Brantwood

Francis Palms was the first to purchase land in the area, buying it up as quickly as it became available for purchase. According to some records, he purchased some of the land for as little as $1.25 an acre while obtaining additional lands at little or no cost under various Acts of Congress that made land available to homesteaders and investors.
 
Palms owned the acreage for several years and after the railroad was built through the area, Palms sold his lands including Town 35 North, Range 3 East to brothers, William and Samuel Knox, for more than $8.00 per acre! William and Samuel were loggers from Stevens Point who had been logging in the Willow Region and looking to expand their interests
 
Although the Knox Brothers established a company town named Knox Mills, about five miles south of what would later become Brantwood, their logging and lumbering influenced the settlement of Brantwood as well.

Ariel View of Brantwood

1890 - 1895 In 1890, Samuel Knox sold his share of the land to his brother, William. William began the expansion of his logging business by building a mill. The Minneapolis Sault Ste Marie and Atlantic Railroad (Soo Line) ran east and west about five miles north of William’s mill. He persuaded the railroad to build a spur down to his mill. The point where the spur joined the main railroad line was named Knox Junction. Although the exact date of changing the name from Knox Junction to Brantwood is unknown, when the post office was established there in January 1895 it was named Brantwood.

                                                                                                                                           Photo: Brantwood Depot.

It was also in 1895 that William Knox began selling off the cut over land by enticing more immigrant settlers to the area with advertisements of land at bargain prices. E. H. Hobe was an agent for the railroad and was delegated the task of encouraging buyers for the land.

Mr. Hobe was also the Swedish-Norwegian Vice consulate and a realtor. These roles put him in contact with Norwegians in Iowa and Minnesota where he marketed the lands belonging to William Knox and the railroad.

Finnish immigrants were also targeted with advertisements in several Finnish-American newspapers. The ads boasted of rich agricultural farmlands at cheap prices ready for planting. Many immigrant families bought acreage, sight-unseen, and began their journey to another new location inspired by dreams and fueled by hope.

Some families traveled far distances in wagons that they had carefully packed with their possessions. As they trekked from Minnesota, Iowa and western states, they pulled along a few livestock tied to the back of their wagons with the children walking alongside. Other families reached the area by train, disembarking at the Brantwood Depot.  Some of these folks settled in Brantwood while others walked the last five or ten miles of their trip following the railroad spur south into Knox Mills.

Some families had friends or relatives already settled in the area that opened their doors to the newcomers and while others stayed in one of the boarding houses that William Knox owned and operated, a few settlers purchased land parcels that included a house that they moved right into.

As the area became more populated, roads and schools were needed. Local taxes had to be increased to pay for these additions and improvements. In an attempt to exempt their lands from the tax increases, the big landowners, including Knox, appealed to the county board. The result was a change in the boundaries and the formation of new townships. In addition to the Towns of Prentice, Hackett and Hill came the Town of Knox established on 19 November 1895.

In 1896, E. H. Hobe purchased the failing milltown of Knox Mills from William Knox who had removed the sawmill and the railroad spur. After Hobe built his own mill and had rails re-layed, he focused on selling acreage in the community of Brantwood.

1898

Under Hobe’s influence, the communities of Brantwood and Knox Mills rapidly grew simultaneously. By the spring of 1898, Brantwood had a lumberyard, warehouse, two hotels, a boarding house, post office and Sunday school. In 1899, C. R. Sorenson established a mercantile.

1900

Roads were built between these two young communities that were booming with the logging business. According to the 1900 US Federal Census, 411 men, women and children were living in the Town of Knox. Brantwood was home to 288 folks and Knox Mills home to 123. Nearly half of the families were Finnish immigrants who had settled in Brantwood while many of the Norwegian and Swedish folks had settled in Knox Mills. The remaining census population consisted of transient loggers and mill workers, both foreign and American born.

Working from sunrise to sunset to establish their homes, farms or businesses, the immigrant families complained little as they were finally working for themselves (for the most part) and had finally found a place to call their own. They took pride in their work and aimed to create a safe place to raise their young families. For the Finnish immigrants, it was “Oma tupa, oma lupa” an old Finnish proverb meaning, “One’s own home, one’s own master.”

