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Collection consists of a genealogy of the Blomquist Family from St. Paul, MN.  In English.

Papers of Carlson consist of genealogical information on the Haapalahti and Carlson families of Sweden and Finland and a brief history of Finnish migration to Sweden, Norway, and the United States.  In English.

The organization was originally part of the Cooperative Central Exchange, formed in 1917.  It functioned as a marketing and purchasing agency for farm produce.  The Exchange developed its own line of merchandise during the 1920s, while its membership and sales continued to grow.  In the late 1920s, however, as a result of the split between Communist and non-Communist members, the non-Communist faction, which retained control, changed the organization's name to the Central Cooperative Wholesale.  During the 1930s, while the Cooperative prospered, the membership and the operation became more Americanized.  In 1956, the name was changed to Central Cooperatives, Inc.; it continued to operate until the early 1960s and merged with Midland Cooperatives in 1963.

Records of the Cooperative Trading Association consist of a membership certificate and a stock certificate.  In English.

Papers of Lionel B. Davis consist of a typescript of a master's degree paper and another college paper on Finnish American dance music (waltzes).  Also included is sheet music in manuscript, with Finnish titles, of schottische dance tunes.  Includes English.

Doby was born in Brule, WI, of Finnish immigrant parents.  She worked for the Peace Research Institute (Washington, DC), Wayne State University (Detroit, MI), the Minneapolis, MN, public schools, and the Immigration History Research Center.  She has been active in Finnish American organizations, especially the Minnesota Finnish-American Historical Society, FinnFest U.S.A., and the Finnish genealogy section of the Minnesota Genealogy Society.

Enkel received his law degree in 1941 from the University of Minnesota.  During the McCarthy Era he defended aliens in the Minnesota region who faced deportation under the McCarran-Walter Act.  Enkel's papers consist of legal briefs, documents, and correspondence relating to deportation proceedings in the McCarthy Era with regard to the following seven persons or cases: Taisto A. Elo, Knut E. Heikkinen, Mrs. Vera Hathaway, Harry Roast, Charles Rowoldt, Lopez-Hernandez v. Brownell, and Heikkila v. Barber.  The materials on the Knut Heikkinen case are incomplete.  Mr. Enkel undertook these cases at the behest of the Minnesota Committee for the Protection of the Foreign Born.  In English.  Inventory available. 

Papers consist of memoirs entitled "As a Kid in Wisconsin," along with a photograph album of the Labor Sports Union Training School (Loon Lake, MI).  In English.

Erickson was born in Merikarvia, Finland, and came to America with her brother in 1905; two of her sisters and another brother also immigrated.  She worked in a boarding house and hospital in Ishpeming, MI, and married Ilmari Erickson, a miner, in 1914.  In 1916, the family moved to Waukegan, IL, because Ilmari had been blacklisted for refusing to testify on behalf of the mines when a work partner was killed because of unsafe work conditions.  Both Hilma and Ilmari became active members of the Workers Hall in Waukegan, and he served on the Board of Directors for the Waukegan Cooperative Trading Company.  Hilma's papers consist of letters written to her daughter Eva Helen Erickson.  Includes English translations.

Records are minutes of the board of directors for 1918-1924 and 1927-1931, and financial records from 1923 and 1931.

FinnFest U.S.A. is a national organization that sponsors an annual celebration (of the same name) of Finnish culture in the United States.  Records consist of correspondence, newspaper articles, tape recordings, publicity materials, and other items pertaining to FinnFest U.S.A. celebration.  In English.

The League was the successor to the Finnish Socialist Federation, a language federation of the Socialist Party of America.  Founded in 1940, it was modeled after Finland's Social Democratic Party and stood for parliamentary socialism.

Collection includes conference proceedings, a pamphlet, memoranda, and correspondence relating to Finnish American activities denouncing Finland's participation as an Axis ally during World War II.  In English.

Records of the Church comprise birth, baptism, confirmation, marriage, burial, and financial records of the congregation.

Collection of Finnish dramatic scripts includes the following titles: Kostina, Ajan Laulu, Ananiaksen Ehtoollinen, and Kaksi Varasta.

Records of the Congregation comprise baptism, confirmation, communion, marriage, and funeral registers.

In 1930, a group of Finns in Milwaukee, WI, sought to establish their own church, the Finnish Lutheran Church of Milwaukee.  In March of 1932, the congregation voted to affiliate with the Congregational denomination, and the name was changed to Finnish Luther Congregational Church.  The church maintained an active congregational life and also participated in community affairs.  During World War II, the church coordinated the Finnish relief effort in the Milwaukee area.  In the 1960s, membership declined; the congregation was officially disbanded in 1969.

Records of the Association consist of the organization's constitution and a letter from the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (Hibbing, MN, pastorate).  Includes English.

The Astoria, OR, chapter of the Finnish Socialist Federation was founded in 1904.  In a few years its membership numbered between three and four hundred.  The club founded the socialist newspaper Toveri, which became one of three major newspapers of the Finnish Socialist Federation, together with Työmies and Raivaaja.  The club's many activities included an active and large theater group.

The organization was founded ca. 1910 as a chapter of the Finnish Socialist Federation.  In the Socialist-Communist split of 1920, the Ely group went with the Communists and became a chapter of the Finnish Workers Federation.

The Markham, MN, chapter belonged to the Midwestern district of the Finnish Socialist Federation.  The Federation broke up in 1920, but some of its local chapters, like the Markham group, continued to carry their old name for years after the split in the parent organization.

The Finnish Socialist Federation (Suomalainen Sosialistijärjestö) was founded in Hibbing, MN, in August of 1906.  It was the first successful attempt to unite all Finnish Socialists into one national organization.  At its peak strength (1912-1914) it had an average membership of 13,000 and was the largest foreign language federation in the Socialist Party of the United States.  The Federation was organized into three districts: the Western, Midwestern, and Eastern.  Each had its own newspaper, the Toveri, Työmies, and Raivaaja, respectively.  There were 273 local chapters.  The Federation broke up in 1920 over the general question of affiliating with the Third International and over the specific issue of whether or not to remain in the Socialist Party of America.  The resulting reorganized federations continued, however, to refer to themselves as the Finnish Socialist Federation even after their split.

