Gold Miners from Finland
By June Pelo.Photo courtesy of NARA. In 1895 a young man from Karleby, Finland traveled to America to search for gold and strike it rich. His…
Traditions and history
History of Currency in Finland
By June Pelo. Sources include the National Archive – Old Handwriting and Documents; Kalevi Kiesi and the internet. Monetary unit in the Middle Ages: The unit…
Food Customs
By June Pelo. Historically the western part of Finland belonged to the Roman-Catholic and Lutheran sphere of influence and via them to that of the…
The Kankkonen Brothers in Astoria, Oregon
Excerpts from “Egen lyckas smed” by K-G Olin.English translation by June Pelo. There was a gloomy mood in Astoria, Oregon in the spring of 1896. The…
Swedish Estonians
by Karen Anderson Pockets of languages survive all over the world largely due to the efforts of the native speakers and their resilience. These groups add…
The Creativity of the Finns
Written by Giles C. Ekola, The Finnish American Reporter, Oct. 1998. Submitted to SFHS by June Pelo. Images updated to meet attribution standards in 2021. The…
Customs and Traditions of Karlö, Finland
This information was excerpted by June Pelo from material supplied by former SFHS member, Bernice Korpi. People who lived in houses often owned clocks, but people…
The Christian Tradition
By June Pelo. From Finnish Folk Culture by Ilmar Talve. The Catholic Church occupied a strong position in the 15th century and played a leading role…
Old Church Customs
By June Pelo; excerpt from Karleby Sockens Historia. I recently read about some church customs in Finland in the 1700’s which seem rather strange in today’s…
Saint Henry
Submitted by June Pelo, based on work by Jussi Nuorteva, scholar of old literature, science journalist, from “Finland, a Cultural Encyclopedia”, by Finnish Literature Society. Saint…
Monastery of Old Valamo
By June Pelo referencing a Finnair brochure titled ‘Monastery – orthodox-cultural tours’. The monastery of old Valamo, known as the Monastery of the Transfiguration of Christ,…
Donald Widjeskog Remembers Christmas from Long Ago
Donald Widjeskog, Norden 5 Feb. 2011English translation by June Pelo. We celebrate Christmas as a special place in our hearts. It is then that families gather together;…