The communities of Knox Mills and Brantwood continued to grow and thrive for another twenty-some years until the logging industry started winding down. The economy slowly changed, families moved away and people grew old and died. With little to entice new residents to the area, Knox Mills eventually disappeared and the area was absorbed as part of the greater Brantwood community.

 

A comparison of the Platt Books from 1910 and 1957 shows the land ownership in the Town of Knox and how it changed.

   

Click on map for larger view

1910 Platt Book for Town of Knox: T. 35 N., R. 3 E.	1957 Platt Book for Town of Knox: T. 35 N., R. 3 E.

                                                                                .                                     

The area also has a rich and extensive political history entwined in the

Socialist and Communist movements of the era.

More on this topic.

Brantwood eventually changed as well as it lost local businesses to the larger surrounding communities. Many families still live in the area farming the lands their grandfathers and great-grandfathers cleared. A few logging trucks still transport second growth timber from the forests and several tree farms supply Christmas trees to southern states.

Today, if you drive along any of the roads in the Township of Knox, you can find shadows of the past. Remnants of barns and silos, overgrown pastures and patches of flowers growing wild where a farm house once stood will remind you of a community that was once alive with activity. And on a quiet summer night you can still hear the whistle of the Soo Line as it makes it way across Towns 35 and 36 North, Range East in Price County.

With more than 100 years of history it is impossible to tell you everything about the communities of Brantwood in this brief history. Next time you are in the area, stop in and chat with the curators of Knox Creek Farm and Knox Creek Heritage Center, both located near the intersection of W. Knox Road and W. Central Avenue, they will share their wealth of knowledge about the community with you as you browse through all the historical artifacts they each have collected.

If you have any information you would like to contribute, please contact the County Coordinator.

 

 

 

.  Brantwood Co-op 1956

Brantwood Co-op Supply Co

BRANTWOOD TRAIN DEPOT

BRANTWOOD HOTEL

Knox Creek Heritage Center Spirit Baptist Church built in 1890

 Knox Creek Heritage Center Main Farm House built in 1900

Knox Creek Heritage Center Log House

Knox Creek Heritage Center Waahto Sauna built 1900

Brantwood Socialist Hall

Brantwood Pershing School Located on the corner of US Highway 8 and County D, North in Brantwood, WI

Lincoln State Graded School

Located at the corner of US Highway 8 and Venison Drive, Brantwood, WI
2.51 miles west of the intersection of US Hwy 8 & County D, North in Brantwood or
6.08 miles east of the intersection of US Hwy. 8 and Co. A, Prentice

Date Unknown

Contributed by Dale Heikkinen

Brantwood Echo Band:

Front Row, Sitting, L - R:   Sulo Loyva, John Bergland, Alex Kaski

Middle Row L - R: Gust Komula, Waino Niemi, Matt Kaski, Emil Niemi

Back Row L - R: Alfred Sandquist, Hermmi Loski, Carl Sandquist, Mike Koppaka, Kalle Karsela.

Contributed by Beverly Dallmann

BRANTWOOD CO-OP BASKETBALL TEAM 1936

SORENSON'S HOTEL & BRANTWOOD POST OFFICE BRANTWOOD, WI  

Finnish Ideologies of Socialism and Communism in the early 20^th Century

 

Politics and religion had always been important to the Finns for it shaped and controlled their lives. It’s no surprise then that it was also an important part of their new life in the small Finnish communities of Brantwood, Clifford and Tripoli and surrounding areas. 

 

Finns were socialistic by nature, that is ~ they were accustomed to working together for the benefit of their communities. The socialist ideology of the early 20^th century spurred an effort to improve the condition of the working class and the poor farmers.

 

As the Lutheran church in America grew, it became apparent to many Finns that it was working against the Finnish immigrants by supporting the large industries. Socialism was viewed quite differently prior to World War I than it was in later years and had the support of many who wanted better wages and working conditions.  As the world evolved and changed, so did the ideology.

 

In February 1907 a local branch of the Social Democratic Party was organized in Brantwood with six members and in May a Finnish branch was organized with fourteen members. The Party’s primary focus was improving working conditions and protecting worker’s rights so people could earn a better living.  By June, the erection of a large hall had begun just a little south of town. The Prentice Calumet advertised a grand picnic to be held at the hall on July 4^th hosted by three local branches of the Social Democratic Parties.

