NEWSLETTER OF THE FINNISH HERITAGE HOUSE NO. 39

NEWSLETTER OF THE FINNISH HERITAGE HOUSE
Finnish Heritage House
Officers
President: Jacqueline Harjula
Vice – President: Gary Aho
Clerk/Secretary: Jacqueline Laffely
Treasurer: Edna Montgomery
Newsletter Editor: Reggie Montgomery
Trustees
NO. 39 ~ Autumn 2013
The Sattuma concert was wonderful!
Sattuma, the Karelian folk band performed wonderfully at
their concert in Tenant’s Harbor, July 21 at the Odd Fellows
Hall. The concert was in Finnish but they did such a great job
that the language didn’t matter. They used 20 different
instruments during the concert including flutes, bag pipes,
kanteles, violins and so many more. It was a wonderful cultural
event sponsored by Finnish Heritage House.
Everyone present enjoyed the show.
Fred Webel (January 2015)
Elsie Brown (January 2015)
Steve Gifford (January 2013)
Anne Little (January 2014)
Kirsti Fish (January 2014)
Building Committee
Chairman: Neil Harjula
Finnish Heritage House
P.O. Box 293
South Thomaston, ME 04858
Hopefully if we have the opportunity to hear them again the
advertising and response will be better.
By: Reggie Montgomery
Send articles to [email protected]
You can always tell a Finn but, you can’t tell him much!
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NEWSLETTER OF THE FINNISH HERITAGE HOUSE
NO. 39 ~ Autumn 2013
CHECK YOUR MAILING LABEL!
EXPIRED?
HAS YOUR MEMBERSHIP
EXPIRED?
Your name will be removed if you are more
than two years overdue.
Rug Raffle Rag
There are still plenty of raffle tickets for the
handmade rag rug that is to be raffled at FinnFling
Sept. 21, 2013
Kirsti Fish, Marko Paalavuo, Liisa Niemi, Arthur Fish and
Mikko Niemi
FINNISH FRIENDS VISITING MAINE
Stop in at the Heritage House on Wed. or Sat.
morning to purchase them.
A dairy farmer from Reisjarvi, Finland made his
second visit to us at the Finnish Heritage House in
July. His name is Mikko Niemi, he was here with his wife
Liisa and her cousin Marko Paalavuo, who was able to
translate as Mikko did not speak English. They stayed at
the home of Vincent Alholm and his family in Warren (who
own Beth's Farm Market) and were cousins to Mikko and
his family. Mikko was also here two years ago. He visited
the Heritage House and attended the Sunday service at our
church with the Rev. Terrence Willis as our pastor. On his
last visit to Maine, he purchased an antique car and had it
shipped back home to his farm.
Tickets are $1.00 or 6 for $5.00
The rug, pictured below, was handmade and
donated by Tooty Wilson.
He showed pictures of his farm and told how
automated the operation is. He retired last year and his
son continues to run it. It seems it’s a very modern
operation as they use robots to do all the milking for as
many as 38 cows. We joked and asked who does the
cleaning of the hay and grain after the cows process it.
He said it lands on a conveyor belt which takes it
outdoors.
Finn Funn Weekend 2013
During these two weeks here in Maine he visited several
of us for coffee: Arthur and Kirsti Fish, Ronald and Helvi
Silverman, Paula Szabo and Arthur Jura. On these visits
we were able to practice our Finnish language, as some of
us don't get the chance speak it often.
Finn Funn weekend will be held November 15 – 17
At The Inn at East Hill Farm
460 Monadnock Street
Troy, N.H. 03465
1-800-242-6495
[email protected]
www.east-hill-farm.com
A fun filled weekend with Finnish food, music and
activities.
For more information, brochures are available at
FHH.
They also made a trip to Canada for three days before
returning to Finland.
Some of us have e-mailed and spoken to Mikko several
times in the past two years. We hope to see him, his
family and friends on a future trip to Finland sometime in
the near future.
Kirsti Fish
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NEWSLETTER OF THE FINNISH HERITAGE HOUSE
NO. 39 ~ Autumn 2013
The Grand prize winning poem is below. Sharlann
Smiley will be awarded the $100.00 prize.
Poetry Contest Winners Have Been
Chosen, Prizes to be awarded.
This is Finland
There are two prizes to be awarded for the poetry
contest sponsored by Charlie Heino.
A land of natural beauty
Appreciated and preserved by its people
This is Finland.
The Second Prize poem is below. Judith Robbins will
be awarded the $75.00 prize.
