July 10, 2019. She’s 102 now, one of 21 children born to the same parents and the only one still alive. As if that’s not enough to amaze, she owned this piece of property 50 years ago and I didn’t even know that. Today, she visited Camp Many Moons.
“She” is Aunt Martha, my Dad’s sister. Sharp-minded, inspiring, kind, resilient, irrepressibly cheerful, and admired by dozens of nieces and nephews; also a much-loved former nurse, award-winning hospital administrator, care-taker of several siblings, land-developer (with her husband), and stand-in mother to countless children; and, still, a fluent Finnish speaker and awesome Scrabble player! She is one-of-a-kind.
Her home was the center of our large extended family. So it’s not surprising that, for her 100th birthday, relatives came from all over the country to pay homage to this amazing woman and the heritage she represents. Her Finnish parents immigrated to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula from a tiny town called Vadso in far-northeastern Norway — the part that overlays the top of Finland — north of the Arctic Circle, near the Barents Sea and Russia. (You see how I come by my love of the far-north, winter, and Finnish-ness.) My parents spoke Finnish at home and I tried to learn as an adult, but it’s a tough language. I use a few phrases whenever I visit Martha, but between her hearing problems and my bad memory, we usually end up in giggles.
Martha was the first reason I began to return regularly to the U.P. (My love of its nature, and Jeff, came later.) I like to think of myself as “the special niece.” 😉 We are both professional women who had no children but nonetheless enjoyed rich lives filled with people of all ages, so my visits always left me feeling more content. Inspired. Relevant. Loved!
Rakastan sinua (I love you), Aunt Martha. It seems inevitable that our histories are connected this way – not just through family, but through this parcel of property. May you enjoy it with me for monta kuuta (many moons) to come. Mene jumalan kanssa (go with God) — but not yet.
For Many Moons 
As a Finn, I did find this post interesting and lovely. Regards from hot Finland.
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We love your writing, my grandmother was born on Lille Ekkeroy, an 84 acre island on the Barents Sea nearby Vadso. I can’t imagine the extreme environs that those people endured!
The island was a fishing village in which eight families resided at one point. There are no trees that far north, only grasses, fauna, and rocks. My regards to you and my friend Jeff.
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Thank you so much for writing. Jeff says Hi back. Imagine imagine that our grandmothers came from that same tiny little town! I have been there. Have you?
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My dear Uncle visited the village Ekkeroy on the mainland, but there was no access to the island at the time. He was the one who informed me about where my Grandmother’s birthplace was. He also visited the birthplace of my Grandfather in Simo, Finland. They both came here as young immigrants, and met in the Copper Country. I have not traveled beyond the U.S. Gail and I were enjoying the colors in Kenton today, does that count for world travel?
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