenton’s Genealogy Searching and Finding, I learned that first and second class passengers who arrived in New York Harbor were not
required to go through the inspection process at
Ellis Island, and there were “ship wars” that made
tickets as reasonable as “two weeks’ wages.” This
information could explain why I have found only
one of my four grandparents who came to New
York Harbor at different times in the early 1900s
in the Ellis Island records. Ellen Liddle
Seitsemän Veliä/ Sept Freres—Alexander Kivi in
French! The famous first Finnish novel, Seven
Brothers, is the take-off point for this cartoon
movie, not yet available in U.S. format. Directed
and drawn by Riitta Nelimarkka, Finnish artist and
filmmaker, the cartoons are funny, the characters’
faces and expressions very Finnish, the scenery
beautiful, the story action-packed. The narration,
in a cool sophisticated French voice, provided
contrast, and English subtitles kept us connected.
Jeanne Swope
The 2013 FinnFest was especially enjoyable for
me because my cousin and her husband from
San Diego flew here to Minneapolis to attend
the FinnFest with me. Among the lectures that I
attended was From Minnesota Prairie Wagon to Air
Force Two: How a Finnish-American Woman Saved
Mrs. Kekkonen from White House Disaster. and Other
Stories by Barbara Erakko. Barbara Erakko is the
daughter of Elsie Nurmi who grew up in Finlayson, Mn., and got a job as a typist at State DepartFinnish American Cultural Activities, Inc I felt great Nordic walking with hundreds of other
people. This is the first one with more than four
people using walking sticks. Great! Mary Leukuma
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September 2013
A high point for my cousin Glenyce Eskeli and me
was Home and Hall: Envisioning a Future for Finlandia
University’s Finnish American Heritage Center. At this
reception, Philip Johnson, President of Finlandia, Jim Kurtti, Director of the Center, and architect
David Salmela revealed plans for an addition to
the building—the building contents have outgrown the space. We also particularly enjoyed the
Red Metal Radio Show present The Strike in the
historic Calumet Theater in Calumet, MI— the
copper strike of 1913 reported as it might have
been if radio news coverage had been available at
that time. Evelyn Eskeli
My husband, Ed, and I were only at Finnfest for
two days, and though we enjoyed listening to
music at the tori and the Saturday night dance with
Finn Hall and Ameriikan Poijat and helping out in
the Salolampi booth and teaching a class on Finnish verbs, one of the highlights of our trip was
getting to know the family that we stayed with.
Nancy and Jerry Smith of Hancock, opened up
their home to us and made us feel very welcome.
We arrived as strangers and left as friends.
Tiina Watts
Marj Brown (Bend, OR) and Gloria Thorpe (Minneapolis) stand next to big chairs at Finlandia University.
Photo by Karen Luoma-Varichak
Sami at the Juhannus bonfire in
Toivola, Mi.
Photo by Gloria Thorpe.
Three Finns who participated in the Nordic Walk. Urho
Rahkola, Carol Backman, and Carol’s cousin Cheryl
(Boroo) Neeb of Carnation, Washington. Photo by Karen
Luoma-Varichak
FACA Membership
A one-year membership provides you with nine issues of this newsletter, plus other benefits, for $25.
To subscribe or renew, complete this form and mail
with your check to FACA, P.O. Box 580708, Minneapolis, MN 55458-0708. (Check mailing label for
membership expiration date.)
Name________________________________________
Address______________________________________
Gathering at FinnFest 2013 of former Finnish War
Children who spent years in Sweden and other countries
during the early 1940s. Back row, far right: Veijo Paine
and Eric Jaakkola, both of whom have spoken about their
experiences at FACA.
Finnish American Cultural Activities, Inc
City/State/Zip__________________________________
Phone_ ______________________________________
Email________________________________________
5
September 2013
May Progrtam Recap
proceeded to use the sauna the way one would
reasonably use such a sauna in Finland: naked, and
throwing as much water on the rocks as necessary to make the room sufficiently hot by Finnish standards. This incident ended with the other
sauna-goers running out while cursing him under
their breath.
By Kara Middleton
The last program of 2012-2013 on May 17th
began with FACA’s annual meeting. Agenda items
consisted of an auditor’s report and election of
three new members to the FACA board.
The FACA audience was thoroughly entertained
by this story, as they were by his talk in general. It
was a perfect ending to a year of engaging programming.
After the annual meeting
was adjourned, FACA
members and guests
were delighted by an
exposition of Finnish
and American cultural
differences by our guest
speaker, Matti Koivula. A
native Finn and University of Minnesota PhD
student, Matti gave a talk
entitled Navigating the Cultural Landscape of America:
One Finn’s Experience. Following the talk, members and guests were
served mansikka kakku from the Festival of Nations, reindeer sandwiches, cheese and crackers,
and pulla.
Harlan Stoehr,
out-going FACA
secretary, visits with
friends.
A study abroad program that brought him to
Springfield, Missouri, in 2002, led to continued
studies in Kansas City, Kansas, where he met his
wife, Angela, and later to Minneapolis, where they
are now both completing PhD work.
With entertaining candor, Matti described some
American social rituals that are baffling to the uninitiated. He was surprised to discover, for example, that the common American greeting, “how’s
it going,” is not actually an invitation for a status
report of any kind. “In Finland,” he explained, “if
someone says to you, ‘how’s it going,’ they really
want to know.”
Elsie Leisio enjoys strawberry shortcake and coffee.
He also spoke of the enormous portions served
in American restaurants, the constant need to
be productive, and claimed that tuna is the most
popular pizza topping in Finland. He told of being
alarmed when the police called his apartment. He
was then totally amazed when his roommate told
him to hang up! The caller was seeking financial
donations. (Good Finns have little contact with
the police.)
Jeanne Swope
demonstrates new
FACA website. (Below)
Of the Finnish educational system, he said students call their teachers by first names or “teacher” and it’s not considered rude. Matti saved for last a story of his experience with
the American version of the most sacred of all
Finnish rituals, the sauna. The sauna at the University of Minnesota’s Rec Center was the location
at which, one fateful day, Matti walked in and
Finnish American Cultural Activities, Inc 6
September 2013
In Memoriam
Pieniä Paloja
Joan Whalen Karvonen
• Mother Nature green-lighted the start of the
autumn northern lights season, as the skies
came alive in northern Finland mid-August.
Evidence of heightened solar activity could
be clearly seen in areas such as Muonio and Sodankylä in Finnish Lapland and stretched
even further south to Kemi. Northern lights
can be seen in summer but autumn with its
shorter days and longer nights sets the stage
for the natural extravaganza of light.
• Government indebtedness is projected to rise
substantially in Finland due to a sharp fall in
tax revenue, Helsingin Sanomat reported in August. The government is expected to borrow
an additional 900 million euro to compensate
for lower-than-anticipated revenue, due to
decreased value-added tax as well as declining
income, capital and corporate taxes. Additional
money will be borrowed to facilitate the expansion of Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.
In July we received word of the passing of Joan
Whalen Karvonen, mother of Dan Karvonen,
Finnish instructor at the University of Minnesota,
Finnish Genealogy Group member, and frequent
speaker at FACA meetings.
Joan Agnes Karvonen of Crystal passed away
Saturday, July 20, 2013, after a six-month struggle
with heart disease.
She was raised in the Finntown area of Minneapolis near Glenwood Avenue. Joan’s father was
of Irish heritage and her mother’s parents were
Finnish immigrants, which prompted her to refer
to herself as a “Mickey Finn.”
Joan will be sorely missed by her three sons, Joel
(Susan), Jeffrey,and Daniel,; grandchildren Shannon and Sean; brother James (Patti) Whalen,;
sister-in-law Lois Karvonen; and a host of relatives and friends.
Allen R. Harju
Allen R. Harju, age 54, of Saint Charles, passed
away Thursday, August 15, 2013. He was the son
of Richard and Doris Harju of St. Paul.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
His career brought Allen and Mary to many
places, including Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Wichita, Kansas. Each of
the couple’s five children was born in a different
state.
He is survived by his wife, Mary (Kelley); children
Russell (Lindsey) of Omaha, Kelley (Tyler) Bryan
of Houston, Alanna of Denver, Tyler and Rachel
both of St. Charles; his parents; sister Judy (Rick)
Galliher of Virginia; brother Rob of Minneapolis;
mother-in-law Evelyn Kelley of South Dakota;
and many dear nieces, nephews and friends. FACA needs your ideas and your helping hand.
If you can help with any of the committees or
events, please return this form. Thanks!
 Program
 Newsletter
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 Website
Name_____________________________
Address___________________________
City/State/Zip_______________________
Phone_ ___________________________
Email _____________________________
Check Out the FACA Website
New calendar items are posted when we receive
them on the “New Calendar Items” page on
the FACA website. We also post important new
announcements on the home page. The URL is
www.finnfaca.org.
Return to FACA, P.O. Box 580708,
Minneapolis, MN 55458-0708 or bring to the
next program.
Comments, corrections, and additions should be
sent to [email protected].
Finnish American Cultural Activities, Inc