The midnight sun
Shining through towering birches,
Which stand strong
Beside 180,000 lakes.
On Hearing Finnish Spoken after Many Years
Whispered words in Finnish conjure
talk between two women I knew as a child
Reflections of red and graySmoke rising from saunas
That have seen the births
And deaths of generations.
exchanging news
at a table covered with oilcloth
their words covered with hidden meaning.
Between them they knew what they meant.
Winters so cold
As the darkness descends for the season
and temperatures drop,
Sisu thickens in the blood
As surely as the ice does on the waters.
I needed to be content with nissu
and coffee laced with sugar and milk
while what I really wanted
to take and eat
to take and drink
An invading persistence and
Determination to never give up.
Exemplified by the white ghosts
Who heroically and historically
Refused to let a neighboring giant
Conquer their hearts or homes
was their love for each other
hidden in language
I couldn't understand.
By: Judith Robbins
Whitefield, ME
This is Finland, a self-sufficience that
Weaves individuals into a strong community
Of pride in their independence, education, music,
Fitness, industry, healthy foods, good taste,
And solstice bonfires.
Here is a short introduction of her Finnish
upbringing and listening to” Finn-glish” by
Judith Robbins
I grew up hearing Finnish spoken when we
were visiting with my mother's family on
Cape Cod and in the home of elderly Finns in
our neighborhood in Worcester, MA. My
bilingual mother helped those strictly Finnish
speakers to navigate the sometimes confusing
details of bureaucracy. When I heard that
familiar, quiet under-buzz of Finn-glish at my
first meeting of the Finnish-American
Heritage Society of Maine back in the '80s, it
all flooded back and resulted in the poem, "On
Hearing Finnish Spoken after Many Years."
Both resourceful and frugal
The rule of form follows function
Is so simplistic, aesthetic, and useful
Such a heritage is one of which
To be proud.
That I need not tell youIf you are, or if you know, a Finn. Kippis!!
By Sharlann Smiley - January 2012
Preston, CT
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NEWSLETTER OF THE FINNISH HERITAGE HOUSE
NO. 39 ~ Autumn 2013
Home Schoolers Finn Fun Day
August 24, 2013 at FHH, Jura Hall
So. Thomaston, Maine
Recipe Box
On such a beautiful Saturday morning at the Finnish
Heritage House, members of the Finnish Strings Ensemble,
Suomalaiset Jouset hosted a "Finn Fun Day for Maine
Home Schoolers."
Participants came from Unity, Bangor, Palermo, Rockport,
Rockland, and Friendship. Eight parents enthusiastically
joined right in with the activities planned for the morning!
Inspirational kantele music permeated all throughout Jura
Hall as today's craft-leaders were introduced.
Peggy Oliver theatrically brought to life certain passages
from the Finnish epic poem, "The Kalevala" as the children
cut, glued and laminated their personalized bookmarks
about Vainamoinen's adventures!
Today's participants also learned common Finnish
phrases, counting to ten and the days of the week before
heading off to make three-dimensional stars with mastercrafter, Irene Vaino. Clever preparations allowed creative
decorations to be added to final star shapes! Many
variations brought huge smiles from everyone! Many extra
strips of paper found their way home with the children, as
they were anxious to show their neighborhood friends
how to make the Finnish star!
Nothing like working up an appetite for Finnish pulla,
bottled water and apple juice! So many happy faces came
from today's attendees that they could not wait to tour
the Finnish Heritage House and tori. With special gifts and
educational books carefully tucked away, we settled down
to listen to a famous Finnish story about Lapland children.
The final activity of the day was playing the 5-string
and 11-string kantele, Finland's national folk instrument.
Home school children read aloud Kaisa Saari's rhythmic
poem with such feeling, linking all that they learned earlier
about Finnish heritage, took to traditional hand positions
in
successfully playing Beethoven, Sibelius, African-American
tunes and Finnish dances. It was heartwarming to see
children helping out each other, so much so that organizer,
Celia Jones, hated to see "Finn Fun Day" come to a close!
Before everyone departed from Jura Hall, Irene Vaino
explained how Finnish Name Days are celebrated. Celia
had prepared special plaques for each participant with
today's date, Finnish and American flags, personalized
Finnish name and name day for each child. They, politely,
said how much they didn't want the day to end! Such
success came from youngsters from 6 years to 16 years!
Celia Jones
Swedish Almond Cake
Ingredients
1 ¼ c sugar
1 egg
1 ½ tsp almond extract
2/3 c milk
1 ¼ c flour
1/8 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp baking powder
1 stick melted butter
Instructions
Beat together sugar, egg, almond extract and milk.