Records include minutes of the Eastern District Committee (1913-1920) and the National Executive Committee (1915-1925).  Inventory available.

The collection consists of financial records, correspondence, minutes, membership records, stock certificates, and playscripts from ten Finnish Socialist organizations active in California and Oregon.  The organizations are: Berkeley (CA) Finnish Comrade Association (Berkeley Suomalainen Toveri Yhdistys); Berkeley (CA) Finnish Cultural Club; International Workers' Organization (Berkeley, CA); the Finnish American Historical Society; the Fort Bragg (CA) Toveri Club; the Portland, OR, Finnish Comrade Association (Toveri Yhdistys); the Rocklin (CA) Labor Temple Association; the Socialist Party of America (West Berkeley, CA); the Toveri Yhdistys (West Berkeley, CA); and the West Berkeley Finnish Socialist Chapter (West Berkeley [CA] Suomalainen Sosialisti Osasto).  Includes English.  Inventory available.

The Finnish Workers' Federation of the United States was organized in 1927 and incorporated in New York City in 1932.  It was the political, cultural, and educational organization of the Finnish American Communists and actively supported militant labor unions, farmers' organizations, the cooperative movement, and the unemployed movement.  In 1941, the Federation joined the International Workers' Order as the Finnish American Mutual Aid Society.  When the IWO was dissolved in the early 1950s, Federation activity continued under leadership of district committees. 

The Finnish Workers' Society "Kehitys" of Cloquet, MN, was founded in 1903 and in 1906 joined the Socialist Party and the Finnish Socialist Federation.  During the 1914 Socialist-Industrial Workers of the World schism the group withdrew from all national organizations and became an independent workers' society.  Although both "Wobblies" and Socialists participated in its activities, the group was never part of the IWW. 

The Fitchburg, MA, Finnish Evangelical Mission Church was associated with the Massachusetts Congregational Conference.  In 1960, the church changed its name to Elm Street Congregational Church.  Records consist of the church's baptism register.  In English.

The Gardner, MA, Finnish Socialist Chapter was founded in 1905 as an independent workers' club.  Shortly thereafter, it joined the Finnish American Workers' League, Imatra, a short-lived nationwide movement patterned after the Imatra Society of New York.  The League promoted mutual aid and cultural activities.  The Gardner group left the Imatra League in 1906, joined the Socialist Party, and became a Finnish Socialist chapter.  The Gardner chapter included a drama society, band, choir, lending library, sewing circle, young people's league, and gymnastics group.

Papers of Halonen comprise newspaper clippings pertaining to him and his wife, Irene; the Finnish Relief Drive in Minnesota; and Finnish organizational activities in Minnesota and California; along with clippings of a newspaper column written by Halonen.  Also included are a booklet he wrote, entitled "Minnesota's Help to Finland," and photographs of him and a Minneapolis choral group directed by Irene Halonen.  Includes English.

Papers of Harju, a journalist, comprise personal and general correspondence; photocopies of his articles in Between Ourselves, the San Francisco Chronicle, and People's World; newspaper clippings; and telegrams congratulating Walter A. Harju on his sixtieth birthday.  Subjects include the Spanish Civil War, Jack London Club, Finns in California, and American-Soviet Friendship Society.  In English.

A writer, carpenter, and historian, Harju was born in Brown County, SD.  During the 1930s, he was employed by the WPA Federal Writers' Program; his History of Meeker County, Minnesota and History of Wright County, Minnesota were based upon studies begun while he worked for the WPA.  He wrote many articles on the Finns in America and Minnesota, on cooperativism, particularly the left-wing faction, and on trade unionism.  He wrote under the pseudonymns "John Carpenter" and "Vincent Ignatius" as well as his own name.  Harju worked for the Cooperative Central Exchange (later the Central Cooperative Wholesale) in Superior, WI, served as California correspondent for the Työmies-Eteenpäin (Superior, WI), and was active in the Centennial of Finnish Immigration (1963-1964) and the Fiftieth Anniversary of Finnish Independence (1967).  He also collected numerous oral histories of Finnish American "pioneers" who describe their early days in the United States.

William Heikkila was born in Vihti, Finland.  His father was a Finnish citizen residing in Minnesota and his mother, a native of Finland, was a naturalized American citizen.  Heikkila lived in the United States but was never naturalized.  For this reason and because of his activities in the Communist Party during the 1930s, deportation proceedings were instituted against him in 1947.  The trials and appeals continued until 1958, but in the end he remained in the United States.

Records of the Club consist of minutes and a ledger of accounts.  Includes English.

Papers of Hippaka, a second generation Finnish American, consist of three scrapbooks containing articles on Finland and the Finns, Hippaka's travelogue of her first trip to Finland in 1937, the Delaware Tercentenary Celebration of the Swedes and Finns in Delaware (1939), and the Russo-Finnish War of 1939-1940.  In English.

Founded as the Hibbing Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church, the church's name was soon changed to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.  The congregation was independent of any national Lutheran synods.

Hurula was born in Karunki, Finland.  Papers consist of a brief recollection of her first day in church in America.  Includes English translation.

During its formation, the publishing company of the early Finnish American newspaper Idän Uutiset was referred to in its minutes as both the National Publishing Company and the Finnish Newspaper Company.  In 1897, it became known as the Idän Uutiset Publishing Company. 

The Society was a Finnish American social club founded in 1890 in New York City.  It provided mutual aid for its members and sponsored social and cultural activities such as dances, plays, lectures, concerts, and picnics.  The Society had its own hall, which housed a theater, gymnasium, restaurant, pool hall, reading room, bar, and sauna.  Subgroups of the Society included a band, choir, theatrical group, and folk dancing ensemble.

Papers of Alex Jackson consist of a manuscript of his novel, "Viuluni Itkee."

Formed in 1897 in Sparta, MN, the Society was transferred in 1909 to Gilbert, MN, when the town of Sparta was moved to allow development of new iron ore mines.  In 1898, the Society built its own hall in Sparta; the Society also built a hall in Gilbert.  By 1921, debts had forced the Society to give up its assets, and it apparently ceased to exist at about that time.

