Another Review of Finns...

The following review appeared in the October 2014 issue of CHOICE:

North America 52-1020 E184 2013-12249 CIP

Finns in the United States: a history of settlement, dissent, and integration, ed. by Auvo Kostiainen. Michigan State, 2014. 342p ISBN 9781611861068 pbk, $34.95.

This collection of articles covering the Finnish ethnic experience in the US presents the historiography of the subject along with discussion of racial, linguistic, and socioeconomic identity and the difference between Finnish American and Finnish views. Most contributions are solid in quality. Finns were originally classed as being of the Mongolian race and denied naturalization. Assimilation eased when Finns were officially made "white Europeans" by US courts. Finns first arrived at New Sweden (1638-1655). Much of Finnish roots history was lost, mislaid, and destroyed in parish church fires. Most Finns lived in Sweden as burn beaters before immigrating to the US, so identifying ethnic Finnish immigrants from surviving Swedish records was an additional difficulty. By the late 19th century, Finns led in the development of rural cooperatives and extension education. To help themselves, they formed mutual fire insurance cooperatives, dairies and stores, and accident, savings and credit, and death benefit organizations. Unions provided education for the management of co-ops. Ethnic identity is the unifying core of these studies. By the 1940s, the Finnish community was a shadow of its former self. Post-1970s transnational new arrivals have not mixed with the descendants of early immigrants.

--D. J. Shepherd, Independent Scholar
Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.

Review of Finns in the United States from New World Finn Newspaper

A review of the newest book on the Finnish immigrant experience in the US. I did the chapter on religion and what follows is a review of the book, which was edited by Auvo Kostiainen.

Finns in the United States A History of Settlement, Dissent, and Integration Auvo Kostiainen, Editor
Michigan State University Press, 2014 Reviewed by Ivy Nevala 

The subtitle of this absorbing book immediately gives the reader a hint  of its organization.  Editor Kostiainen informs us that it is only the second comprehensive volume on the history of Finns in North America.  A. William Hoglund produced the first in 1960, concentrating on the years 1880-1920.  

People whose names are familiar to readers of Finnish Americana contributed their insights and examine Finnish American history:  Auvo Kostiainen, Jon Saari, Reino Kero, Arnold Alanen, Peter Kivisto, Paul G. Hummasti, Gary Kaunonen, Hannu Heinilä, Keijo Virtanen, Mika Roinila, Erik Hieta, and Johanna Leinonen.  Some may wonder why Finnish Canadians are mentioned only briefly; Kostiainen says they deserve their own volume.

Finns, a relatively small group of immigrants to the U.S., made a considerable impact, because they congregated in certain areas, especially the northern Midwest.  Finnish influence began with the New Sweden colony in Delaware and immigration was cyclical, with peaks from the 1870's to the 1920's and then again after World War II.  Alanen reviews the past and current FinnTtowns and Nesting Places, and Kivisto and Leinonen examine forces that questioned Finnish racial identity and attempted to categorize Finns as "non -white".  This is a topic that has amazed many younger people in this reviewer's family.

As the immigration population grew, the need for organizations of various types became apparent.  Hummasti looks at temperance and religious activities and the tensions created by the desire of some to allow dancing in the halls.  Kaunonen shows how religion and economics became a powerful combination and united American capitalism with the church (Suomi Synod) to espouse the Protestant work ethic onto the immigrants.  He goes on to relate the growth of Laestadianism in Finnish enclaves and then of Congregational, Baptist,  Methodist, and Catholic congregations in the Finnish community.

Finns were an atypical immigrant group because of the level of literacy.  Typically, only 26 per cent of newly arrived immigrants were literate, but among the Finns only 2 per cent sixteen and older were illiterate!   Finns continued their education, establishing language schools, reading rooms, and libraries, all of which helped perserve Finnish culture.  Additionally, they formed two institutions of higher learning, Suomi Opisto and the Work People's College.  From early childhood on, Finnish Americans of earlier generations experienced theater groups, various musical groups (choral and instrumental), and gymnastic and other sports associations established by Finns.  Since they were a literate people, newspapers and publications played a big role in Finnish networking as a part of cultural identity.

