Sattuma ~ Finnish Folk Band ä...

NEWSLETTER OF THE FINNISH HERITAGE HOUSE NO.38 ~ SUMMER 2013

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Sattuma ~ Finnish Folk Band

Sattuma will be performing an acoustic concert at the

I.O.O.F. Hall (Odd Fellows) 7 Elementary School Rd. Tenant’s Harbor, ME 04860 on July 21, 2013 at 3:30 pm. This will be a two hour

show with an intermission. Refreshments will be included. Admission: $12.00 at the door.

Sattuma has been engaging audiences in songs and tunes from the Finnish, Karelian and Russian traditions since the

two youngest members were just children ages 9 and 13. They have a huge following, both in the Finnish

community and the general American population in the United States and in Finland, Russia, Sweden, Estonia,

Germany, and the Netherlands. U.S. Elementary school children, high school and middle school students love their

performances as much as adults of all ages and cultural backgrounds

Sattuma performs with 20 different instruments including violins, clarinet, accordion, bouzuki, 10-string kantele, jouhikko (bowed lyre), traditional flutes, bag pipe, and

didgeridoo. For a preview of Sattuma online, go to this link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM3bcGLsfuI

ä kuuluu. I’ll bet that got

your attention!! Finnish language classes in South Thomaston have been held for the last six weeks in

Jura Hall, the fellowship hall of the Finnish Congregational Church. Eager learners from 19 to 90

assembled for immersion into a language that is unlike any other. Led by Marja-Leena Bailey and Aire-Maija Schwann, both natives of Finland, the

sessions were intense with much of the conversation carried on by the students. While

primarily aimed at everyday dialogue, grammar was included in the lessons, providing a good foundation

for future learning. The instructors traveled from Massachusetts to Maine each week, first teaching a morning class in the West Paris area and then a late afternoon class in South Thomaston. Plans are afoot

for futher sessions and interested persons are encouraged to call Steve Gifford at 989-1971 for

more information.

Marja-Leena Bailey and Aire-Maija Schwann at Jura Hall. Picture provided by Ethel Powell

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM3bcGLsfuI


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Appreciation Day for Edna On April 18, 2013 The Finn Am Society of Mid-Coast

Maine along with FHH featured a pot luck appreciation event for Edna Montgomery for her

many hours of devoted work at the Finnish Church and the Finnish Heritage House. Edna takes care of so many things at these facilities that without her

efforts we would undoubtedly be very much in disarray. Edna received several gift certificates and cards, many with monetary gifts. She also received

quite a few wrapped gifts.

Photos by: Reggie Montgomery

Recipe Box Home Made Ice Cream 6 Eggs 3 Cups Sugar 3 Cans Evaporated Milk 2 Cans Water 8 Oz. Regular Milk

Mix in electric mixer and then cook double boiler

style until it starts to thicken. Add vanilla 2-3 Tbsp. to taste. If making chocolate,

mix ¾ cup cocoa with sugar before mixing. You can also make cherry vanilla by putting some

cut-up cherries and ¼ cup cherry juice in after cooking.

Pour into your ice cream churn and follow instructions for brine (ice, snow or crushed ice and

rock salt). Add a small amount of cold water to start the brine.)

and churn until frozen.

Marilyn Pitcher

FHH Tori The Tori at FHH has many new items for this year.

Some of the handmade items are aprons, kitchen

towels with crocheted hangers, tote bags,

beautiful rag rugs, scarves, mini clam hods, door

stops, note cards and stationery.

T- shirts for women in new colors, loofah sponges,

refrigerator magnets, desktop flag holders with

Finnish and American flags, recipe books, books for

all ages, CD’s, Finnish coffee, raffle tickets for the

rag rug and much more are among the

non-handmade items.

Food items are also available. Pulla, cookies,

fudge, doughnuts are on hand. Sometimes there

are whoopie pies, homemade baked beans, and

other delicious treats.

You can visit and have a cup of coffee with a sweet

treat while you shop or browse the displays.

Open 9:00 – 12:00 Sat. and

Starting June 19, 9:00 to 1:00 Wed.


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CHECK YOUR MAILING

LABEL!

HAS YOUR MEMBERSHIP

EXPIRED?

Your name will be removed if you

are more than two years overdue.