A college professor and historian, Jokinen was born in Hibbing, MN, of Finnish immigrants.  After graduating from high school, he worked as a reporter for Industrialisti (Duluth, MN).  He served in the Air Force from 1942 to 1946, then attended the University of Minnesota.  He received his PhD from Louisiana State University in 1955; subsequently, he taught there and became chairman of the Sociology Department and assistant dean of the graduate school.  Jokinen's great interest was the Finns.  He was contributing editor to H. R. Wasastjerna's Minnesotan Suomalaisten Historia (History of the Finns in Minnesota), which he had intended to revise and translate, using material from his own doctoral dissertation.

The Kajastus Finnish Laborers' Association (Milford, NH) was founded in 1908 to promote socialism and educational and spiritual development of Finnish workers in the area.  The Association joined the Finnish Socialist Federation and the American Socialist Party.  During the 1920 split within the Finnish Socialist Federation, the Association also split; the left-wing faction went to the Finnish Socialist Federation, and the right wing remained in the Finnish Federation of the American Socialist Party.  A few years later, the Kajastus Association joined the Finnish American League for Democracy. 

Records of this Finnish American young people's organization include minutes and miscellaneous memoranda.  Material of the Junior Kaleva Lodge is also included.  Includes English.  Inventory available.

Papers of Kantola, of Lake Worth, FL, consist of a letter and a poem.

Papers of Karni comprise a typescript family history, two ledgers of the Finnish Day Committee, and miscellaneous items.  Includes English.

Papers of author and poet Kätkä include two novels, poetry, and articles from magazines and newspapers.

Papers of Kattainen, a Finnish American temperance advocate, consist of poems and speeches.  Also included are minutes (1942-1943) of the Alango-Field, MN, Red Cross Chapter.

Papers of Kendall, one of the leading second generation figures in the Finnish American Cooperative movement, consist of an autobiographical work in manuscript entitled "We Conquered Communism," which concerns the Cooperative-Communist split.  In English.  Restricted.

Papers of Ketonen consist of a manuscript of his book, Finnish American Horizons.  The material consists of more than one hundred short articles, poems, songs, reminiscences, and biographies of Finnish Americans.  In English.  Inventory available.

Klemi was born in Iitti, Finland.  He received musical training early in life and attended three years of college.  After college, he worked as a railroad telegrapher and station master in Russia and Finland, and he composed several musical pieces.  He subsequently immigrated to the United States where he continued to compose music.  He also worked as a translator at Ellis Island and as a motorman-conductor for a trolley line and later worked in a music store.

Koivisto was born in Kuusankoski, Finland, and immigrated to Spokane, WA, in 1910.  In 1912, she moved to Smithville, MN, where she worked at and attended Työväen Opisto (Work People's College).  In 1913, she married Arvid Koivisto (d. 1964); they lived in Duluth, MN, and Quincy, MA, before settling in Hibbing, MN, where Arvid worked for the Hibbing Co-op and Central Cooperative Wholesale.  In Hibbing, Edith was active in numerous choral and theatrical groups.  She also published articles frequently in the Hibbing newspapers and wrote numerous plays in Finnish and English as well as histories of Finnish Americans in the Hibbing area.  She remained deeply involved in cultural activities of the Hibbing area until her death. 

Papers of Koivulehto consist of newspaper clipings of an article by Koivulehto on frontier life in Minnesota.

Papers of Korhonen consist of photographs, correspondence, mortgages, stocks, and a declaration of intent for American citizenship.  Also included is a funeral memorial folder for Korhonen.  Includes English.

Papers of Koski consist of a scrapbook containing newspaper clippings, correspondence, photographs, and memorabilia.  Included is a series of articles entitled "Juuret Suomessa Elämä Amerikassa" (Finnish Roots--American Life) which Koski wrote for Työmies-Eteenpäin (1982-1983) and material on the Työmies Society and Työmies-Eteenpäin.  Related collection: Minnnesota Finnish American Family Histories.

Papers consist of a typed manuscript describing Finnish American pioneer life in northern Idaho.

Kyyhkynen was born in Kemijärvi, Finland.  In 1910, he immigrated to Duluth, MN, where he opened the Dove Clothing Store and became active in Finnish American organizations.  He was a founder and president of the Minnesota Finnish-American Historical Society and a member of the Finnish American fraternity Kaleva Lodge and the Messiah Lutheran Church (Duluth).  He also served as Finnish consul for northern Minnesota and was given the First Class Knight of the White Rose Order of Finland in 1965. 

Papers of Lahtinen, a political activist, consist of testimony and transcripts from his deportation trial.  In English.

Papers of Laurila consist of farm records, correspondence, and photographs of a pioneer homestead farm near Markham, MN.  Includes English.

Papers of Lehtinen consist primarily of correspondence to him from the Wayne Produce Association and the Fairfield Cooperative Farm Association (Suomalainen Osuusfarmi) of Jesup, GA, as well as from friends in the Jesup area.  Also included are photographs, postcards, and miscellaneous printed material.

Lipponen was a Minnesota Finnish radical activist who spent her retirement in Lake Worth, FL.  Her papers consist of three scrapbooks containing typescripts, newspaper clippings of her poems, and newspaper clippings of articles (some by Lipponen) about the Finnish Workers' Education Club (Lake Worth, FL) and other radical Finnish interests and activities.

Papers of Luoma consist of a handwritten history of the Finnish people of Wawina Township, MN.  In English.

Papers of Mäkelä consist of a notebook of poetry and popular songs, some by Mäkelä himself.

Mäkelä was born in Ishpeming, MI, the son of immigrant parents.  In 1931, the entire family migrated to Karelia in the Soviet Union, where Reino married and worked most of his life as a lumberjack.  Several family members, including Reino's youngest brother and his father-in-law, were imprisoned during the Russo-Finnish conflict of 1939-1940.

Papers of Maki consist of photographs of key figures in the Cooperative Central Exchange (later the Central Cooperative Wholesale) of Superior, WI, as well as cooperative training classes from the 1920s and 1930s.  Also included is an addition to Maki's family history, which is part of the Minnesota Finnish American Family Histories collection.  In English.  Related collection: Central Cooperative Wholesale; Minnesota Finnish American Family Histories.

Papers of William Matsen consist of a typescript of the William Matsen family history entitled "And the Last Shall Be First."  In English.