It can be said that the wide range of political beliefs from right to left influenced every Finnish organization.  Finns have had a big impact in the labor movement, pressing for improvements in working conditions and in social reforms for working people.  Heinilä says no ethnic group had more influence on cooperatives than the Finns had.  Co-ops began first in insurance, mutual benefit groups, and boarding houses.  Consumer co-ops, culminating in the Central Cooperative Wholesale, provided a network of consumer products which sustained Finnish communities until the emergence of the supermarkets in the later 1950's.  Since then, only a few co-ops have survived.  Speaking from personal experience, I can say that the "co-op store" kept the community together.  

Roinila reviews the contributions of Finland Swedes (citizens of Finland whose mother tongue is a dialect of Swedish known as "Finland Swedish", compared to the "national Swedish" of Sweden.  Before World War I, one in five Finnish immigrants were Finland Swedes.  They too formed the kinds of organizations developed by Finnish Finns.

Hieta, Virtanen, and Kostiainen  examine the connections between Finland and North America, immigrants revisiting Finland, humanitarianism after and during World War II, and the return of Finnish Americans to Finland.

When Leinonen interviewed fairly recent immigrants from Finland, she learned some don't think of Finnish Americans as real Finns and are uncomfortable about some of the recent festivities,  such as St. Urho's Day.  Others bridge Finnish traditions and American traditions as situations arise, especially in cases where one spouse is Finnish.  Leinonen's observations ring true.  I doubt that  in Finnish America there are any aspects of Finnish culture that aren't influenced in some way by the broader American culture.

The discussions by the various authors reveal the point made by Saari, that historians seek patterns of meaning out of the activities of the past.  Finnish Americans have become hybridized as succeeding generations come into contact with non-Finns, communicating and working with them or marrying them. 

The authors are to be commended for their thoughtful contributions to the various themes of this book, published by the Michigan State University Press in 2014.  It is available as a paperback and an e-book.

Finnish Immigrant Coverage of the Italian Hall Tragedy, Calumet, Michigan, December 24, 1913

In honor of the Italian Hall victims, I'm posting an image of the December 26, 1913, edition of Tyomies that labeled their deaths as "Murders." This gut-wrenching headline and the article detail how Finnish immigrants associated with the labor movement saw the deaths of their fallen Fellow Workers. Additionally, I'm posting a translation of the article that was done by a pro-company Finnish-language speaker. This translation was used as evidence for the efforts to round up editors at Tyomies and charge them with crimes for reporting the labor perspective on the event. The newspaper and article about the horrific loss of life at Italian Hall are reminders of the price paid by those who fought for our labor rights today, and the importance of free speech and the 1st Amendment! Seems it is under fire as much today as it was on December 26, 1913.

The translation of the headline and article (from the C&H Collection, Michigan Technological University's Copper Country Historical Archives):

FinnFest Presentation

FinnFest was a bit of a mixed bag. There was a lot of rain, but also some literal and proverbial sunshine.

The tour went very well, and the ceremony for those who died at Italian Hall was wonderful. People from Finland spoke as well as local dignitaries and historians. Larry Lankton and Revered Bob Langseth gave very eloquent speeches, which highlighted the importance of Italian Hall to area history and memory.

My talk at FinnFest, "Wage Slaves and Radicals: Finns in the 1913-14 Michigan Copper Strike," went well. There was a packed room, and the talk ended with some great questions. But, perhaps the best feature of the talk was a guest picketing of the talk by local printer and historian Dan Schneider, who is working on a project to translate and print (using a historically accurate press) editions of Tyomies from the 1913-14 Michigan Copper Strike era.

Dan Schneider "picketing" the FinnFest lecture area hallway announcing his project to translate and reprint 1913-14 Strike era news as published in the Tyomies newspaper. 

I asked Dan to come up and give a description of his project, and it was a great addition to the talk--one that was planned only about half-an-hour before the presentation. Above is an image of Dan in full picket mode as he was walking up and down the FinnFest lecture area hallways. His labor action was a great addition to FinnFest, and his work in translating and reprinting the strike era news is an incredible piece to the strike's story.

FinnFest 2013

Wow...FinnFest is almost here, and with it come a whole host of working-class Finn activities. I'm involved in three events and would like to outline them here:

1) Thursday, June 20, 2013, Finnish Immigrant Working Class Places and Spaces Bus Tour.

