Terve! (Hello!) I'm North American, but my DNA is nearly 100% Finnish. It explains a lot about me and my family, and I learn more each year. I learned a lot more in my hometown last month. All of my grandparents were immigrants. There's a strong politically-generated passion in the U.S. right now about immigrants, … Continue reading Heritage Matters
"Blessed be the tie that binds." So begins an old hymn I learned as a child. It came to mind as I paddled over bits of sunken railroad ties that bind me to the history of Huron Bay. Across the bay from Camp Many Moons, the remains of the Iron Range and Huron Bay Railroad … Continue reading Ties That Bind
August 28, 2018. Old wood-fired saunas carry memories, and I was washed with them as I bid a final bittersweet farewell to this sauna and the farmhouse next to it. Both were built by my Finnish-immigrant grandparents. This is where 21 children were born, created from the same parents. (Three died in infancy.) This is … Continue reading Sauna Sadness – History’s Mist
For Many Moons 