When visiting the Finnish Heritage Museum, it might not be unusual for someone to ask “Whose Boy You? Or Whose Girl You?” This is the way they discover if they know your ancestors and for some of the members, a way for them to tell you more than you ever knew about your family. Many of the members have lived in this area all their lives and with Fairport Harbor being such a tiny community (approximately 3500 population) they have been known to know exactly what house your parents grew up in, who lives there now, and oh so much more!

But that’s just the beginning when you visit, because our Head Genie will most likely seek you out and ask you a few questions. Mrs. Anne Pohto has been working as our Genie Curator for many years now and has a very impressive collection of family histories on file in the Raha room. She’ll most likely help you find your file if we have one at the museum or if possible, ask you to take a form and fill out everything you know about your family. And now you’re hooked. Suddenly you meet a person with the same last name or maybe an Americanized version of your last name, or maybe someone who is related to you with a different name. The members get distinct twinkles in their eyes when they hear a familiar name and suddenly they are helping you track down your history. After all, how cool would it be to have a family file housed at the museum for your great grandchildren to find one day?

You can make an appointment with Anne for a Sunday Sit Down (almost like with Willie Geist) but oh so much closer to home. She will pull any files she has to go over with you and ask you to bring any information you may have heard or perhaps another family member has collected over the years. The museum currently houses one of the largest Nordic Genealogy around. And we’re happy to help you add your family to that. Right now all of our files are done the old fashioned way - no technology involved. But we are heading to more opportunities for our members to take what Anne has (or even start their journey if she doesn’t have a file on you). Stay tuned for more information on that.

Anne is also our Program Coordinator/Chairman and our last program in July featured two of our members sharing their family story. After all, everyone has a story. Our first speaker was Paula Hearn, born Paula Kaarina Korkeakangas from Karstula, Finland. On December, 1952, Paula, her father, Urho Nikolai, mother Annikki Eliisa, brother Matti Juhani, and sister Terttu Anneli, left for the United States. Urho was a lumberjack in Finland at that time and jobs were scarce all over the countryside. Paula’s father’s father, Nicolai Pyysarri, was already in Fairport Harbor though he had worked in Michigan for a while before settling in the Harbor. There he lived in a little house on Water Street. He was born in Alajarvi, Finland, which just happened to be next to the Nelimarkka (four marks) museum, but later took on the name of the farm where he lived. Paula’s family is directly related to Eero Nelimarkka, artist. Interestingly, my grandfather abandoned my grandmother when he learned she was pregnant which is why the mother’s name is the one passed down - Korkeakangas.

As often was the custom, Paula’s father came to the US first in 1950 to earn passage for all five of the family to come to USA. An exciting and interesting tidbit is that the family is also related to the famous Formula 1 racer, Valteri Bottas on Paula’s father’s side. But not to be undone, Paula’s mother’s side is related to Bottas’ trainer, Antti Vierula. Antti is presently working for a group of Spanish racers. Paula’s family got here through Southhampton, England and then New York City Harbor, and then to the Painesville City train station. The ship, the Queen Mary, sailed on December 21, 1952, from Southhampton, England, to New York City. Without knowing English, my father shepherded us through the maze of paperwork and finding our ship and then our cabin. There were five of us and three of us were under the age of five! Paula's mom stayed in the cabin with the children because they all got seasick. And as you can well imagine, the children were not on deck, but rather in steerage. The family got to Fairport Harbor just in time for Christmas, 1952, and regained their sea legs. They lived in the basement of the brick house at the foot of the lighthouse with the Rantala family for 1 1/2 years.

Of Paula’s fondest memories of this time at the Rantalas, she remembers playing on the concrete block steps that went up to the lighthouse. In 1954, the family moved to the big apartment building directly across the street from Clark’s Bakery. Yum, Paula remembers some yummy Finnish doughnuts from that time. They lived in two apartments on the downstairs of this building that was run and owned by Nikolai Pyysaari. Paula’s father later sold the apartment building to Rich’s Bowling Lanes, which is now the parking lot, deck and bar. In the backyard was a peach tree. My grandfather owned a small shack that housed his shoe maker business since he was not able to work on the docks. Paula’s father purchased the former Dilgren house on the corner of New and Vine and her parents lived there until they passed.There is a huge birch tree in the back right against the house. Paula’s mother smuggled that tree from Finland in her suitcase.

In the 1950’s, you could not come to the United States as an immigrant without having a job (the man of the house), a place ready for the family to live and a sponsor in the United States. Paula’s family’s sponsor was of course Nikolai Pyysaari. As she spoke, Paula passionately talked about her first return trip to Finland with the president of her sorority. It was 1968 and as the plane approached, Finlandia was being played on the intercom. Paula welled up with tears as she heard the music and caught the beauty of the land through the window of the plane. Soon everyone broke down and sang the Finnish anthem. This feeling has been shared by many who have traveled back to their birthplace, Finland. Now Paula would reunite with her cousins, uncles, aunts, and her very first friend when she was just 4. Although Paula has returned many times to Finland those feelings and emotions have stayed the same. It felt like home. She returned in 1968 to study at the University of Jyväskylä. She also took her son to Karstula to meet his cousins. Her son returned with a heavy metal band from Brooklyn, NY. Her son, when he was 19, even wanted to join the Finnish army. Mom didn’t go along with that.