I've posted a little on this tour, but would like to include the tour schedule below. I'm excited that the tour has passed its capacity requirement, and we're looking forward to a fun, educational, and reflective day.

The tour schedule:

9.00. Board bus MTU Student Development Complex
9.15. Arrive Dodgeville Temperance Society Hall
10.00. Arrive South Range Hall
10.45. Arrive Kansankoti Hall/Tyomies site
11.30. Arrive Osceola Mine fire site
12.00. Arrive Keweenaw National Historical Park Calumet Visitors Center
12.45-1.30. Lunch on own
1.30. Meet outside Michigan House walk to Italian Hall site for preliminary interpretation
2.00. Italian Hall site ceremony
3.00. End tour at Italian Hall site, stay at Calumet Days, or take bus back to SDC

And, in true working class fashion, instead of the plush tour buses being used by other tours, we'll be using a sturdy, yellow school bus to take us around to these sites.

2) Hanka Day at FinnFest, Friday, June 21, 2013

I volunteer at the Hanka Finnish Immigrant Homestead Museum in Askel, Michigan, and we have a hum-dinger of a time planned. I'll be taking tickets for entrance to the homestead at the old wooden gate, but other volunteers and board members will be dressed as historical interpreters providing the public a glimpse of what life was like on the farm circa 1920. The day will include demonstrations by a black smith, cooking demonstrations, farm animals, music and folk dancing. Big bill if fare for the day and we are expecting anywhere from 300-400 people to visit this great historic site.

3) Saturday, June 22, 2013, presentation, "Wage-slaves and Radicals: Finnish Immigrants in the 1913-14 Copper Strike"

This presentation will highlight the extraordinary part Finns played in the Michigan Copper Strike, and will also include relevant new research on Italian Hall.

Finns in Michigan Goes to Delta County

I just came back from giving a talk about the book Finns in Michigan to folks at the Delta County Historical Society. The members of the historical society were nice enough to invite me to their annual dinner meeting, and I presented to a group of about 70 or so on the unique history of the Finns in Michigan. The people asked great questions during the presentation, the dinner was amazing, and the location was incredible. The talk was held at Gladstone's famous Terrance Bay Inn right on Lake Michigan.

I'm always amazed at the "legs" Finns in Michigan has, it just keeps going--through no work of my own, admittedly.

Delta County is a great place to talk about the Finns in Michigan, primarily for one reason--Rock or Maple Ridge Township. The Rock Hall, owned at one time by Finns associated with the Industrial Workers of the World or "Wobblies," is one of the best examples of a rural social hall, and a physical link with the incredible history of organizational activity in the Finnish immigrant population. In its heyday Rock, and the Maple Ridge area, was alive with the sound of working-class activism and politics, and the Maple Ridge Workers Hall (as it was known) and the community's co-op were seats of great community pride and ideology in action.

I also had the chance to talk about oral history work I did with Escanaba resident Vienna Laine. Vienna is a treasure in the Finnish American community, and had donated a wealth of materials on Finnish American legend Viola Turpeinen to the Finnish American Historical Archive and Museum. Vienna has an incredible mind and shared great memories of growing up in area logging camps, recalled stories she had heard about Michigan and Florida Finns, and had a number of museum pieces that added to the cultural history of Finns and their deep connection to music, specifically polka or accordion music.

It was truly a pleasure to talk with the folks of the Delta County Historical Society.

New Chapter in Finnish in the United States Book

I've been given the chance to write a chapter in the book that is being calling the definitive history of Finns in North America. The title of the book, Finns in the United States: A History of Settlement, Dissent, and Integration, is being edited by Dr. Auvo Kostiainen, who lives and works in Turku, Finland.

I'm truly honored to be a part of this publication as I've been collaborating with some of the names I've grown up reading in the study of Finnish American history. In addition to Auvo, Dr. Arnold Alanen, Dr. Jon Saari, Dr. Peter Kivisto, and a host of others are contributing to the book.