An author and journalist, Mattson was born in Multia, Finland.  She immigrated to Canada in 1911 and married William Mattson in 1913.  The couple became U.S. citizens in 1914 and lived at various times in Minnesota, New York, and Oregon.  From her arrival in the United States, Helmi was a prolific contributor of poetry, articles, and serialized novels to the Toveritar newspaper.  She also took an active interest in Finnish American theater and wrote full-length plays.  In spring 1920, she became editor of the Toveritar, a position she held for ten years.  In later years, she was a frequent contributor of articles and poetry to the Työmies-Eteenpäin and Naisten Viiri newspapers.  She was one of the founders of the Northwest Finnish American Historical Society in 1961 and edited the organization's memorial album in 1965. 

Papers of Miettunen include minutes (1931-1954) of the Minnesota Finnish-American Historical Society, Virginia, MN, Chapter; photographs; records of the Messiah Lutheran Church (Mountain Iron, MN); and correspondence.  Includes English.

The Committee was formed in 1939 when the local club of the Finnish American League for Democracy elected a committee to begin war relief efforts on behalf of Finland.  The Milford chapter raised over $1100 by sponsoring coffee parties, dances, and collection drives. 

The Federation was organized in 1934 at Mountain Iron, MN, with the purpose of educating its members, providing program events and public festivals, and furthering the political and economic well-being of its members.  It has various branches, the central one in Virginia, MN.

Begun in 1979, the Minnesota Finnish American Family History Project undertook to document the personal histories and experiences of Minnesota Finnish Americans.  The Project was sponsored by the Minnesota Finnish-American Historical Society and the Iron Range, St. Louis County, and Otter Tail County historical societies.

Founded in 1883, the Woodmen is a fraternal benefit organization.  The Minnesota branch was founded in 1921.

Papers of Moon, a Finnish American actress, consist of correspondence, photographs, and newspaper clippings relating to her theatrical career.  Includes English.

Records include parish board correspondence, a ledger of parish board minutes, and Sunday Church bulletins.

In 1905, Finnish workers in the mining community of Nashwauk, MN, organized a local Finnish Socialist Club, which in 1906 became the Nashwauk Finnish Socialist Federation Chapter, affiliated with the Finnish Socialist Federation.  The Chapter continued to use the Finnish Socialist Federation name until 1924, when its name was changed to the Nashwauk Workers' Party Chapter.  In 1925, the Workers' Party abolished its ethnic chapters and the Nashwauk Finns founded a local Finnish Workers' Association.  In 1932, the name was changed again to the Finnish Workers' Educational Society and continued under that name until its termination is 1952.  The hall built by the original group in 1907 had been used throughout and was eventually incorporated as the Finnish Hall Corporation.  In 1908, the women of the original Socialist Club organized a sewing circle, which existed as a women's auxiliary throughout the various name changes of the parent organization.  In 1929, the auxiliary became the Nashwauk Finnish Women's Cooperative Guild, which existed until 1953. 

Nelson was born in Whitesboro, CA, the son of Finnish immigrants.  A journalist and editor of Finnish American publications, he was also very active in Finnish socialist, fraternal, cooperative, and relief organizations.

The Northern States Cooperative Guilds and Clubs was organized in 1930 in Superior, WI, as the Northern States Women's Cooperative Guild.  The Guild was a federation of local women's cooperative groups in the Central Cooperative Wholesale area and functioned as an auxiliary to it.  It organized summer youth camps, promoted the cooperative movement with fair booths and other projects, and served as a contact between homemakers and the Cooperative's commodity program.  In the early 1930s up to seventy guilds were affiliated with it, but in the 1940s membership began to decline.  The organization was disbanded in 1969.

Records of the North Hurley Cooperative Association consist of minutes, including those of the organizational meeting.

The Farmers' Cooperative Trading Company of Orr, MN, was established in 1919 and was affiliated with the Central Cooperative Wholesale based in Superior, WI.  Records of the Company consist of monthly minutes of the board of directors.  In English.

Papers (1915-1974) of Tuulikki Paananen, a Finnish movie star, actress and dancer, includes correspondence, photographs, scrapbooks and newspaper clippings related to her career in Finland and the United States.  Collection includes correspondence between Tuulikki and friends and family, as well professional correspondence with her agent regarding acting contracts.  Other memorabilia from her acting career such as newsclippings, magazine covers, programs, scrapbooks, etc. are also included.  Photographs include Tuulikki and her family and friends, as well as Tuulikki the actress.  Autographed photographs of other Finnish and American actors and actresses are also included.  Corresponding negatives to most of the personal photographs are also available.  Collection in Finnish and English.  Inventory available.

Records of the Church include records of the Ladies Aid Society.  Church records consist of constitution and bylaws of the congregation, annual reports, model constitutions of major American Lutheran church bodies, miscellaneous religious publications, photographs of early Finnish American church leaders, and two sixty-minute cassette tapes.  Records of the Ladies Aid Society include minutes of monthly meetings, issues of the Lutheran Counselor magazine, and miscellaneous pamphlets.  Includes English. Inventory available.

Papers of Pelto consist of an autobiography, translated by Vienna Maki, describing life in a mining community and work in the mines at the turn of the century.  In English.

The Pohjan Leimu was the first Finnish temperance society in Minnesota, originally belonging to the International Order of Good Templars.  In 1888, the Pohjan Leimu and four other lodges resigned from the Good Templars and joined the National Finnish Temperance Brotherhood in America.

The Raivaaja Publishing Company was begun in 1905.  In 1906 Raivaaja became the newspaper of the Finnish Socialist Federation Eastern District; and since 1940 it has been the newspaper of the Finnish American League for Democracy.

Raunio came to the United States in the late 1930s at the invitation of the Finnish Workers' Federation to direct drama and theater courses in various Finnish communities.  His papers consist of a manuscript of his unpublished novel, "Isä."

Papers of Rautio consist of a scrapbook of newspaper clippings relating to historical events in the Finnish American community nationally, such as anniversary celebrations of organizations, newspapers, and societies; biographies and obituaries of noted Finnish American leaders; and a potpourri of articles on Finnish American musicians, actors, actresses, and artists.

Records of the Club consist of a minute book along with a two-page manuscript titled "Brief History of the Finn Hall, Redgranite, Wisconsin."  Manuscript in English.