 

The newspaper boasted the success of the July 4^th picnic as follows: “The greatest number of Socialists ever gathered together in Price county at one time attended the picnic here on the Fourth. Altho the day was somewhat rainy, over two hundred persons turned out and made the day a success. The program lasted for six hours and was good throughout. An unusual sight was the grand parade, one hundred strong, who made the three-mile march  in good order, singing all the way, with two large red flags and the stars and stripes heading the procession. Over $30 was cleared.”

 

In 1941, John I. Kolehmainen and George W. Hill interviewed many Brantwood Finns while doing research for their book, A Haven in the Woods The Story of the Finns in Wisconsin (Arno Press, 1979).  Although they wrote about several Finnish communities in Wisconsin, the book gave a glimpse of the mind-set of the Brantwood Finns who helped to shape the community during the first half of the 20^th century. Quotations in the following paragraphs are from their book unless otherwise noted.

 

Even before the Great Depression slammed into America, Finnish immigrants were working hard to make a better life for themselves in the land of opportunity. Three working class leaders in the world: Eugene V Debs, William D Haywood and Lenin shared their visions of a socialistic commonwealth “in which the state would efficiently and benevolently operate the economy for the benefit of all” and Finns nationwide responded to the ideology. 

 

The movement began as early as 1905 when socialist organizers poured into the state “proclaiming the gospel of freedom”.  “The Wisconsin Finns disagreed violently among themselves whether Socialism was a red ogre or a gallant knight-errant.” Brantwood Finns were as deeply affected by differences in opinion as were Finns in the larger cities in Wisconsin.

 

Religious leaders feared the socialist ideas and tried to scare Finns away from it with threats of fire and brimstone. It created a separation within communities as some Finns remained loyal to the Lutheran church who supported capitalist ideals and activities while others turned their backs to it. In some communities this separation led Finnish immigrants to be separated into “churched Finns” and “un-churched Finns”. The ‘un-churched’ Finns organized and built the socialist halls of Brantwood and Clifford.

 

In 1908, an article published in the Prentice Calumet newspaper on April 10^th attempted to clarify the differences between the Socialist and the Communist party ideals:

 

“People have Socialism and Communism mixed. Communism stands for the ownership of all things by all the people; all things to be produced in common and used in common. Socialism stands for public ownership of public property, that is, all things the people depend on, which is the machinery of production and distribution, and private ownership of private property, which is anything used privately. If the government owned the trusts, with pure democratic control, we would have social democracy which is socialism.”

 

As the socialist movement grew within the Finnish communities across the nation, the Finns built one of the largest labor movements in the world.

 

By the autumn of 1912, another local branch of the Socialist Party built a hall in Brantwood that opened on October 6^th. In addition to an address to the community members by Carl D. Thompson, the Social Democratic candidate for governor of the state, the Brantwood Echo Band provided music for a grand ball.

 

The Socialist movement spread to every Finnish community in the state however, the Brantwood-Clifford community seemed to be one of the strongest for several years. In 1912 and 1914, the Socialist Party won every town office position. 

 

The Finnish Socialists enjoyed entertaining activities as much as political ones. Their political meetings frequently included Finnish songs, recitations, games and dancing along with dramatic plays that fascinated community members and drew much community support. 

 

The Finns involved in these activities were deeply focused on preserving their Finnish culture and language to the extent that they were often criticized for their lack of focus on the class struggle. These Finns became known as “Hall Socialists” or the “Hall Finns”.

 

All across the Midwest disagreements over the level of socialism raged throughout 1914. The Proletarian Revolution was born of the Russian Revolution and moved many Finns toward Communism. Superior’s Finnish newspaper, the Työmies, “…took the lead in calling for the abandonment of the American Socialist Party and the adoption of the Communist program”.

 

In 1920 and 1921, twelve of the Wisconsin socialist parties turned to the Communist party with the intent to further their working class struggle with the new power they thought to acquire with the Red Party.  They were unaware of the severity of the newer communistic ideology.

 

As the communist movement heated up, many Finns realized even more that they were less interested in the proletarian movement and more interested in nurturing their communities with cultural and social endeavors while maintaining their own language.

 

When they realized the Communist Party would take over their businesses, halls and newspapers and absorb them into a greater movement they realized the blatant violation of their social democratic procedures and hesitated.