My chapter in the book was a bit of a surprise for me to write, however. When initially approached I thought I was going to be writing something about labor history or perhaps leftist history, but I was asked to write the chapter on religion. This was a unique challenge for me, and although I wrote about religious groups in Finns in Michigan, it was not a topic that I was well-versed in from an academic or scholarly viewpoint.

So, in talking with Auvo, and in thinking about what I might contribute to the scholarship on the religion of the Finns in the United States, I decided that I wanted to bring a historical materialist perspective to the writing on Finnish religion in America. This is a new perspective, and the book is about bringing new perspectives to the study of Finns in the US.

It is also a perspective that will likely be disliked by some as I approach religion not through religious doctrine or by an ecclesiastical foundation; instead I look at religion through politics, economics, and power relations. In thinking about what I could contribute to the discussion of Finns' religious life in America, I noticed that there was not much critical thought regarding this history. With the exception of Douglas Ollila's work, much of the religious history of Finns was celebratory, a who's who of Finnish pastors, or essentially linked with religious scripture.

I chose to write a secular history.

And, it is a secular history that is perhaps what has been missing from the discussion of Finns and religion in the United States. This perspective is also perhaps one with the least preference to the great number of denominations that exist in Finnish North American religious life. Without a doubt, if someone affiliated with the Suomi Synod (now the ELCA) would have wrote this history, it would have likely been biased toward that organization. The same is true for other denominations such as those affiliated the Apostolic, Laestadian, or National (Missouri Synod) churches. Having someone who is essentially a third party, me, write the book shifts bias from institutional bodies to a general look at how religion functioned on the whole for immigrants and their institutions in America.

It is not a conventional history of religion to say the least, but it is one that might supplement the other quite good histories of other groups that have undertaken the very complex chronicling of Finnish American religious life.

FinnFest 2013 Guided Tour

FinnFest 2013 being held in Hancock, Michigan, is quickly approaching. Thousands are expected to be converging on the Copper Country for the event. As part of the event, I'm giving a guided tour of Finnish American Working Class Places and Spaces. Info about this tour and others available is on the FinnFest web site: http://finnfestusa2013.org/tours.

Below is the description of the tour. Later I'll give more information on the specifics of the tour: stops, time, information covered, etc.

Thursday, June 20—Finnish American Working Class Places and Spaces 9:00 am to 4:30 pm

Tour begins and ends at MTU’s Student Development Complex  Pre-registration required. Cost $20 (lunch on your own in Calumet) 20 min. and 40 max. attendance. There is an option to stay in Calumet after tour stops for FinnFest’s Calumet Day if preferred. Shuttle bus will return those who stay in Calumet. Finnish immigrants helped to shape much of the Upper Peninsula’s strong working-class heritage. The struggle they encountered in building America, forming immigrant working-class organizations, and challenging the copper bosses is a remarkable testament to the power an immigrant people can have in shaping new lives in a New World. Though most of those immigrant voices have passed, many of the places and spaces they inhabited remain. This historical tour will link the voices of working-class Finns and the significant structures and landscapes they forged with sweat and sacrifice. Tour stops include the South Range Hall, the site of the former Kansankoti Hall, mining landscapes, the Keweenaw National Historical Park’s Visitor Center, the Italian Hall Memorial site, and graves of Finnish immigrant people who died in Italian Hall at Lake View Cemetery. Labor and immigration historian Gary Kaunonen, author of two books on Michigan’s working-class Finns and co-author of a new book on the 1913-14 Michigan Copper Strike and Italian Hall tragedy, will lead this tour.

A New Book or Two

Greetings to those of you interested in Finnish American labor history. It has been a long time since my last post, but as with many of you, I've been busy fighting the "Bosses" and doing other daily tasks.

Much of my time has been taken up with a new book that Aaron Goings and I are writing on the 1913-14 Michigan Copper Strike. Please have a gander at this blog link and be sure to check that for updates and information often: http://www.1913copperstrike.blogspot.com/.

Secondly, I had the opportunity to write a chapter for a Finnish and Finnish North American collection of labor histories from Finn Forum IX titled, Labouring Finns: Transnational Politics in Finland, Canada, and the United States. A link to the snippet view of the book's contents: http://lakeheadu.academia.edu/MichelSBeaulieu/Books/1270043/Labouring_Finns_Transnational_Politics_in_Finland_Canada_and_the_United_States.

