World War II Gift Parcels to Finland
By Martin Wallenius, Superintendent at the General Direction of Posts and Telegraphs foreign section, Helsinki.Translated by June Pelo During the war immigrant families from Finland worried…
Learn about culture, traditions, and history.
Swede Finn Junction
Memories of the Winter War
By Art Jura, Norden, 17 April 2008. Translated by June Pelo. Helvi Waisanen Silverman and Paula Waisanen Szabo related their experiences in Kuhmo, Finland during the 1939-40…
Before Modern Conveniences
Based on the book “Before Modern Conveniences”, by Helmi Kortes-Erkkila. It is about a Finnish farm family 1917-1927.Submitted by June Pelo. The author grew up on…
Finland-Swedes in America
By Anders Myhrman, 1972. Excerpted from “Finlandsvenskar i Amerika” (The Finland-Swedes in America)Translation by June Pelo. The number of emigrants from Finland to America during the…
The Sauna
This is the second and more detailed version of ‘The Sauna’ article by June Pelo. She sites her source as the internet. Anthropologists know little about…
Digging for Family Roots
By June Pelo, using excerpts from the L.A. Times. For generations, elders told stories around the campfire, and later, around the dining room table. Then in…
Eli Johnson (1891-1967)
From: “Roots in the Past – Seeds for the Future” Published 2001 in Duluth, MN by Clover Valley/French River Community History Committee. June Pelo Eli Johnson…
Carl Carlsson Åivobäck-Clemetsöhem (1722-1860)
Published in Vasa 1963. Translated by June Pelo. Some time ago the Vasa newspaper published an article series “Klemetsö Village over 500 Years.” In these historic…
Emigration from Ostrobothnia
Extracts from Journal of Finnish Studies, “Exploring Ostrobothnia” by Mari Niemi.Translated by June Pelo The first Finns and Swedes came to America in the 1600’s when…
Midsummer
By June Pelo. Sources extracted from the internet. Midsummer has been celebrated for many centuries and some traditions predate Christianity. Traditionally all turning points of the…
The Meaning of the Word “Mantal”
Written by Robert Plogman in April, 1998.Translated by June Pelo A mantal cannot be given a specific size because it’s not a size measurement unit but…
The Log Cabin Tradition
By June Pelo, sourced from internet articles. The exact origin of log building is lost, but archaeologists have suggested it started with the Scandinavians and northern…
