2007 by The Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio 44242
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2006037735
ISBN-13: 978-0-87338-909-9
ISBN-10: 0-87338-909-3
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 09 08 07 06 5 4 3 2 1
The account of Amy Kaukonen Walshs life is a condensed version of an article researched and written by Noreen Fairburn and published in Inland Seas: Quarterly Journal of the Great Lakes Historical Society 46 (Winter 1990): 270-74.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
My father spoke Finglish at work : Finnish Americans in northeast Ohio / edited by Noreen Sippola Fairburn.
p. cm.(Voices of Diversity)
ISBN-13: 978-0-87338-909-9 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-87338-909-3 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Finnish AmericansOhioAshtabula CountyBiography. 2. Finnish AmericansOhioAshtabula CountyHistory20th century. 3. Finnish AmericansOhioAshtabula CountySocial life and customs20th century. 4. ImmigrantsOhioAshtabula CountyBiography. 5. ImmigrantsOhioAshtabula CountyHistory20th century. 6. ImmigrantsOhioAshtabula Countysocial life and customs20th century. 7. Ashtabula County (Ohio)Biography. 8. Ashtabula County (Ohio)History20th century. 9. Ashtabula County (Ohio)Social life and customs20th century.
I. Fairburn, Noreen Sippola.
F497.A73M9 2006
977.13400494541dc22 2006037735
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication data are available.
These oral and written histories began as a project of the Finnish American Heritage Association of Ashtabula County (FAHA). Founded and organized in 1995 by Linda and John Riddell, the association is a group of Finnish Americans that meets monthly (excluding three winter months) to exchange stories of ancestors, celebrate Finnish holidays, and collect artifacts for their newly built Finnish American Cultural Center (FACC). Construction began on the FACCs log building in 2004, largely through the efforts of John Riddell and a volunteer crew. Assembled on the former site of Sovinto Hall, the center was completed in time for its dedication and open house, July 1, 2006.
The taped interviews were also begun in 1995, but it wasnt until 2002 that the FAHA concurred that written copies would be a better method of preserving these family stories for generations to come.
In the beginning, Marilyn Aho provided instruction for the FAHA bylaws and furnished other legal data to comply with the State of Ohio. She emphasized the importance of interviewing and recording oral histories of older Finnish Americans as an educational and permanent record of early immigrants. After attending historical seminars, Marilyn also provided a questionnaire that she adapted for this particular ethnic group. Marilyn left Ashtabula County shortly thereafter but turned over pertinent materials to Linda Sippola Riddell, who continued with the interviews.
In 1995, Linda began visiting people in their homes and in nursing residences, taking along a tape recorder and a questionnaire. Requisites were that they should be of Finnish descent and live, or have lived, in Ashtabula County. The questions werent always answered in precise order, and sometimes narrators strayed from the question at hand. With only one hour on each tape, additional interviews were arranged or information was gleaned from other sources such as church records and other family members.
Questionnaire
Who were the first persons in your family to come to the United States?
Where did they live in Finland, and when did they leave?
Do you know any stories about their journey?
What date did they arrive in America? Where did they first settle and find employment?
Where and when did your parents (or grandparents) marry?
When and where were you born? Do you have siblings?
Where did you go to school? Did you attend college? Years of graduations:
Was your family affiliated with a church?
Were Finnish traditions (foods and the sauna) and holidays observed in your home?
What did you do for entertainment while growing up? What chores did you have?
How was your family affected by the Great Depression?
Did you or members of your family serve during World War II?
Do you remember anything about the Finnish halls, parks, or stores?
Who did you marry and when?
Name your children and give birth dates:
How did you earn a living? Was your spouse employed?
When, and from where, did you or your spouse retire?
Have you ever traveled to Finland?
Have you received any awards, honors, or special recognition?
What changes have you observed in your community and in the world?
Tell about anything humorous or tragic, or of general interest during any period in your life.
In response, a few outlined or wrote their own memoirs, and one interview was conducted over the telephone. Rebecca (Niemi) Sloan first began transcribing and typing the oral stories, but her work as a journalist for the (Youngstown) Vindicator, along with her family responsibilities, left no time to continue this additional task. Beginning in January 2005, Linda Riddell transcribed the remainder, typing them verbatim; she then gave these copies to me. I edited and arranged each interview in chronological order and, after additional research, I compiled the following material.
The first-person accounts were written as the narrator told them with the exception of minor alterations for the sake of clarity; brackets enclose further explanations. Some photos were donated to the Finnish American Heritage Association, some were loaned by family members, and some were loaned by a private collector. Thus, this project has been a collaborative effort from its inception.
The following oral and written histories are a mere sampling of Finnish Americans in Ashtabula County and its environs; nevertheless, they may prompt others, whatever their ethnic background, to record their own family histories for generations to come.
This publication would never have been initiated if it had not been for the Finnish descendants who consented to share their families stories. Many were in their eighties or nineties at the time of their interviews, yet their memories of days gone by were told with frankness and clarity. We give our heartfelt thanks to those still with us and regret that those who have passed on during the many years when the interviewing and publishing were underway will not get to see their contributions in print.
Thanks and gratitude must be expressed to the many people who contributed additional information or photos of a parent or spouse: Janis Bloom Eldridge, Joanne Fitting Carpenter, Susan Luoma Rose, Elizabeth Karbacka, Eleanor Kaihlanen Stevenson, Katherine Kaura, Betty Kohta Wormley, Rhoda Korkate, Maxine Koski, Sonja Kotila Corlew, Elaine Raaske Richardson, Glenn Sippola, Rebecca Niemi Sloan, and Will Fitzhugh, founder and editor of the