The title of the chapter I wrote is, "Forging a Unique Solidarity: Finnish Immigrant Socialists and the Early 20th Century Socialist Party of America."

The book is a great edition of labor histories from scholars in the various countries and was edited by Michele Beaulieu, Ron Harpelle, and Jami Penny of Lakehead University in Thunder Bay Canada. The Institute of Migration in Turku, Finland, published the book. This is a link to their "products" page: http://www.migrationinstitute.fi/netshop/products.php?p=0c2b56.  

Solidaarisuus aina!

A Review from a Michigan Source

From Great Lakes Echo at http://greatlakesecho.org/2011/01/11/two-books-highlight-michigans-copper-mining-culture.

Meanwhile, Gary Kaunonen, a graduate student at MTU, takes a different approach to mining in the U.P.

He focuses on the immigrants from Finland who, with others from elsewhere in Europe, worked in the mines, and the strife between labor and management.


Michigan State University Press, $39.95
“Challenge Accepted: A Finnish Immigrant Response to Industrial America in Michigan’s Copper Country” (Michigan State University Press, $39.95) culminates with a bitter 1913-14 strike that the mine owners won.

Almost a century later, the strike is most remembered for tragedy, not for the underlying conflict over unionization and the Finnish workers’ socialist philosophy. That tragedy killed almost 80 people at a crowded Christmas Eve party for multiethnic strikers and their families at Italian Hall in Calumet.

The victims were trampled to death when someone believed to be a management provocateur who falsely yelled “fire” at the party.

“The Italian Hall Disaster,” Kaunonen writes, “brought incredible misery to thousands of people.

“Because of the number of `Finns’ involved with striking factions, persons of Finnish ethnicity were especially affected by the sorrowful events.”

Challenge Accepted Wins Historical Society of Michigan Book Award

On stage accepting the award

MSU-Press display with Challenge Accepted at the Conference

Book award from Historical Society of Michigan


Historical Society of Michigan's Gold Seal Book Award on Challenge Accepted cover

As some of you may have already heard, Challenge Accepted, published by Michigan State University Press, won a Historical Society of Michigan 2010 book award (along with Larry Lankton's book Hollowed Ground.)

Although an author's name is on the front cover, as I have come to find out, a book is a very collective undertaking and Challenge Accepted was certainly such a collective undertaking.

To all of you that have advised, edited, translated, helped, employed, funded research, or have shown an interest in the work...I would like to offer a big thank you for your efforts and work.

I don't see the award so much as an individual thing (though I must begrudgingly admit I was pretty excited), rather I see it as recognition of: the great amount of work done by MSU-Press, the important place of Copper Country history in Michigan, Michigan Tech's outstanding record of scholarship, and the Finnish American working class contribution to the building of Michigan.

The award was quite a surprise, a very welcome surprise, which would never have occurred without the help and support from you folks.

For reference, the Historical Society of Michigan announcement of the award listing Larry Lankton's Hollowed Ground and Challenge Accepted is pasted below:

Society Presents 2010 State History Awards in Frankenmuth

FRANKENMUTH—The Historical Society of Michigan presented its 2010 State History Awards at the 136 th Annual Meeting and State History Conference held October 15-17 in Frankenmuth. The awards were presented at the annual awards reception and banquet on Friday evening. The State History Awards are the highest recognition presented by the state’s official historical society.

Fifteen awards were presented this year in a variety of categories including Publications: University and Commercial Press, Publications: Private Printing, Media, Communications, Educational Programs, Restoration/Preservation, Distinguished Volunteer Service, Special Programs and Events, and Lifetime Achievement.

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Four books were recognized with State History Awards in the Publications: University and Commercial Press category.

The first, Larry Lankton’s “Hollowed Ground” published by Wayne State University Press, chronicles a key part of the Upper Peninsula’s history in recent times—the copper mining industry. The volume concentrates on the beginnings of the three major corporations that came to dominate the industry by 1900, the various mines and the company towns that grew up around them, miner/management relations, and the decline of the major corporations ending with the White Pine mining operation near Ontonagon.