Stir in flour, cinnamon and baking powder. Then add
butter. Mix well. Sprinkle slivered almonds into
bottom of pan if desired. Pour batter into greased and
floured pan. Bake at 350° for 40 to 50 minutes until
edges are golden brown. Remove from pan while
slightly warm. To remove, place inverted Almond Cake
Plate to top of cake pan and flip it over. Dust with
confectionary sugar if desired. The ridges in the pan
make slicing “a piece of cake “.
From: Anne Little
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NEWSLETTER OF THE FINNISH HERITAGE HOUSE
What's Happening with the Kantele
Ensemble?
NO. 39 ~ Autumn 2013
Computer Corner
The computer at FHH died at the end of July.
FHH was totally without a computer. We took
emergency measures. On Aug.1 Rockbound
Computer ordered the parts to build a new
computer for FHH. It was finished and put into
service on Aug. 5. Rockbound Computer
transferred all the data from the old one to the
new one and no information was lost. New drivers
for the printer had to be obtained from Canon to
get it to work. This was done remotely and by
phone by Rockbound Computer also and at no
charge. Everything is up and running now.
After finishing up their springtime school
assembly programs, Suomalaiset Jouset
ensemble embarked on some new adventures of
bringing Finnish folk music to the mid coast
communities. In the town of Warren, we strummed
a few of our tunes to help out a fund-raising
project, plus survived the humid, summer weather
by performing at their annual "Summer in the
Park" series.
We traveled to the City of Rockland where
we collaborated with public library's summer
reading program by highlighting Barbara Cooney's
"Louhi, the Witch of the North Wind" into our
Finnish folk tunes. Hats off to Irene Rochwarg for
her dramatic reading that spellbound the young
audience! As August days typify the lazy, hazy
days of summer, several kantele players
performed at the new retirement facility known as
The Camden Hills Villa. Who would ever think that
twelve lap-harp players could provide dinner music
for over 50 residents and their guests? Well, our
talented kantele players can!
Reggie Montgomery
In fact, our workshop and performance
repertoire will be touring outside of Maine to
Rutland, Massachusetts in early September! But, it
is not too late to hear Suomalaiset Jouset perform
at the combined FHH and Finn-Am Fall Fling
gathering on September 21st. Just in time for our
fall and winter performances, we hope to
incorporate the beautiful 36-string kantele that was
recently donated to the Finnish Heritage House by
Colleen Oittenin, widow of the late Kalevi Oittenen.
So, if you crave traditional folk music from Finland,
Sweden and the United States, mark your
calendars now. Otherwise, you'll have to wait until
holiday time to hear the harmonic sounds from our
kantele players!
This is the 36 string kantele that was donated to FHH by
Colleen Oittenin. It is absolutely beautiful and it has
wonderful tone qualities. We are very grateful to Mrs.
Oitenin for her generosity.
Celia Jones
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NEWSLETTER OF THE FINNISH HERITAGE HOUSE
NO. 39 ~ Autumn 2013
2013 Calendar of Events __
A new shipment of Finnish Cookbooks has arrived.
Titled: From a Finnish Kitchen
Sept. 21: Finn Fling
For those who have been waiting for your
cookbook, they are in. They are good cookbooks
and make great gifts. They are available for
purchase at the FHH tori.
Nov. 15-17: 21st Annual FinnFunn Weekend
in Troy, NH
Nov. 23: Joint Thanksgiving Celebration with
Finn Am Society
Dec. 21: Joint Christmas Party with Finn Am
$12.00 each
Fifth Annual Finn Fling - September 21st
Jan. 4, 2014: Finnish Language Lesson
The Finnish-American Society of Mid-Coast Maine
and the Finnish Heritage House will again join in
presenting the fifth annual Finn Fling Celebration on
Saturday, September 21st. Everyone is invited to come
early for kahvi ja pulla and stay for all the activities.
We are fortunate to have Roy Tapio and Ed Numelin,
woodcarvers from Rutland, Massachusetts, join us this
year. Both Roy and Ed are active in Finnish-American
activities. Their friends Paul Mattson and Ray
Kauppila may be joining them as well. They will
demonstrate their craft and have items for purchase in
Jura Hall from 10:00 to 11:00. Our featured speaker
Ed Kaarela, former Consul for Finland from
Massachusetts, will be speaking at 11:00 in Jura Hall
on the origins of Finnish Independence Day
(December 6th). He has previously presented this
program at Saima Park in Fitchburg where it was well
received. Ed has been active in Finnish-American
actvities and has given a lot of assistance to the
Westminster Historical Society, Massachusetts. We
are very fortunate that these special guests have agreed
to join us for this year’s Finn Fling celebration.