Papers of Riihimäki, of Quincy, OR, consist of a notebook and a photograph.

Papers of Roivanen consist of a family genealogy.  In English.

Ross is an independent scholar, historian, and author who has written extensively on Finnish Americans and Finnish American history.  Born in Hancock, MI, of immigrant parents, Ross was a leader in the early 1940s of Communist Party youth work and a Party leader.  From 1930 to 1934, he was secretary of the Midwest district of the Labor Sports Union, a radical, mostly Finnish organization, and editor of Työmies and, later, of Clarity.  In 1946, he became secretary of the Communist Party of the Minnesota-Dakotas district and a leader of Communist labor activity in Minnesota.  Ross left the Communist Party in 1957.  In the 1970s, he retired from business for a life of scholarship and became executive secretary of the United Fund for Finnish-American Archives.

Saari was active in the Finnish American community in Minnesota.  Her papers consist of a brief history of the Palisade Finn Hall (typescript and handwritten), founded in 1913; a copy of the articles of incorporation under the name "Taisto" Hall; and four photographs and two negative prints.  Includes English.

Saari was born in Finland and attended secondary school before coming to the United States.  He studied at the Work People's College in Duluth, MN, and later at the Cass Technical High School in Detroit, MI.  He served at various times as editor of the Finnish American and Finnish Canadian newspapers Raivaaja, Työmies, Sosialisti, Eteenpäin, and Vapaus.  He co-edited an English-Finnish dictionary with S. Nuorteva and translated numerous books from English into Finnish.  In his later years, he made his home in Ashburnham, MA, remaining active in cooperative activities and writing on labor and political issues for various Finnish newspapers.

The Saima Workers' Society was founded in 1894 as a Finnish workers' organization.  In 1905, it joined the Finnish Socialist Federation, and by 1924-1925 it was the largest such chapter in the country, with over 500 members.  The Saima became a chapter of the Finnish American League for Democracy in 1940.  In 1946, second generation Finns organized the Finnish American Club of Saima to carry on the activities of the original organization.

Collection consists of agricultural extension information and publications.

Records consist of minutes of quarterly, special, and annual congregational meetings.  In English.

Records of the Church consist of membership lists, financial records, minutes of the church council meetings, and miscellany.  Inventory available.

Salmi's papers consist of a notebook containing poetry and drawings.

Records of the Association consist of bylaws, articles of incorporation, and minutes.  Inventory available.

Records of the Society contain correspondence, financial records, and minutes.  Also included is a scrapbook of newspaper clippings about the Russo-Finnish War and World War II.

Papers consist of a photocopy of a typed family history.  In English.

Records consist of one minute book.  Officers were Antti Mannisto, Evert Torkko, A. Lundquist, and Kalle Ruuttila.

Papers of Stohl consist of a photocopy of an essay entitled "The Eureka (California) Brotherhood Lodge History" by Hilma Siikarla, translated by Stohl; a register of Finnish Americans in Reedley, CA (including those Finnish pioneers still living in 1955) compiled for a fiftieth anniversary celebration of the Finnish settlement in the area; and photocopies of manuscripts by Stohl entitled "Finnish Women of Reedley, California," and "The History of the Reedley Finnish Brotherhood Lodge No. 20, 1909-1987."  Also included are photocopied records of the Reedley Finnish Relief Committee, including financial ledgers, corre-spondence, and minutes.  Mainly in English.

Papers of Strom consist of poems and a letter.

Torkko was born in Soudan, MN.  He was ordained at Messiah Lutheran Church (then the Finnish Lutheran Church) of Duluth, MN, and served in Suomi Synod parishes of Cloquet and Duluth, MN; Astoria, OR; Monessen, PA; Los Angeles, CA; and Newberry, MI.

Fred Törmä (b. 1888) was born in Kihniö province, Finland, and came to Nashwauk, MN, in 1906, where he married Hilma Lempeä.  He was involved in formation of the Elanto Cooperative (Nashwauk, MN) in 1908 and was a board member of the Central Cooperative Wholesale.  He was also active in the Minnesota Finnish-American Historical Society.

Tuomi was a Finnish American author who lived in Palo Alto, CA.  Papers include a manuscript of her novel, "Pelli ja Perhe Siirtolaisena," poetry, and personal papers.

A Finnish American Socialist, later Communist, publishing company, the Työmies Society was founded in 1903.  Records include minutes of annual meetings and minutes of the executive committee and board of directors.  Also included are personal papers of Andrew Roine of Angora, MN; unpublished proletarian plays; and sheet music from the lending library.  Inventory available.  Supplement, board of directors minutes, available only on microfilm. 

Väänänen came to the United States in 1903.  He wrote articles for the Finnish American newspaper Työmies and was active in the Finnish American socialist movement.

Records consist of minutes and membership lists.

Ledger contains financial records of the Society.

The Valontuote Temperance Society was organized in 1893.  It was affiliated with the Finnish National Temperance Brotherhood in America, the central organization of local temperance societies, but in 1897 left the national organization because of a dispute over a rule against dancing.  The Society remained in existence until 1966.

Incorporated in 1932 for the purpose of providing a park with buildings and picnic facilities for the recreational use of its members, the Association was disbanded in 1955, and the park land was divided up and sold.  Records consist of correspondence, financial records, and minutes of the Association.  In English.

Records on microfilm consist of proceedings of the board of directors.

The Virginia Cooperative Society was established in 1909 as the Virginia Work People's Trading Company.  By 1931, the cooperative had about 1,000 members, mostly Finnish, and consisted of two stores and a service station.  In 1936, the name was changed to the Virginia Cooperative Society; it continued to exist until the early 1970s.

Records consist of baptism, confirmation, marriage, and funeral registers as well as financial records.

Virtanen was a student at Suomi College, Hancock, MI.  Papers consist of a notebook of poetry.  In English.

Records consist of minutes.

Wargelin, a Lutheran clergyman and educator, was born in Republic, MI.  He served Suomi Synod Lutheran congregations in Berkeley and Reedley, CA and Fairport Harbor; was president of Suomi Synod; was president of Suomi College (Hancock, MI), where he also taught theology; and was editor-in-chief of the Lutheran Counselor.