The second book to receive a State History Award in this category was Charles K. Hyde’s “Storied Independent Automakers” published by Wayne State University Press. In this text, Hyde explores the history of the Nash and Hudson car companies which eventually merged in 1954 to form the American Motors Company. More than 90 color photos of restored automobiles as well as brochures, period literature, factory photos, and road test information appear in this volume.

Paul Taylor’s “Orlando Poe: Civil War General and Great Lakes Engineer” published by Kent State University Press was the third recipient in this category. “Orlando Poe” chronicles the life of one of the most influential and yet unrecognized soldiers of the American Civil War. Poe commanded the 2 nd Michigan Infantry during the Peninsular Campaign, and the Civil War era serves as a backdrop for the book. Taylor also documents Poe’s post-war career, in which he supervised the design and construction of numerous lighthouses as well as the largest shipping lock in the world at Sault Ste. Marie.

The fourth book to receive an award in the University and Commercial Press category was Gary Kaunonen’s “Challenge Accepted: A Finnish Immigrant Response to Industrial America in Michigan’s Copper Country” published by Michigan State University Press. As Kaunonen noted in his work, Finns were the largest single ethnic classification in the copper mines and were often treated like the lowest rung of the ethnic ladder. Strong personalities often competed and conflicted in their goals and methods and followings. This volume is a worthy addition to the study of Pre-World War I Copper Country and Michigan history.

The Historical Society of Michigan, which administers the State History Awards, is the state's oldest cultural organization. Founded in 1828 by Lewis Cass and Henry Schoolcraft, it is an independent non-profit dedicated to the preservation and presentation of Michigan's historical

Challenge Accepted and Finns in Michigan Review in Journal of Finnish Studies

Above is a dual review of Finns in Michigan and Challenge Accepted by Hilary Joy Virtanen of the University of Wisconsin Madison's Folklore PhD program. Hilary wrote the review for the Journal of Finnish Studies' Summer 2010 edition. A big thank you to the Journal of Finnish Studies and Hilary for reviewing and publishing the review on the books. Click on the images to enlarge, and the top image is the first page of the review, middle image second page of the review, and bottom image is the final page of the review.

Challenge Accepted Chosen by AAUP as a Book for Understanding

Challenge Accepted was chosen by the Association of American University Presses as a "Book for Understanding" the mining industry. The "Books for Understanding" program, which features publications that present "scholarship beyond the headlines," was created by the AAUP to present the public with free and easy to use bibliographies of published materials on various topics.

A big thank you to the AAUP for recognizing Challenge Accepted.

Following is a link to the "Books for Understanding" web page:
http://www.aaupnet.org/booksforunderstanding.html.

Challenge Accepted Presentation and Book Signing in the Local News

The talk and book signing at Michigan Tech is getting a lot of press, even outside of the Houghton/Hancock area. From Marqutte, Michigan's Mining Journal:

"Based in Hancock, the Tyomies Publishing Company rallied strikers and their families during the 1913-14 copper miners' strike. This image from the Keweenaw Digital Archives was taken in February 1914 near the end of the Copper Country's most violent labor strike. Author Gary Kaunonen will give a presentation at 4 p.m. Tuesday in the JR Van Pelt and Opie Library's East Reading Room at Michigan Tech University. He also will sign copies of his books: the latest, "Challenge Accepted: A Finnish Immigrant Response to Industrial America In Michigan's Copper Country," explores the politics and culture of the working class Finnish immigrants who made a stand against the mining companies. The book presents an in-depth look at how members of the Finnish immigrant working class gambled the success of early efforts by participating in the bitter and bloody 1913-14 copper miners' strike. The nine-month struggle between organized labor and the mining companies culminated in the tragic events at Italian Hall. Kaunonen examines the events of the 1913-14 Strike and Italian Hall using often-overlooked proletarian Finnish immigrant sources. A limited number of copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event. For more information, visit www.lib.mtu.edu/mtuarchives/, or call 487-2505."

Presentation and Book Signing

From the Michigan Tech Archives blog at: http://blogs.mtu.edu/archives/.

Archives Features Talk & Book Signing by Local Author Gary Kaunonen
The Michigan Tech Archives hosts local author Gary Kaunonen for a presentation and book signing in the JR Van Pelt & Opie Library’s East Reading Room on Tuesday, August 17 at 4 p.m.