 

This hesitation allowed many Finns to reconsider what it was they really wanted for themselves and their families and caused them to change their minds about joining the Communist Party and signing membership cards. However, several Finns remained committed to the Communist party well into the 21^st century.

 

To learn more about the Socialist and Communist movements as well as the Emigration of Finns to Karelia, click on the titles of the following articles.

 

	Disillusionment on the Grandest of Scales: Finnish-Americans in the Soviet Union, 1917-1939 By: Emily Weidenhamer
	Price County Finnish-American Emigrants to Soviet Karelia in 1930s
	The Canadian Finns in Soviet Karelia in the 1930s by Reino Kero

Disillusionment on the Grandest of Scales:
Finnish-Americans in the Soviet Union, 1917-1939
By: Emily Weidenhamer

“We were not traitors. It has to be understood that we were the children of idealists. Their idealism was worded in communist ideals—that there should be equality for all.” —Mayme Sevander [10]

The Finnish-American community in the United States was often politically radical, heavily influenced by left-wing socialist and communist movements. This trend was rooted, in part, in the Finnish national awakening. The national revival took place from 1885 to 1907, a time period corresponding to the main wave of Finnish immigration to America. Included in this cultural revival were strong socialist, temperance, women’s rights, and workers’ movements. These movements also took root among the Finnish émigrés in America.[11] In America, Finnish immigrants often labored in lumber camps or mines under terrible working conditions. Their anger at the exploitation they and other immigrants suffered from found its outlet in radical political movements—the labor union movement, socialism, and eventually communism.[12] At the time, workers across the country were unionizing, and Finns joined them in demanding better working conditions and pay. Finns played large parts in major miners’ strikes in the Mesabi Range of northern Minnesota in 1907 and in Michigan’s Copper Country in 1913.[13]

By 1903, forty Finnish-American clubs had formed the Imatra League and had begun to take steps to promote socialist ideas among the clubs. The Imatra League had 23,697 members in 1908, almost all of whom were Marxist in orientation.[14] A Finnish-American Workers’ League was also founded in August 1904. In 1906, delegates at a conference in Hibbing, Minnesota, formed the Finnish Socialist Federation and affiliated themselves with the American Socialist party. The initial group was formed from socialist clubs with approximately 2,500 members. A few years later, in 1912, the Federation had grown to 13,667 members.[15]

The Federation’s activities centered on “Finn Halls.” These halls—the cultural centers of the Finnish-American community—became political centers as well. There, Finns could dance, watch theater, and absorb and discuss leftist politics.[16] Many of the children of Finnish-American socialists were raised as socialists from birth. They attended the Finnish halls regularly with their parents, but they also participated in summer camps, demonstrations, protests, and non-religious Finnish Sunday Schools.[17]

The Finnish Socialist Federation on several occasions experienced dissension and even splits. After the 1913 copper miners’ strike in Michigan, many Federation members joined the Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.). The Federation was strongly influenced by communism after the founding of the Communist Party in the United States. The socialist and communist Finns split over these influences, and communist Finns formed their own Finnish halls.[18] In 1923, the Federation officially affiliated itself with the Workers’ Party, the public organization of the Communist Party in the United States.[19] Federation members made up about 40 percent of the Workers’ Party in the 1920s.[20]

By 1921, four major Finnish-American radical newspapers were printed regularly: Työmies (Working Man), Raivaaja (Pioneer), Toveri (Comrade), and Eteenpäin (Forward). These publications represented a range of political views across the leftist spectrum.[21] Työmies was the official mouthpiece of the Finnish Socialist Federation, and later of the Finnish section of the Workers’ Party.[22] Eteenpäin and Toveri, like Työmies, were linked to communism. Raivaaja was the newspaper of the Social Democrats, a group that broke from the Federation and retained its links to the American Socialist Party. Carl Ross estimates the circulation of the Finnish Communist press alone to have been nearly 40,000 at its peak; if the circulation figures of Raivaaja and Industrialisti (the I.W.W. organ) are added, the total circulation of the Finnish radical press numbered around 60,000. Because newspapers are almost always shared with others, this represents a substantial radical movement within an immigrant community of roughly 400,000.[23]

