Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Finns in Minnesota

Finns in Minnesota

Alanen, Arnold R.

Paperback

Series: People of Minnesota

General Racism & Ethnic StudiesImmigration & RefugeesRegional: Midwest

Publisher Price: $17.95

ISBN10: 0873518543
ISBN13: 9780873518543
Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society Press
Published: May 1 2012
Pages: 124
Weight: 0.45
Height: 0.50 Width: 5.90 Depth: 8.80
Language: English
Awards: Northeastern Minnesota Book Award
This succinct yet comprehensive volume outlines the contributions and culture of Minnesota's Finnish Americans, perhaps best known for their cooperative ventures, their political involvement, and, of course, their saunas.

Minnesota's first Finnish immigrants settled in the south-central area of the state shortly after arriving in 1864; they were the vanguard for thousands who eventually and resolutely placed Minnesota second among the states in terms of Finnish population. Today we may recognize Minnesota's Finnishness in the popular sauna, in the characteristic tenacity known as sisu, or in place names and cultural markers that link to homeland.

Finns in Minnesota traces the Finns' migration to the state, their log construction techniques, and their ethnic organizations, from religious to political to fraternal. Colorful sidebars enliven the narrative, highlighting such topics as Finglish, New World legends, and the 1920s Olympic competitors in track and field known as the Flying Finns. A separate thread tells the story of the Finland Swedes--the minority within a minority--whose members were born in Finland but spoke Swedish and thus straddled two ethnic groups, belonging fully to neither. The book concludes with a personal narrative of Fred Torma (1888-1979), a miner and carpenter from Nashwauk, who describes establishing a Socialist hall, involvement in the 1907 Mesabi strike, and founding a cooperative boardinghouse and store. His is just one engaging example of the vibrant lives and legacy of Finnish Americans in Minnesota.

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