In his latest book, Challenge Accepted: a Finnish immigrant response to industrial America in Michigan’s Copper Country, published by Michigan State University Press, Kaunonen tells the story of the Finnish immigrant challenge to the historic social order. He explores their clash with Copper Country industrialists by examining the written record and material culture of the Finnish immigrant working class through analysis of buildings, cultural institutions, and publication of print media.

Challenge Accepted takes an in-depth look at the way a portion of the Finnish immigrant working class gambled the success of early organizational efforts by participating in the bitter and bloody 1913-14 copper miners’ strike. This nine-month struggle between organized labor and the mining companies culminated in the tragic events at Italian Hall. Kaunonen examines the events of the 1913-14 Strike and Italian Hall using often-overlooked proletarian Finnish immigrant sources.

Kaunonen suggests that the most noteworthy accomplishment of these Finnish immigrants in the Copper Country was that as a largely unskilled group of immigrant laborers, newspaper employees, and radical “hoboes,” they had a very considerable impact on the history of a place dominated by powerful mining companies and the men who ran those companies. This was truly remarkable, a challenge accepted by a proactive segment of the Finnish immigrant working class to have a say in their own working conditions. Embedded in this study of ethnic political-labor history is also a story of division and decline that ultimately fractured a working class movement dedicated to solidarity. This demise is significant when recounting the capabilities and vulnerabilities of the American labor movement in the early twentieth century.

Gary Kaunonen is a social and labor historian currently working on a PhD at Michigan Tech. He received a Master’s in Industrial History and Archaeology from Michigan Tech in 2007, and for a while worked as an archivist at the Finnish American Historical Archive at Finlandia. Kaunonen studies the history of the UP’s Finnish immigrant population, and the interaction between Finns and American industry. Both of his grandfathers worked in the iron mines of Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range, and Kaunonen himself charged blast furnaces and operated a bull-ladle before turning to academics. His first book, also published by Michigan State University Press, is called Finns in Michigan.

Limited copies of Kaunonen’s latest book, Challenge Accepted, will be available to purchase at the August 17 event at the JR Van Pelt & Opie Library at Michigan Tech.

For more information, call the Archives at 487-2505.

Challenge Accepted "Picked" by Jim Agnew

I got a letter from the good folks at Michigan State University Press letting me know that Challenge Accepted has been featured in Jim Agnew's Literary World in his "Daily Picks" section of books.

Agnew is a book reviewer and according to his web site at http://www.jimagnew.net/, "Jim also is a world-class literary researcher whose clients have included Vincent Bugliosi, Dan Moldea, Bill Zehme, Gus Russo, Bill Kurtis, Jonathan VanMeter, the late Bill Roemer, Nick Pileggi and Nick Tosches. The late Pulitzer Prize award winning columnist Mike Royko referred to Agnew as " the finest researcher of crime in America." He has been profiled in the Chicago-Sun Times, The Chicago Reader and a chapter in the Nick Tosches Reader (DaCapo)."

Thank you Mr. Agnew.

Finn Hall Band at Hanka Homestead

View of Hanka Homestead looking south: savu sauna left, house center, barn complex on right

Been a while since the last post, but really enjoying the beautiful Keweenaw summer. Been out berry picking (the wild blueberries are incredible this year), fishing, playing some league softball, and just generally getting out and having a great time. Festivals are abundant and everything from the pasty to the strawberry is celebrated this time of year, as fellow residents of the Keweenaw try to pack as much activity into the warm summer before the snow begins to fly.

Also, there is a FinnGrandFest occurring in the Canadian Soo this year. The event is a coming together of Finns from the United States and Canada, and promises to be a great time.

As part of all this great summer activity, a really unique experience is coming up quickly. On Monday, August 2 from 6-9, (the Monday after FinnGrandFest ends) Finn Hall Band and the Finnish American comedy troupe Nyt Naura are going to be performing a live, outdoor concert at Hanka Homestead in Michigan's beautiful Copper Country. Hanka is calling it, "Music in the Meadow," and the event promises to be a great event.

Finn Hall Band is one of the last actual Finnish folk music groups left in the U.S. Reflecting the incredible history of music in the Finnish American working class, Finn Hall Band echoes the cultural history of the important place hall culture occupied in Finnish American lives.