Not all Finns in the United States, of course, were members of radical political movements. Many Finns were “Church Finns”—members of the Lutheran Church, far more conservative, and advocates of temperance.[24] These Finns did much to distance themselves from their more radical brethren. In the wake of the Mesabi strike of 1907, for example, the conservative Finns were so opposed to the striking miners’ socialism that they established the “True Finns Movement” (Tosi-suomalaisliike) in February 1908. The movement claimed to be the true voice of Finnish-Americans and asked the mining companies not to judge all Finns as radical. They accused Finnish-American socialists of devastating the reputation of Finns everywhere and blamed them for the miners’ “blacklist.” The leaders of this movement reportedly recommended that the U.S. Department of Immigration deny Finnish socialists entrance to the country.[25]

Despite the divisions within the community, speakers traveling among Finnish-American communities to recruit immigrants to Karelia found a welcome there. Americans and Canadians were recruited primarily by two organizations: Amtorg, the Soviet trade mission in New York, and Soviet-Karelian Technical Aid (Neuvosto-Karjalan Teknillinen Apu).[26] Mayme Sevander’s father was head of Soviet-Karelian Technical Aid for a time. She recalls that he told Finns in his recruiting speeches that:

Karelia …needs strong workers who know how to chop trees and dig ore and build houses and grow food. Isn’t that what we Finns have been doing in the United States for the past thirty years? And wouldn’t it be wonderful to do that same work in a country that needs you, a country where there is no ruling class, no rich industrialists or kings or czars to tell you what to do? Just workers toiling together for the common good.[27]

The recruiting speeches were often the source of a person’s “Karelian fever.” Estimates of the number of Finnish-Americans who caught “Karelian fever” vary, but a widely accepted figure is approximately 6,000.[28] The fever was particularly concentrated and widespread in 1931 and 1932. The vast majority of immigrants arrived in Soviet Karelia in these years; few immigrants arrived after 1933.[29]

Many groups had farewells appealing to communist sentiment printed in Finnish newspapers:

We the undersigned, leaving behind this country of capitalistic exploitation, are headed for the Soviet Union where the working class is in power and where it is building a socialistic society. We appeal to you, comrades, who are staying behind, to rally round communist slogans, to work efficiently to overthrow capitalism and create the foundation of a Republic of Labor.[30]

In order to be accepted to go to Soviet Karelia, potential emigrants did not have to be members of the Communist Party. They only had to be in good health, be willing to work hard and endure difficulties, and receive a reference from a Communist-affiliated organization.[31] All the emigrants, however, had in common at least an openness to consider new, often utopian ideas.[32]

It is a matter of some debate within the historical community whether ideology or ethnicity more strongly motivated the Karelian fever. Alexis Pogorelskin argues that ethnicity was the primary factor both for the recruitment of the emigrants and for the emigrants’ decisions to leave.[33] Mayme Sevander and Richard Hudelson, on the other hand, argue that ideological motivations for emigration outweighed nationalist ones and that Finnish ethnic identity “did not exist in isolation from ideological factors.”[34]

Two facts, however, seem to indicate that neither nationalist desires nor Marxist ideology can explain the Finnish-Americans’ emigration completely. First, recruiters to Karelia did not target churchgoing, Suomi Synod Finns. The recruiters generally spoke in Finn halls, where radical politics reigned supreme. This seems to indicate that it was not simply Finns who were wanted in Karelia, but a certain kind of Finns—those who would support the aims of the Soviet Union. Second, it was indeed Finnish Communists (or Communist sympathizers) who were targeted for recruitment. Recruiters did not target any other nationality for settlement in Karelia; they preferred Finns.

Arguing that nationalism was the primary factor, as Pogorelskin does, ignores the fact that most Finns in the United States did not go to Karelia. If nationalism were such a compelling factor, then one would expect a larger portion of the entire Finnish-American community to emigrate. Arguing that political ideology was the dominant motivator, as Hudelson and Sevander do, also leaves something to be desired. There were far more Finnish Communists in the United States than the emigrants who went to Karelia. This seems to indicate that a complex range of factors—ideology, ethnicity, and perhaps others—united to create the Karelian “fever” in the Finnish-American community.

Price County Finnish-American Emigrants to Soviet Karelia in 1930s

The following list of names from Price County communities was extracted from the Laiho List.