Betsy Hannula, a director of the Westminster
(Massachusetts) Historical Society views this
summer's exhibit "Honoring Finnish-American
World War II Veterans" during a visit to FHH on
Wednesday, August 28th.
Steve Gifford
Steve Gifford
Finnish Language Tune-Up
Marja-Leena Bailey will once again bring her enthusiasm and dynamic teaching style to midcoast Maine when
she will offer on January 4, 2014 an intensive one day Finnish Language Tune-up for beginning and returning
beginners. However, all students of the Finnish Language are welcome. The day will include instruction from
10:00 to 12:00 followed by an hour lunch break and then instruction from 1:00 to 3:00. The cost for the day will
be $45.00. If you interested in this opportunity please contact Steve Gifford as soon as possible by telephone
(207-989-1971), by mail (4 Park Avenue West, Brewer, Maine 04412) or by email ([email protected]).
Marja-Leena will be offering a series of six Finnish Language Classes later in 2014. Tervetuloa.
Steve Gifford
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NEWSLETTER OF THE FINNISH HERITAGE HOUSE
NO. 39 ~ Autumn 2013
MAINE – A WONDERFUL VACATION SPOT
By Jacqueline Harjula
FHH members who attended Finnish Folk Music Camp have
met some wonderful Finns. Two of those people are Kay and
Hal Seppala from the Upper Peninsula, Copper Country,
located in Chassell, Michigan. Celia Jones, our Soumalaiset
Jouset Director and their tour guide, finally convinced them to
visit Maine for the first time. They have two weeks to
explore all the beautiful countryside after arriving on
Thursday, August 29. Lobster was the first thing on the
menu, of course, with lobster stew for supper after their
arrival. The following day, the Maine music campers
gathered for a lobster feed with all the fixings at the home of
David and Anne Little. Kay and Hal had never had to pick
the lobster meat out of the shell, and it was quite amusing to
watch their attempts until they received some instructions.
Kahvi ja pulla completed the meal.
Kay and Hal Seppala enjoying lobster during their visit to
Anne and David Little’s home in Maine.
2013 Finn Fling Schedule
Saturday, Sept. 21 9:00 to 2:00
Later in the day, Suomalaiset Jouset rehearsed in Jura Hall,
joined by Kay and Hal. Kay directs three groups in Michigan
one kantele group and two Finnish folk dancing groups.
There is much laughter and camaraderie during all our
rehearsals, and Kay commented, “You’re normal, just like my
groups-lots of fun to go with the beautiful music.” When the
group played Ratikoon, Hal spun around the floor with Jackie
Harjula.
9:00 to 12:00 - Coffee and pulla at Finnish Heritage House Register for Door Prizes - Purchase Rag Rug Raffle Tickets Complete the 5th Annual Finn Trivia Quiz - Shop at the FHH
Tori - Food Sale- View this summer’s exhibit “Honoring
Finnish-American World War II Veterans” - Sign the guest
book.
As this newsletter goes to press, they still have more exciting
adventures ahead of them, so they will be reported on in the
next issue of Iltatahti. We’re certain they’ll want to return to
this enchanting state again and again.
9:00 to 9:30 - Jura Hall - The DVD “Tradition
Bearers:Finnish American Folk Artists” produced by
UpNorth Films and featuring folk artists of the Great Lakes
Region will be shown in Jura Hall during this time.
9:30 to 10:00 - Jura Hall - “Suomalaiset Jouset” Kantele
Ensemble Concert
10:00 to 11:00 - Jura Hall - Finnish-American woodcarvers
Ray Tapio and Ed Numelin from Rutland, Massachusetts,
will demonstrate their craft and have items available for
sale.
11:00 to 11:45 - Jura Hall - Ed Kaarela from Fitchburg,
Massachusetts, former Consul for Finland, will speak on
the origin of Finnish Independence Day (December 6th).
12:00 to 1:00 - Jura Hall - Lunch Buffet ($3.00 Adults,
Children 12 and under Free)
1:00 to 2:00 - Jura Hall - Finnish Heritage House and the
Finnish-American Society of Midcoast Maine will conduct
brief business meetings - Drawings for Door Prizes and Rag
Rug Raffle - Announcements - Finn Trivia Quiz Due.
Celia Jones, Hal Seppala, Kay Seppala, Jackie Harjula, Anne
Little, Steve Gifford and Mary Gifford
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