Collection consists of correspondence concerning the activities of cooperatives and general information on their work.  In English.

Originally the Fairfield Cooperative Association, the organization was founded in the early 1920s as a Finnish American cooperative farm.  Records include financial records, membership lists, minutes, payroll records, and miscellaneous items.  Inventory available.

Papers of Rev. Westerback, a Finnish American clergyman and author from Clearwater, FL, consist of correspondence and writings.  Includes English.

Papers of Wiita consist of photocopies of his birth certificate and his parents' marriage certificates.  In English.

Wiita was born in Ylistaro, Finland.  After attending folk school he came to the United States at the age of seventeen.  He settled in Superior, WI, where he worked as a longshoreman and railroad car repairman and was active in the Superior Chapter of the Finnish Socialist Federation.  He was also associated with the Work People's College of Duluth, MN.  In 1916, he moved to Detroit, MI, and subsequently to various places, always remaining active in socialist organizations, particularly with the Finnish American and Finnish Canadian labor press, including Toveri, Sosialisti, Työmies, Vapaus, and Eteenpäin.  After the 1920 split within the Finnish Socialist Federation, Wiita remained with the Finnish Federation and Workers' Party of America; however, by 1945, when he moved to Brooklyn, CT, he had dropped his Communist Party membership.

The Naisyhdistys Pyrkijä was a women's mutual aid organization, established in 1893 for women who worked as domestics.

In 1914, Finnish supporters of industrial unionism founded the Socialist Publishing Company in Duluth, MN, and began publication of the Sosialisti, a daily paper.  In 1916, its name was changed to Teollisuustyöläinen (The Industrial Worker); a law suit was brought against it, and it ceased publication later that year.  In 1917, it reappeared as the Industrialisti, published by the newly formed Workers' Socialist Publishing Company, which also published annuals such as the Industrialistin Joulu and Työväen Taskukalenteri, as well as books by leaders within the Finnish IWW movement.  The Workers' Socialist Publishing Company was closely allied to the Work People's College in Duluth.  In 1954, the publishing company's name was again changed, to the Workers' Publishing Company.  In 1975, the Industrialisti, one of the last foreign-language IWW newspapers published in the United States, ceased publication.

The Work People's College had its beginnings in 1903, when leaders of the Finnish National Lutheran Church of America opened the Finnish People's College and Theological Seminary (Suomalainen Kansan Opisto ja Teologinen Seminaari) in Minneapolis, MN, to provide training for clergy and a liberal education for Finnish Americans in general.  Financed by the sale of stock shares, the institution was open to all but soon failed and was moved to the Duluth suburb of Smithville, where more Finnish Americans had settled.  Finnish American Socialists were strong supporters of the school and by 1908 had gained control of it.  It was renamed the Work People's College (Työväen Opisto) and religion was dropped from the curriculum.  During the next few years, the school was the pride of the Finnish Socialist Federation, but when the Federation split in 1914 over the issue of industrial unionism, the Work People's College became a labor school of the Industrial Workers of the World.  It continued so until it ceased holding classes in 1940.

The collection contains all of the major Finnish American bibliographies.  John Kolehmainen's The Finns in America; A Bibliographical Guide to Their History (1947) is still considered an indispensible source.  It is supplemented by Olavi Koivukangas and S. Toivonen's A Bibliography on Finnish Emigration and Internal Migration (1978) and K. Kotiranta's Union Catalog of American Finnish Literature (1970).  Newspapers are dealt with in A. William Hoglund's Union List of Finnish Newspapers Published by Finns in the United States and Canada, 1876-1985 (1985) and his Finnish Immigrants in America, 1880-1920 (1960).

An excellent selection of general histories of Finnish immigration is available in the collection.  The most complete study is the above-mentioned Finnish Immigrants in America, 1880-1920 by Hoglund.  Carl Ross's The Finn Factor in American Labor, Culture and Society (1977) provides a Midwestern, labor perspective.  Significant sources of data on early Finnish American communities are Salomon Ilmonen's Amerikan suomalaisten historia, Vols. I, II, and III (The History of Finns in America; 1918, 1923, 1926) as well as his Amerikan suomalaisten sivistyshistoria (The Cultural History of Finns in America, 1931).  A key history of the Finland-Swedes is Anders Myhrman's Finlandssvenskarna i Amerika (Finland-Swedes in America, 1972).  The recent publication Women Who Dared: The History of Finnish American Women, edited by Carl Ross and K. Marianne Wargelin-Brown, represents an important examination of the contributions and experiences of Finnish immigrant women.

The collection also includes the major overviews of Finnish American migration, history, and culture that have appeared as collections of essays, notably, Turku University's Old Friends--Strong Ties (1976); Finnish Diaspora II: The United States, edited by Michael Karni (1981), and The Finns in America: A Social Symposium, edited by Ralph Jalkanen (1972).  Important studies by Finnish writers include Akseli Järnefelt's Suomalaiset Amerikassa (The Finns in America, 1899), Rafael Engleberg's Suomi ja Amerikan suomalaiset (Finland and the Finns in America, 1944) and Reino Kero's Suuren lännen suomalaiset (Finns in the Great, Vast West, 1978).  The migration process is dealt with in depth in Kero's Migration from Finland to North America (1974) and Keijo Virtanen's Settlement or Return; Finnish Emigrants (1860-1930) in the International Overseas Return Migration Movement (1979).

State and regional histories that cover the primary areas of Finnish settlement in the United States are well represented.  These include Hans Wasastjerna's Minnesotan suomalaisten historia (The History of the Finns in Minnesota, 1957), Armas Holmio's Michiganin suomalaisten historia (The History of the Finns in Michigan, 1967), Esa Arra's Illinoisin suomalaisten historia (The History of the Finns in Illinois, 1971), and John Kolehmainen's A Haven in the Woods: The Story of Finns in Wisconsin (1951) as well as his From Lake Erie's Shores to the Mahoning and Monongahela Valleys: A History of the Finns in Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia (1977).  Finnish American activities on the East Coast are described in histories of organizations, such as The History of Finnish Organizations in Greater New York, edited by Katri Ekman (1976); and Liisa Liedes's The Finnish Imprint (1982) for New England.  For over a decade the Finnish American Historical Society of the West has been publishing the history of West Coast Finns in its Finnish Emigrant Studies Series, located in the Finnish American serials collection.