As all immigrants know, being different can sometimes hit them out of nowhere. Paula’s first time to feel embarrassed about her Finnishness was when she was a freshman, living in a dorm at Ohio University. Her roommate told her that she talked weird! When asked what she meant, the roommate replied, “I’m going Columbus. I’m going store.” So she was leaving out prepositions. And, of course, in Finnish, the preposition is already attached to the noun such as storeto”. Paula said she never left out those prepositions again. Paula had never eaten several American foods before college so she was able to experiment in college. Ah, the first time for peanut butter, TV dinners, cabbage rolls, sloppy joes, and many more. In elementary school, she walked home with another little girl for lunch and tasted her first bowl of Campbell’s tomato soup. She couldn’t believe that soup came from a can! As a Finnish girl in a community of Finns, Paula never ate soup or anything else out of a can.

Our second speaker for this day of Immigration Stories was the son of Karl Salonen, Andrew Salo. nen. There’s an old Finnish saying:“Happiness is a place between too little and too much.” Kaarlo Antti Salonen was born in 1941 in the village of Juva, Finland. He was one of seven children. The son of Ilmari Salonen and Toini Savolainen and his siblings include Sirkka, Eila (aka Margit), Annalee, Penti (aka Charles), Pirjo (aka Marilyn) and Reijo (aka Bryan).

In 1945, Karl’s family moved from Juva to Lestijärvi, and then to Toholampi in 1946, where Karl’s father began working as a bricklayer. Although his father had received a plot of land from Finland’s postwar Settlement Act, Ilmari fell ill with tuberculosis and passed away in 1950. Karl’s mother was left a widow at just 31 years with seven young children and no means to support them. To protect her children, Karl’s mother made the ultimate sacrifice and placed her children into foster care. Karl remembers his father telling him before he passed away, “If you don’t raise these grades, you’re not going to survive.” From 1950-1955 the children were scattered throughout the Finnish foster care system. Karl and Charles were placed with a family in Toholampi. Sirkka, the eldest, stayed with Tornio and worked on a farm near the Russian border. All three younger girls were sent to separate foster homes around Toholampi. In 1955, four of the siblings, Annalee, Marilyn, Charles, and Bryan, wee adopted by Finnish-American families in the United States, both in northeast Ohio and California. Charles and Marilyn were adopted by Raymond Kujala and his wife Swaya in Ashtabula, Ohio who were relatives on their mother’s side. Bryan was adopted by Cousin Bruno Kujala in Salinas Valley, California, and Annalee was adopted by an unrelated family and moved to Mentor Headlands. Karl, Sirkka and Margit remained in Finland. This isn’t the end of the story however. It was early in 1978 when almost all of Karl’s siblings were reunited for the first time since they had been separated.

at just 18 years old, Karl volunteered for his mandatory military service so that he would be free to join his brothers and sisters in the United States after serving. He was a Lance Corporal in the Finnish Army, specializing in communications. Karl recalls this to be the best time of his childhood. He had food, learned new things, and even put on a little weight. Finally in March 1961, Karl left Helsinki for New York, very excited but also scared. He knew two words in English, “yes and no”. After landing in New York, he traveled to Cleveland, where he moved in with Annalee and her adopted family. Soon after he was introduced by a group of young Finnish immigrants to a little place called Fairport Harbor. It was here that Karl soon thrived. Finlandia Hall became his home away from home as he joined the Finnish Youth Club where he made friends who spoke Finnish and played lots of sports. Right behind the hall was an amateur track and field complete with shot put, high jump, triple jump, long jump and pole vault. It was truly the beginning of Karl’s connection, community, and confidence.

In 1961, Karl took a job at the Jackson Chicken Farm in Leroy. A year later he started at Superior Manufacturing, a machine shop in Painesville and that is where he worked for 45 years. Karl helped found the Ohio Nordic Club where he and his Finnish friends went cross-country skiing. His fellow cross-country skiers were Kauno Kallio, Aare Kangas, Veikko Malkamaki, and George Lehtonen. Their coach, a Lithuanian, needed a proper Finnish name. His given name was Reinhold Upson, but the boys called him Reino and he went by that name for the rest of his life. They traveled across country competing in races in Vail, Keystone, Sun Valley, and Big Sky. In 1980, Karl took first place in a 2 day 100 km race in Minnesota called the “Minn Finn”, and in 1982, Karl reached a personal milestone winning the Ohio State Championship.

But 1982 gave him another wonderful moment - he married his wife Vicki who he met at the Wine Press in Painesville. They moved into their home on Orchard Street and live there still today. Karl turned his backyard into what his son called a tomato-producing powerhouse. He still gardens and if you stop by on a walk he might just give you some of his peppers and tomatoes. Karl’s life in Fairport Harbor included playing softball, golfing, and of course the Fairport Civic Club. Karl has led a happy, busy life with his family and friends in Fairport Harbor, Ohio. Andrew, Karl’s son, thanked his dad for showing us all what it means to persevere with humility, to love with intention, and to serve quietly but powerfully.