Hope to see some of you there. For directions to, and information on Hanka Homestead, please visit: http://hunts-upguide.com/keweenaw_bay_hanka_homestead.html.

FinnForum IX: A Conclusion

FinnForum IX came and went and as anticipated it was a great conference. Met some folks I had only known through email, met and talked union with a Canadian Fellow Worker, reconnected with a Finnish friend, heard some really great presentations on Finnish, Finnish American (U.S.), and Finnish Canadian labor history, hung out on Bay St. a bit, and had mojakka at the world famous Hoito...all in all the perfect time.

Above are some images from the trip. Doors of the famous Hoito and a current photo of the Finnish Labour Temple.

Perhaps one of the best parts of the conference was the amount of labor history scholarship, and that this scholarship came from people I've read and admired for some time, and also from some really good younger scholars.

Also, really exciting to see that the Labour Temple was receiving some attention in the restoration department for its 100th birthday. The building is such an incredible cultural artifact, and still maintains its function as a hall and meeting place today.

Journal of Finnish Studies

Update on the Journal of Finnish Studies Summer issue, which is coming together nicely:

Included in the issue are articles relating to Finn halls and the music of Finns in the Industrial Workers of the World from Jim Leary and Aaron Goings; in addition to those from Leary and Goings are articles from Tim Frandy and Hilary Joy Virtanen, which analyze the significance of song in the Finnish American working class; and lastly Paul Niemisto looks at the material culture of sheet music in the Finnish American community. Pekka Gronow penned the Conclusion, and I wrote the Foreword concentrating on an idea of working class theory that I've been developing for a while now.

All of the articles are in and are going out for peer review. Jim and Hilary have been doing great work getting the edition together and three out of the five contributors have tapped into a great resource...audio recordings from 1938 fieldwork done by Alan Lomax in the Finnish American community surrounding the Lake Superior area.

The "Lomax Recordings" are a treasure trove of ethno-musical history regarding the culture of Finnish Americans...and this issue of Journal of Finnish Studies chronicles how this musical culture, through song, was expressed in the Finnish immigrant and Finnish American working class.

Look for this issue soon, it is going to be good. Subscription information for the Journal of Finnish Studies at:

http://www.finnala.com/JFS_subs_and_ads.html.

FinnForum IX Update

The Wage Slave's masthead from 1908. From Michigan Tech's Copper Country Historical Archive in the Garden Level of the JRVP Library.

FinnForum IX is quickly approaching (May 26-27, 2010). Thought I'd post an explanation of my conference paper topic, which is tentatively titled "Forging a Unique Solidarity: Finnish Immigrant Socialists and the Early 20th Century Socialist Party of America":

Finnish immigrants are often thought of as clannish outsiders in the Socialist Party of America’s (SPA) Finnish language federation, but research into early Socialist Party of America sources reveals the immersion of Finnish immigrant leaders and rank-and-file into the greater U.S. socialist movement. The prominence of Finns in the U.S. socialist movement is displayed in English language print media dated 1908, which announces creation of the Finnish Translator's Office located in the Chicago, Illinois, national headquarters of the Socialist Party of America. The success of this office in converging “two proletarian worlds” is demonstrated by the 1914 election of three Finnish immigrants to prominent posts in the Socialist Party of Michigan.

Additionally, the integration of the Työmies Publishing Company's presses and staff while in Hancock, Michigan, for use by English language media such as the Wage Slave (the newspaper of Michigan's state Socialist Party), and the Miner's Bulletin (the newspaper of striking workers during the 1913-14 Michigan Copper Miners' Strike) demonstrated the uniting of resources between Finnish immigrant socialists and their U.S. counterparts. Työmies also published Finnish translations of English language books, translated and published English labor songs in Finnish language songbooks, and translated English language material for periodicals and newspaper articles. Perhaps the most prolific of U.S. media influences was the work of American socialist cartoonists such as Art Young and Ryan Walker. However, the move to join the U.S. socialist and labor movement occurred while Finnish immigrants made a strident attempt to maintain a sense of ethnic identity through media forms and the treasured Finn Hall culture.