Meeting Hospitality

Visitor Hospitality

Library
 Laskiainen
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Pikkujoulu
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Festival of Nations
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Information Phone
7
September 2013
Finnish American Cultural Activities, Inc.
P.O. Box 580708
Minneapolis, MN 55458-0708
FACA
Finnish American Cultural Activities, Inc.
is an organization dedicated to preserving and
promoting the cross-cultural heritage of
Americans with Finnish ancestry.
Information: (612) 374-2718, www.finnfaca.org
August 10–12 FinnFest 2014 Twin Cities.
Sept 13–15 Salolampi Fall Work Weekend. For
more information and to volunteer, see salolampi.
org/foundation/workweekend.html
Sept 18 FACA Board of Directors meeting. 7:00
p.m., Perkins Restaurant, Roseville.
Sept 20 FACA Program, 7:30 p.m. (See pg. 1.)
September 24-26 Salolampi Phonathon. (See pg.
3.)
Sept 28 The Finnish Genealogy Group will meet
at Plymouth Apostolic Lutheran Church, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Program will be show and tell,
“What I did/found over the summer.” For more
information contact Joan Dwyer: dwyers@ties2.
net.
Sept 27 Finn Hall at Kramarczuk’s Deli, 6:30–9:00
p.m.
Sept 27 Uutiset copy deadline. Copy to
[email protected]
Sept 29 Frigg at The Cedar. 7:30 p.m. For details,
see thecedar.org/events/2013/09/29/frigg
Oct 18 FACA Program, 7:30 p.m. (See pg. 3.)
Nov 1 Finn Hall at Kramarczuk’s Deli, 6:30–9:00
p.m.
Nov. 15 Social Hour and Minnesota Wild hockey
game sponsored by Finnish American Chamber
of Commerce at the Excel Energy Center, St.
Paul. Social hour at 5:00; game at 7 p.m. (See page
2 for details.)
Finnish American Cultural Activities, Inc Photo by Karen Luoma-Varichak
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September 2013