Finnish Heritage House

Officers

President: Jacqueline Harjula

Vice – President: Gary Aho

Clerk/Secretary: Jacqueline Laffely

Treasurer: Edna Montgomery

Newsletter Editor: Reggie Montgomery

Trustees

Fred Webel (January 2015)

Elsie Brown (January 2015)

Steve Gifford (January 2013)

Anne Little (January 2014)

Kirsti Fish (January 2014)

Building Committee

Chairman: Neil Harjula

Finnish Heritage House

P.O. Box 293

South Thomaston, ME 04858

Send articles to [email protected]

Spring . . . Strings . . . Blossom Forth!

What do you get when you sprinkle magical notes with

talented, fun-loving people who gather

bi-monthly in all kinds of weather? Why, that's easy!

It's our own Suomalaiset Jouset Ensemble

sprouting forth again!

These 11-string kantele players have recently been

seen in the public schools in Thomaston,

Appleton, Hope and Lincolnville; Senior Citizen

establishments in Rockland, Rockport and Camden;

and they accompanied New England singers gathered

for their annual Finn Sing in Yarmouth.

"The Finnish Strings" have a bouquet of events to

attend, which includes "Serenading in the

Warren Park"; inspiring "The Hobbit" readers in

Rockland's Public Library; participating in scheduled

events at Montpelier/ General Henry Knox Museum;

traveling to Massachusetts and Michigan for

invitational festivals.

In addition to all this musical talent, many of us will be

organizing our third Finn Funn for Kids

weekend in late August. On Saturday, August 24th the

Home Schoolers of Maine will be gathering at

FHH to make crafts, learn kantele tunes and immerse

themselves in Finnish Heritage!

So, our growing "garden" of musicians will resume

their open rehearsals on Friday evenings,

starting on June 28th at 5:30 p.m., Jura Hall, So.

Thomaston. Please contact us if you are interested in

learning to play Finland's folk instrument at: [email protected]

Suomalaiset Jouset Ensemble playing at a school concert.

Photo provided by Ethel Powell

mailto:[email protected]



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2013 Calendar of Events June 19: Summer hours start with WorldWar II

Exhibit Wed: 9 to 1, Sat: 9 to 12

June 21: Juhannus Celebration, Bonfire and

Pig Roast at Montpelier

June 22: Juhannus Celebration, Potluck at noon

July 4: Bake Sale to benefit Finn-Am

Scholarship Fund

July 21: Sattuma concert at Tenant’s Harbor

Aug. 24: FinnFunn for Kids

Sept. 21: Finn Fling

Nov. 15-17: 21st Annual FinnFunn Weekend

in Troy, NH

Question: Can anyone help us out? Would any of our members or friends consider

hosting some or all of the Sattuma band members and their manager? They don’t charge us very much

to come half way around the world to perform a concert. That being the case, the manager asked if anyone could or would put them up for two nights,

July 20 and 21. They can be separated into two groups. One group would be the two women, a 61 year old, the band

manager and a 23 year old, the female band member. The other group is the men of the band,

two 47 year olds and one 20 year old. If anyone will help us out please contact Reggie Montgomery at

372-8890 or at [email protected] Kiitos!

Finn Funn Weekend 2013 Finn Funn weekend will be held November 15 – 17

At The Inn at East Hill Farm 460 Monadnock Street

Troy, N.H. 03465 1800-242-6495

[email protected] www.east-hill-farm.com

A fun filled weekend with Finnish food, music and activities.

For more information, brochures are available at FHH.

Juhannus Celebration 2013 –Midsummer at

the Museum

It will soon be midsummer, and there is a big celebration planned at Montpelier. On Friday

evening, June 21, there will be a community pig roast and barbecue, followed by a bonfire. The Milliners, a traditional fiddle, flute, and guitar group from Portland will perform around the

bonfire (weather permitting). On Saturday, June 22 at noon, the Museum will host a traditional

Juhannus picnic at which a buffet of Scandinavian proportions will be served. FHH and Finn-Am members will gather on the lawn

under a tent, bringing our usual pot luck dishes to feed our own group. Carpooling from the church

is advised. Admission is free. You are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity for sharing our recipes and our heritage with the

greater community.