The various aspects of Finnish American religious life are thoroughly covered in the IHRC holdings.  This is particularly true of the Finnish American Evangelical Lutheran Church, Suomi Synod, whose publications range from sermon compilations, hymnals, prayer-books, and children's ABC books to histories of the church like V. Rautanen's Amerikan suomalainen kirkko (The Finnish Church in America, 1911) and examinations of the church's role in immigrant life such as The Faith of the Finns, edited by Ralph Jalkanen (1972).  Also well represented in the collection are works dealing with the Apostolic Lutheran Church.  Primary among these are Uuras Saarnivaara's The History of the Laestadian or Apostolic Lutheran Movement in America (1947) and recent studies from Finland like Pekka Raittila's Lestadiolaisuus pohjois-Amerikassa vuoteen 1885 (Laestadianism in North America to 1885, 1982) and his Lestadiolaisuuden bibliographia (Bibliography of Laestadianism, 1967).

Fewer materials have been published about the Finnish American National Evangelical Lutheran Church.  Its history is documented in Amerikan Suomalaisen Evankeelisen Luterilaisen Kansalliskirkkokunnan 25 vuotis Juhla-albumi, 1898-1923 (The Twenty-fifth Anniversary Memorial Album of the Finnish American National Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1923) and J. E. Nopola's Our Three-Score Years: A Brief History of the National Evangelical Church (1958).  Also represented to a lesser degree is the Evangelical Mission Society (also known as the Finnish American Free Church Congregationalists), whose history is described in Muistoja 30 vuotisesta lähetystyöstä (Remembrances of Thirty Years of Mission Work, 1936).  The collection includes the autobiographies of two prominent ministers: Väinö Välkiö's Silta atlannin yli (Bridge Over the Atlantic, 1953) and Fanny Heino's Siirtolaistytön kohtalo (An Immigrant Girl's Destiny, 1954?).

The IHRC's Finnish American holdings are very strong for all three factions of the Finnish American labor movement: the Socialists, Communists, and Syndicalists.  Particularly noteworthy are the proceedings of the national and district conventions of the Finnish Socialist Federation (1906-1923), which are supplemented by numerous manuscript holdings for individual local Socialist chapters.  The monograph collection contains several major labor histories: F. J. Syrjälä's Historia-aiheita amerikan suomalaisesta työväenliikkeesta (Historical Essays on the Finnish American Labor Movement, 1925), Elis Sulkanen's Amerikan suomalaisen työväenliikkeen historia (History of the Finnish American Labor Movement, 1951), Leo Mattson's 40 vuotta (Forty Years, 1946) and Walter Lahtinen's 50 vuoden varrelta (Memories from Fifty Years, 1953).  Included also are early theoretical works like Alex Halonen's Sosialismin perusteet (The Foundations of Socialism, 1908) and Leo Laukki's Teolliseen yhteiskuntaan (Toward an Industrial Society, 1917), as well as autobiographies by noted figures from the Finnish American labor movement such as Martin Hendrickson's Muistelmia 10-vuotisesta raivaajatyöstäni (Reminiscences of My Ten-Year Pioneer Work, 1908) and Oskari Tokoi's Sisu: Even Through a Stone Wall (1957).  Numerous doctoral dissertations in the collection, among them Auvo Kostiainen's The Forging of Finnish American Communism, 1917-1919 (1978), cover various phases of the Finnish American labor movement.  The collection also contains an array of books and pamphlets on political theory, bylaws and rules of order for local chapters, party platforms, and numerous songbooks.

Monograph holdings on the Finnish American cooperative movement are also very strong.  However, this area is covered in greater depth in the serials, newspaper, and manuscript collections; for example, available serials include the yearbooks of the Cooperative League of the USA, the Northern States Cooperative League, and the Cooperative Central Exchange (later the Central Cooperative Wholesale and finally the Central Cooperatives, Inc.).  In the monograph collection the history of the Cooperative Central Exchange is described in Erick Kendall's And into the Future: A Brief Story of the Central Cooperative Wholesale's 25 Years of Building Towards a Better Tomorrow (1945), A. J. Hayes's The CCW Story (1950), and in greater depth in Michael Karni's dissertation Yhteishyvä--For the Common Good (1975).  Among primary materials dealing with the CCE's break with the Communist Party are William Marttila's Osuustoiminta ja sen merkitys luokkataistelussa (Cooperativism and Its Significance to the Class Struggle, 1930) and George Halonen's Taistelu osuustoimintarintamalla (Battle on the Cooperative Front, 1932).  The collection contains major texts such as V. S. Alanne's Fundamentals of Consumer Cooperatism (1932) and Manual for Cooperative Directors (1938) as well as published guidebooks, bylaws, and songbooks for local cooperatives.  Although much of the material covers Midwestern cooperatives, East Coast cooperatives are described in Frank Aaltonen's Maynard Weavers: The Story of the United Cooperative Society of Maynard (1941) and in other histories such as the Sulkanen labor history already cited.  The collection has very little on Finnish American cooperatives on the West Coast.

Just as the cooperative holdings reflect a Midwestern emphasis, so also do the IHRC holdings on the temperance movement.  Most of the materials deal with the Midwestern Finnish National Temperance Brotherhood, one of five regional temperance leagues.  The Brotherhood's twenty-five-year history is detailed by Salomon Ilmonen in Juhlajulkaisu Suomalaisen Kansallis Raittius Veljeysseuran 25 vuotisen toiminnan muistoksi (Commemorative Album Celebrating Twenty-five Years of Work by the Finnish National Temperance Brotherhood, 1912).  The collection also contains another standard source, Rauhankokous ja pääpiirteitä amerikan suomalaisten raittiustyön historiasta (The Peace Conference and Main Features in the History of Finnish American Temperance Work), edited by J. W. Lilius (1908).  A history of the Eastern Finnish Temperance Association is found in 50 vuotis juhlajulkaisu, 1895-1945 (Fifty Year Commemorative Album), published by the Alku Temperance Society of Maynard, MA.