SURNAME First Residence Date S-K Data AHO    Edward Brantwood, WI 3/2/1932 X - Missing AHO Aino Brantwood, WI 3/2/1932 X - Missing AHO Leo Brantwood, WI 3/2/1932 X - Missing AHO John Brantwood, WI 3/2/1932 X - Missing AHO** Waino Brantwood, WI 3/2/1932 X - Missing AHO** Lyyli Brantwood, WI 3/2/1932 X - Missing AHO** Eugene Brantwood, WI 3/2/1932 X - Missing GRONROOS Victor Tripoli, WI 4/5/1932 X - Missing GRONROOS Saima Tripoli, WI 4/5/1932 X - Missing GRONROOS Leslie Tripoli, WI 4/5/1932 X - Missing HAUTA** Axel Clifford, WI 9/26/1931 X - Missing HAUTA** Aili Clifford, WI 9/26/1931 X - Missing HAUTA** Richard Clifford, WI 9/26/1931 X - Missing HAUTAMAKI Edwin Clifford, WI 1/1/1932 X - Missing JALKANEN Adam Brantwood, WI 3/2/1932 X - Missing JALKANEN Clyde Brantwood, WI 3/2/1932 X - Missing JALKANEN * Tyyne Brantwood, WI 3/2/1932 X - Missing JALKANEN * Leslie Brantwood, WI 3/2/1932 X - Missing KAARTUNEN*** Leo Brantwood, WI 9/11/1932 X - Missing KAARTUNEN***     Walter    Brantwood, WI 9/26/1931 R - Returned MAKI John Brantwood, MN 5/17/1933 X - Missing MAKI William Brantwood, MN 5/17/1933 X - Missing POYHONEN Impi Brantwood, WI 3/2/1932 X - Missing POYHONEN Katri Brantwood, WI 3/2/1932 X - Missing POYHONEN Isaak Brantwood, WI 3/2/1932 X - Missing RIIHIMAKI ***    Walter    Brantwood, WI 9/26/1931 R - Returned RIIHIMAKI ***    Hulda    Brantwood, WI 9/26/1931 R - Returned RIIHIMAKI ***    William    Brantwood, WI 9/26/1931 R - Returned RIIHIMAKI ***    Anna    Brantwood, WI 9/26/1931 R - Returned RIIHIMAKI ***    Matti    Brantwood, WI 9/26/1931 R - Returned ROSENSTAND Delbert Tripoli, WI 3/2/1932 X - Missing ROSENSTAND Francis Tripoli, WI 3/2/1932 X - Missing ROSENSTAND Aino Tripoli, WI 3/2/1932 X - Missing ROSENSTAND Christian Tripoli, WI 3/2/1932 X - Missing SAARI Eino Brantwood, WI 7/3/1932 X - Missing SAARI Nestor Brantwood, WI 8/11/1932 R-Returned SAARI Nikolai Brantwood, WI 8/11/1932 R-Returned

* Jalkanens and Korpelas

• Leslie and Clyde Jalkanen, along with their mother, Tynne (?) left Russian and after spending four years in Finland, returned to the United States in 1940. They settled in the Finnish community of Voluntown, C. T. Adam apparently stayed in Russia.

• The Korpelas from Clifford also immigrated to Karelia however they had moved to Owen, WI prior to that and  therefore are not recorded in the above list;

•  Toivo Korpela, who had live in Clifford and later moved to Owen, WI was the first of the Korpelas to immigrate to Karelia leaving on 02 Mar 1932 (on the same day as the Jalkanens and probably with them).

• Toivo coaxed his parents, Gust and Marie Korpela, and his brothers, Bill and Oliver, into immigrating to Karelia also. The family sold everything they owned and left Owen, WI with Gust’s brother, Kalle (Carl) Korpela and Kalle’s wife, who was from Tripoli;

• The conditions in Russia were so harsh that the families obtained passes to ‘visit’ Finland and of course never returned to Karelia.

• Kalle and his wife stayed in Finland.

• Gust, Maria and Oliver stayed in Finland long enough to earn money to return to Owen, WI and later moved back to Clifford.

• Toivo and Bill returned to the U.S. and took up residence in New York City.

 The information was contributed by Judy (Korpela) Schoch – June 2009. Thanks, Judy!