FHH Summer Exhibit to Open June 19th

Starting on June 19th, this Summer’s exhibit,

“Honoring Finnish-American World War Two

Veterans”, will open Saturdays from 9 to Noon and

Wednesdays 9 to 1 until October 16th. This marks

the 10th year that FHH has featured exhibits

highlighting the midcoast Finnish-American

Community. Previous exhibits have included: “Finns

and Blueberries”, “Pillars of the Earth: Finns and

Granite”, “Sauna: A Gift From the Finns”, “Finnish

American Music”, “Finns and Feathers: Poultry

Farming”, “Remembering Grandmother and

Grandfather” and “Finnish-American Crafts”.

By: Steve Gifford



http://www.east-hill-farm.com/


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Ambassador of Finland to the US Ritva Koukku-Ronde with FFN President Ossi Rahkonen.

FINLANDIA FOUNDATION NATIONAL

SIXTIETH ANNIVERSARY GALA DINNER

AND CONCERT

By Jacqueline Harjula, Trustee

What a glorious opportunity to celebrate our

Finnish-American heritage and the many innovative

programs supported by FFN. With 45 Chapters

throughout the US (including our own FHH), we

continue to provide funding for the Performer of the

Year, Lecturer of the Year, Salolampi Language

Village, Soiva International Music Camp, and for

grants and scholarships.

The evening commenced with a welcome

from FFN President Anita Smiley, who proudly

spoke of our mission and goals for the future,

including increasing our visibility and growing our

philanthropic programs. Ossi Rahkonen, Gala

Chairperson and incoming FFN President also

welcomed all of the 180 attendees.

After a delicious meal, Ville Itälä, Chairman

of Soumi-Suera and Speaker of the Finnish

Expatriate Parliament brought greetings from his

organizations, and spoke briefly about the political

situation in Finland. A congratulatory letter from

our patron, Esa-Pekka Salonen, was appreciated by

all present.

Jon Saari, FFN Trustee and author of “Black

Ties and Miners’ Boots: Inventing Finnish-

American Philanthropy” presented an historical

overview of the organization. There were periods of

growth and periods of stagnation, but after sixty

years, FFN is alive and well and continuing to grow.

Ambassador of Finland to the US Ritva

Koukku-Ronde was the keynote speaker. She

complimented FFN on all the various Finnish-

American programs supported by our group.

Remarks were made by other speakers, including

FFN Trustee and Executive Vice-President Paul

Halme; FFN Trustee Emeritus and Past President

John Laine; Gary London, President of the FFN

Seattle Chapter representing Chapter Presidents;

Judy Gervais, FFN Columbia-Pacific

Chapter,Portland, Oregon, representing Grant

Recipients; FFN Trustee and Secretary Jacqueline

Harjula reading a statement from Hilary Virtanen

representing Scholarship Recipients; Nadia Lin

representing Salolampi Language Camp students,

and Sierra Kautiainen representing Soiva

International Music Camp Students.

One of the highlights of the evening was the

opportunity to enjoy the musical talents of two FFN

Performers of the Year, Maria Mannisto, Soprano;

and Marja Kaisla, Pianist. It is inspiring to realize

that FFN has is enabling Finnish-Americans

musicians to travel throughout the US sharing their

music. All Chapters have the opportunity to arrange

for a performance.

Ossi Rahkonen and his committee made up

of Paul Halme, Satu Mikkola, and Christina Lin

certainly deserve our appreciation for planning such

a wonderful event. We are looking forward to

celebrating our 70th

Anniversary in 2023!

It should be noted that a Board of Trustees

meeting was also held earlier during that weekend,

and grants of $70,000 and 25 scholarships of $1,000

each were approved. One of those grants was

$4,000 for FHH’s Suomalaiset Jouset – “Finnish

Strings”. This grant will enable the group to

purchase several kanteles to be used in the local

schools. The students will be taught by Director

Celia Jones and members of the kantele group.

What better way to promote our heritage than by

generating enthusiasm in our youth!


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Yvonne Lockwood

Finlandia Foundation Speaker fo the Year

Yvonne Lockwood, Finlandia Foundation National Lecturer of the

Year By: Fred Webel

On May 18th The Finnish Heritage House and the Midcoast Finnish American Society sponsored a free lecture at the Finnish

Congregational Church in South Thomaston. The lecture was presented by Yvonne Lockwood, Finlandia Foundation Lecturer of the Year.

