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A Memorable Tour of the Fairport Lighthouse
News Report by Elaine LillbackNews Report by Elaine Lillback
One of Fairport’s most honorable seniors, John Taipale, spoke to the Finnish Heritage Museum members and guests regarding some of his memories in serving the Fairport Lighthouse Museum. The old Berea sandstone tower, which was ready for dismantling in 1945 by the government, was claimed by a group of Fairport Harbor citizens who chose to make it a museum instead of losing it to the wrecker's ball.
Designed by Jonathan Goldsmith, the tower was built on a foundation of solid concrete. The structure itself is made of two stone walls, with a hollow space between the walls. The tower never sweats. It is a fantastic structure.
Many pages of history have been established over the years since the first caretakers, Carroll and Margaret Mitchell with her Hedda Hopper hats, took responsibility. Many responsible citizens have cared and served at the museum. John has related his talks with many boys and girls as they’ve come asking questions about the history of sailing ships.
One of the stories he has told was that of the ship Eastland which when carrying 500 passengers, sank at its Great Lakes port because its ballast had not been filled with water. The ship’s 500 passengers made the ship top-heavy causing it to roll over, leaving no survivors. It was a greater disaster than the sinking of the Titanic. Click here for the rest of the story, kiitos.
Our Neighbors and Cousins: The Canadian Finns
News Report by Elaine Lillback
In introducing our guest speaker, Pastor Hannu Vepsalainen of Fairport's Zion Lutheran Church at the Finnish Heritage Museum meeting, Linda McAdam's thumbnail review of his colorful life in Canada's cities, rural areas, mining centers and churches among the Canadian Finns set the stage for an awe inspiring program of our northern neighbors.
Political pressures had forced Hannu's father to leave Finland in 1958 after the war years. Being a self-employed small business manufacturer of radiators and coolers for the government, it was impossible to pay the post-war tax burdens placed on small businesses, forcing small businesses to leave the country.
As a nine year old, Hannu's life began to expand, beginning with their entrance into Montreal. The family lived in NDG on the West side of Mt. Royal, a middle class neighborhood, wearing their best Finnish clothing, only to be frowned upon by other Finns, who had entered Canada because of poverty in Finland. The local's philosophy was that if you dressed poorly, you would get gifts from the rich. Not caring for this philosophy, his Hannu's father took on work, whatever was available, as the Finnish saying, "A Finn does whatever they have to do; others do what they know how to do." As a child Hannu sang a solo in the Massey Hall in Toronto during a Grand Festival. (((to finish this story, click here, Kiitos)(
| NEW EVENT FEATURED: The Finnish Heritage Museum will show a DVD large screen presentation of the best seller UNDER THE NORTH STAR by Vaino Linna. This gives an interesting history of Finland from the 1880's to the 1950's. It will be shown on Wednesday July 21, 2010 at the museum from 6-9 PM. Refreshments will be served and donations gladly accepted. For additional information contact: info@finnishheritagemuseum.org |
NEWS: Each month, Finnish Heritage Museum presents an educational or entertaining presentation. The schedule is set for 2010 which is viewable on the EVENTS PAGE. There are a number of interesting topics presented. Vistors are certainly welcome. |
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| NEWS FEATURE: Each month, Finnish Heritage Museum presents two Finnish sayings that were heard in Finnish households as nuggets of wisdom. The two given below will be in Finnish and English. It will be up to the reader to determine meaning. These were collected by FHM member Sandy Kytta Mishcho. |
"Hän, joka sijaitsee kolmasti uskoo hän kertoi totuuden" = "He who lies thrice believes he's told the truth." |
"Kun mies muistaa maata, maa muistaa häntä." = "When a man remembers the land, the land remembers him"
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| Fairport Harbor's Original Finns namedThe original Finns came to Fairport Harbor after the ore docks along Grand River were re-built. This reconstruction provided many jobs that had to be filled. Thus, where there is work, you will find a Finn looking to do that work. "On the eleventh day of September, 1885, a group of twenty-three Finns arrived in Fairport and founded the first permanent Finnish settlement. Among them were Charles Hilston, Pekka Antilla, Jacob Tuoresmaa, Herman Kukilla, Isaac Mattson, Alex Kinnunen, John Ahonpaa, Jacob Pikka, Isaac Ranni, John Forspakka, Kusti Kaura, a certain San-teliin, Mikko Manty, Niilo Katila, John Katila, William Hirvi, Mikko Pohto, Esa Poutto, John Lamu, Matti Riipa, Isaac Alinen, and "Iso Antti Karstulasta." These pioneers shortly erected their simple dwellings along the east slope of the Grand River and within a few years the population of "Finn Hollow"18 had increased considerably. By 1900 the number of foreign-born Finns in Fairport had risen to nearly seven hundred. Among the early Finnish women in Fairport were Mrs. E. Kinnunen and her sister. The first marriage was that of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Kukilla in 1886." Source: Ohio Historical Society Scholarly Journal Vol 49 Pg 155. |
FHM HAS A SPECIAL REQUEST The Museum continues its work in finding and eventually displaying items of interest to visitors to the actual museum and to the website. Of continuing interest are artifacts and particularly pictures of EARLY FAIRPORT which shows the village in its infancy. Before you dismiss this item and say, "well I have nothing that old, consider this: for many people, 1950 is now ancient!" There are many youngsters who have never seen the pictures from that era. If you have any pictures we are interested in the images and not necessarily the picture itself. That is yours and you can have returned. Scanning does wonders for sharing. Contact us if you have pictures. Kiitos. Also if you have any information that you would like to share with the museum to become part of the archives of the "Original Fairport Finnish Families," please contact us. Information on many of these founding fathers and mothers (in the list to the left) is difficult to find, and is often only found in family genealogies. Please consider. |
| The John Morton Project 2010 MORTON CONFERENCE IN FINLAND SEE: JOHN MORTON PROJECT |
Some costumes will always be permanently on display at FHM.  Regional Finnish costumes are noted for their color and distinct designs. There are more than 500 different regional versions.The Museum has received a number of donated costumes which will be in the "permanent colllection." You can help too, if you have one collecting dust and never displayed or worn. (note: it does not have to be a complete costume, we certainly will be grateful for costume parts also. Contact us here at the museum. |
| Time for some Historical fun. Click here to see a Zion Lutheran group picture and see if you can identify the people shown there. Amazing to see how many of us are still as cute as we were in the 1950's. Bring your ID list to the museum and check it against the master. | |
| Fairport Harbor Walking Tour available A guided, no fee, historical walking tour starts at the Museum and ends at the Fairport Harbor Lighthouse and Marine Museum. Tour begins on Saturday, 2 PM.. Donations accepted. (NOTE: it is BEST to make reservations for group walks.) | |
Reminder: Renew your FHM membership! A Reminder to renew your membership. Without that, you will miss out on announcements and the very important minutes of meetings which are only sent to members of FHM. RENEW CLICK HERE. JOIN, CLICK HERE. |
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