The monograph collection holds relatively little on the two Finnish American fraternal organizations, the national Knights and Ladies of Kaleva and the West Coast-centered United Finnish Kaleva Brothers and Sisters. Kalevaisten, Kalevan Ritarien ja Kalevan Naisten, Viisikymmenenvuotis muistojulkaisu, 1898-1948 (Fifty Year Commemo-rative Album of the Knights and Ladies of Kaleva, 1948) is one of the few extant organizational histories.  The story of the Ladies of Kaleva is described in Kalevan Naisten historian ääriviivoja, 1904-1954 (A Historical Outline of the Ladies of Kaleva, 1954).  The collection contains organizational guidelines, bylaws, a songbook and several anniversary albums of individual lodges.  Articles of a historical nature frequently appear in the annual periodical, the Kalevainen.  The history of the United Finnish Kaleva Brothers and Sisters is described in 50-vuotis historia (Fifty Year History, 1937).  Their quarterly magazine, the Veljeysviesti (The Message of Brotherhood), is available in the Finnish American serials collection.  The collection also contains very little on the Finland-Swedes' International Order of Runeberg, whose history is documented in the seventy-year jubilee album Memorabilia "Minnesskrift" of the International Order of Runeberg 1898-1968 (n.d.).

A general history of the ethnic press is found in Taisto Niemi's dissertation The Finnish Lutheran Book Concern, 1900-1950: A History and Developmental Study (1960) as well as in John Kolehmainen's Sow the Golden Seed (1955).  The collection also contains articles by Kolehmainen on Finnish newspapers in Michigan and Ohio.  Among the anniversary books for individual newspapers are Amerikan Suometar: Muistojuhla (Amerikan Suometar: Commemorative Celebration, 1915), Toveritar Kymmenenvuotias, 1911-1921, Muistojulkaisu (Toveritar Ten Years, Commemorative Album, 1921), and Työmies, Raivaaja, Toveri, 10 vuotta (Työmies, Raivaaja, Toveri, 10 Years, 1913, 1915, 1917).  Detailed histories of individual newspapers also appear in special anniversary editions of the given newspapers.

The monograph collection contains a substantial and representative selection of creative literature that was read by the Finnish immigrants.  This includes translations of authors like Tolstoy, Zola, Hall Caine, Conan Doyle, and H. Rider Haggard.  Of particular interest are original works by Finnish American writers, of whom Sara Röyhö and her Petetyn naisen kosto (A Betrayed Woman's Revenge, 1908) and Kalle Potti with his Iloinen harbori (The Happy Harbor, 1924) represent the popular, romantic style of the day.  Aku Päiviö's Sara Kivistö (1913), Richard Pesola's Sorretun poluilla (On the Paths of the Oppressed, 1909) and Helmi Mattson's Aavikon vaeltajat (Wanderers of the Prairie, 1928) are typical of Finnish American proletarian fiction.

Amerikan Sanomat (American Tidings), Ashtabula, OH. Weekly: 1898, 1912.

Amerikan Sanomat (American Tidings), Calumet, MI. Weekly: 1959-1960.

Amerikan Suomalainen (Finnish American; previously titled American Suomalainen Lehti), Calumet, Red Jacket, and Hancock, MI; Chicago, IL. Weekly: 1897-1898. (Microfilm: 1879-1894).

Amerikan Suometar (The American Finn), Hancock, MI. Tri-weekly: 1904, 1906-1907, 1909-1911, 1916, 1925, 1932, 1935-1936, 1938-1941, 1944-1947, 1949-1962.

Amerikan Uutiset (The American News), Calumet, MI. Semi-weekly: 1901-1903, 1905-1906.

Amerikan Uutiset (The American News; previously titled Minnesotan Uutiset), Lantana, FL (previously published in New York Mills, MN). Semi-weekly: 1946-1947, 1949, 1951, 1953-1954, 1956-1986. (Microfilm: 1933, 1935-1973).

Auttaja (The Helper), Ironwood, MI. Weekly: 1918, 1926, 1931, 1947-1948, 1950-1951, 1953-1964.

Canadan Uutiset (The Canadian News), Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Weekly: 1952, 1974-date. (Microfilm: 1931-1975).

Cooperative Builder, Superior, WI. Weekly: 1931-1934, 1936-1943, 1945-1946, 1953, 1957, 1960-1961, 1965, 1972-1982. English.

Copper Country News, Calumet, MI. Weekly: 1959. English.

Eteenpäin (Forward; superseded by Työmies-Eteenpäin after 1950), New York, NY (previously published in Worchester, MA). Daily: 1925, 1932. (Microfilm: 1922-1929, 1931-1932, 1934-1935, 1938, 1946, 1948, 1950).

Aika (Era), Sointula, British Columbia, Canada. Semi-monthly. (Microfilm: 1903-1904).

Aikamme (Our Era), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Bi-monthly: 1984-date. Includes English.

Airue (The Guide), Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Annual: 1910-1911.

Airut (The Herald), Monessen, PA. 1917.

Almanakka (Almanac), Hancock, MI. Annual: 1913, 1916, 1925, 1928, 1932, 1937, 1940, 1942-1945, 1947-1948, 1951-1954, 1956-1964.

Amerikan Suomalaisten Taskukalenteri (Finnish American Pocket Calendar), Superior, WI. Annual: 1943-1945, 1947.

Amerikan Suomalaisen Kansallis-ja Raittiusmielisen Väestö. Joulu (Christmas Annual of Nationalistic and Temperance-Minded Finnish Americans), Duluth, MN. Annual: 1915.

Amerikan Suomalaisten Osoitekalenteri (Finnish American Address Calendar), Ironwood, MI. Annual: 1903.

Amerikan Suomalaisten Vapaamieliset Julkaisut (Publications of the Finnish American Free-Thinkers), Duluth, MN. Three times per year: 1958, 1961.

Amerikan Yhdistyneet Suomalaiset Sosialistiset Kustannusyhtiöt Kalenteri (The United Finnish American Socialist Publishing Company Calendar), Fitchburg, MA. Annual: 1914-1917, 1919-1921. 

Apostolic Lutheran Church of America Minutes and Financial Statements of the Annual Meeting, place of publication varies. Annual: 1923, 1927, 1932-1936, 1951-1952, 1956, 1958-1959, 1961-1963, 1965, 1967-1972, 1974-1975, 1977, 1980, 1983.