------------------------------------

** Ahos and Hautas (Emigrants to Soviet Karelia from U.S. in 1930's)

• Waino Aho stayed in Karelia. He lived in Petroskov and died there.

• Lyyli (nee Maki) Aho visited the Kristo Maki family in Brantwood but went back to Karelia.

• Eugene Aho, son of Waino and Lyyli, die in Matrosa of a ruptured appendix. His wife, Aune, was the postmaster there.

• Elaine Aho, born in Matrosa died in 2000.

• Axel Hauta was in the Russian Army. he was a neighbor to John Braski when he lived in Brantwood. He died in Petroskov.

• Aili (nee Nurmi) Hauta lived in Karelia. John Braski visited her in 1968.

• Richard Hauta moved from Karelia to Jyväskylä, Finland with his wife Maria. Marcie Braski visited them in 1998.

• Taina Hauta was born in Matrosa, Karelia. She is the cousin of John Helander and Dorthy Hakko. She moved to Kajaani, Finland where Marci Braski visited her in 1998.

 

This information was contributed by Marcie Braski - March 2011. Thanks, Marcie!!

-------------------------------

***  Kaartunens & Riihimakis

 

• Mr. & Mrs. John Kaartunen, the parents of Leo and Walter, allegedly emigrated to Karelia also but their names are not on the Laiho List.

• Bill Hoffman has a Russian certificate from Matroosa translated as follows: "With lightening speed we will complete the five year plan in four years. Comrade Walter Riihimaki of the (Walter) Kaartunen Brigade is awarded the honorary title of shock worker in the fourth year of the Five Year Plan and builder of the socialism proving himself on the lumber front in socialistic competition for the raising of labor productivity."

• Hulda Riihimaki was the daughter of Moses and Hanna Lampi of Brantwood, WI.

• The Riihimaki family (and Walter Kaartunen?) returned to Brantwood in the fall of 1933 and moved to California in the spring of 1934.

• Oliver Korpela stated that a few days after he and his parents arrived in Petroskoi they were trucked to Matroosa where there were mostly Finns from the States and Canada.

This information was contributed by Bill Hoffman - April 2011. Thanks, Bill!

The Canadian Finns in Soviet Karelia in the 1930's (Excerpt) by Reine Kero

The objective of the Soviet Union’s first five-year plan was to achieve maximum self-sufficiency. The forest resources of the Soviet Union in the 1920s were enormous. Most of the forests were situated, however, in areas where exploiting the wood was difficult, at least for purposes of foreign trade. From the point of view of their locations, the best forests were to be found in Soviet Karelia, from whence timber could be transported with relative ease along the waterways to western European markets. For this reason Karelia, which was otherwise a backward area, was of particular importance with regard to carrying out the five-year plan. The start of the first five-year plan meant that the production goals of Soviet Karelia were raised dramatically; they were set so high that reaching them was not possible with local manpower. According to information in Soviet Karelian newspapers, from 30,000 to 50,000 more workers were needed in 1931. Under these circumstances, the leader of the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Republic, tried to ensure that as many as possible of the new workers would be Finnish-speaking. As a result, Finnish-speaking workers came from southern Russia, Siberia, Ingermanland, Finland, the United States and Canada. The manpower to be recruited from Canada was valuable not only because it was Finnish-speaking, but also because in Canada there were plenty of skilled forest workers thought to be capable also of teaching effective working methods to the rest of the population of Soviet Karelia. The recruiting was done by an office, known as Technical Aid to Soviet Karelia. An agreement was made for 50 to 70 experienced forest workers from Canada and the United States to be allowed to go to the Soviet Union. The Work Unit would act as “shock troops”, who would show how effectively forest work could be carried out. The “ambassador” of the Canadian Finns was Comrade Karppinen, who came to Karelia in the spring of 1930. In the autumn, he was followed by 26 Canadian and four American Finnish forest workers who made an agreement with the bureau responsible for forest work at the beginning of November to fell 14,000 cubic metres of pulpwood (about 21,000 cords), transport it to a tractor road and load it on tractor sleds. Matroosa was a kind of model forestry area and attempts were made there to organize timber cutting and processing on the basis of the methods taught by the Canadian and American Finns.

Thank you Bill Hoffman for contributing this information!