Yvonne Lockwood was Curator of Folk Life at Michigan State University from 1981 to 2009. Yvonne is touring the country presenting this

lecture at over 18 Finlandia Foundation Chapters.

The title of her presentation was “Traditional

Material Culture In Modern Finnish America”. Her illustrated talk included the Finnish traditions of rag rugs, looms, spinning, knitting, foodways, sauna, woodworking, and visiting traditions. She also showed how the skills brought to America by

Finnish immigrants have been altered and adapted in this country.

For those 30 plus attending it was a wonderful

opportunity to reconnect with the life their Finnish ancestors left in Finland and what they brought

with them to the United States.

The program was preceded by a 12:00 pm potluck luncheon for members and guests in Jura

Hall, followed by Yvonne Lockwood’s presentation in the Church at 1:00 pm.

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FHH Summer Exhibit to Open June 19th

By: Steve Gifford

Starting on June 19th, this summer’s exhibit,

“Honoring Finnish-American World War Two

Veterans”, will open Saturdays from 9 to Noon and

Wednesdays 9 to 1 until October 16th. This marks the

10th year that FHH has featured exhibits highlighting

the midcoast Finnish-American Community. Previous

exhibits have included: “Finns and Blueberries”,

“Pillars of the Earth: Finns and Granite”, “Sauna: A

Gift From the Finns”, “Finnish American Music”,

“Finns and Feathers: Poultry Farming”,

“Remembering Grandmother and Grandfather” and

“Finnish-American Crafts”.

Eino & Toivo Joke Eino was coming out of Pickleman's Pantry in

Newberry, MI carrying a bag of pasties.

Toivo was getting gas and saw him with the bag.

"Hey, Eino, if I guess how many pasties you have in

dat bag, can I have one?"

Eino replied, "If you can guess how many I have,

I'll give you both of them."

Toivo answered, "Holywha! Okay, I think you have

five of them."

This fine example of a rag rug was handmade and donated to FHH by Tooty Wilson. It measures 28” X 62”. Raffle tickets are on sale at FHH. $1.00 each or 6 for $5.00. The rug will be raffled off at our

annual Finn Fling on Sept. 21.


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Poetry Contest The poetry contest sponsored by Charlie

Heino has been extended. Come on poets!

We need submissions. We do not have enough entries as yet. The submissions can be on any subject, as long or as short as you

want. They are due by July 9. Please send in a poem.

You might be the winner!

Computer Corner / June 2013 Our FHH website continues to have a number of new visitors each month. We have also a presence on Facebook. If you have not looked at either in a while please do so and recommend the sites to your friends and neighbors. The website contains copies of our Newsletter, recent FHH Directors’ Meeting Minutes, a page on Exhibits and Activities, an Events Calendar, etc.

Questions and suggestions are welcome so keep in touch

Fredrick Webel, your webmaster

FINNSING

What better way to spend the first day of June than

with a group of 25 Finns and friends in Yarmouth, ME

singing Finnish songs accompanied by kanteles, a

violin, an autoharp, and a ukulele? Each of the

attendees sang from a notebook or more than 40 songs

(in Finnish). Eleven members of Suomalaiset Jouset

participated.

FinnSing was held at the Homewood Lodge,

formerly part of a summer resort and now an

association of 14 homeowners. The Lodge is shared

by all the owners. We thank Irene Rochwarg, one of

the owners and also a member of Suomalaiset Jouset,

for helping to organize this delightful afternoon of

music.

Prior to the singing, a scrumptious pot luck meal,

including many Finnish dishes, was enjoyed by all.

We dined on beet salad (rosolli), dilled cucumbers

(tilli kurkku), salmon steaks, salad made with fresh

halibut from Alaska, pannukakku (oven pancakes),

pulla, and cabbage rolls (kaalikääryleet). There were

many other casseroles to choose from, and several

homemade desserts.

This is the second time our group has attended

FinnSing, and we look forward to participating in

many more.

The group from FHH Anne Little,

Leeanna Cloutier, Kay Dodge,

Ethel Powell And

Jackie Harjula, standing on the bench in back, are out on the

dock at FinnSing. I’m guessing the other members of the FHH group were trying to stay cool. It was a 90°

day.

Anne Little and Ethel Powell enjoying the day on the porch at FinnSing

in Yarmouth, ME Sat. June 1, 2013

Photos by: Jackie Harjula

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