
FinnConn folk dancers of Finnish American Heritage Society, 1992. Photo: Walter Sandholm
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Sisu and Creativity - The Essence of the
Finnish Immigrants in Eastern Connecticut
Finnish immigrants arrived in New York City as
early as the 1890s, but Finns did not begin to settle in
Connecticut until the 1920s, looking for relief from the poverty
that drove them from their native land. These immigrants were
endowed with
sisu - a Finnish term that connotes a
combination of hard work, determination, and perseverance.
Their yearning for open space and property led Finns
to Connecticut, many settling in the Canterbury area and buying
cheap and available land from Yankee farmers. Arriving in
Connecticut with carpentry skills, enterprising Finnish men
constructed social halls where immigrants could meet others of
common background and language. A group called the Finnish American
Education Association purchased a piece of land on Bacon Hill in
Canterbury prior to 1924 on which they erected a social hall,
followed by other halls in eastern Connecticut, including the
Finnish Hall in Brooklyn, the Aura Hall in Voluntown, and the
Finnish Hall in Waterford. All were centers for political
discussion and activism, especially of the Socialist persuasion.
When Russia invaded Finland in 1939, these halls were the centers
for fund-raisers and collecting donated clothing and other supplies
for the Finnish people.
Early Finns in Connecticut also built their own
homes, each one with an essential sauna, demonstrating the Finnish
saying: "It is possible to have a sauna without a house, but never
a house without a sauna." Not only important to the Finns for
bathing, saunas were also for socializing: the women and children
used the sauna first, then retired to the house while the men used
it.
Finnish
sisu allowed the immigrants to farm
very rocky land and pour cement foundations for their homes and
other buildings by hand, always demonstrating
talkoot, the
spirit of cooperative effort that multiplied the hands and
lightened the work. Many engaged in poultry farming, and made a
decent living selling chickens and eggs; farming cooperatives were
quickly established.
In 1987, spurred by a desire to prevent the imminent
sale of their Finnish hall for delinquent taxes, the Finnish
American Heritage Society (FAHS) was formed in Canterbury. Their
mission remains to promote Finnish heritage, culture and language.
After purchasing the hall, members of that group totally renovated
the building, which was dedicated in October of 1998. Today the
FAHS has constructed a national monument to Finnish-American WWII
veterans, provides Finnish language services, and serves
traditional Finnish food at social events. Their folk dancers and
their singing group perform at various functions. Under the
auspices of the FAHS, Finns in Connecticut celebrate Finnish
independence day in December, perform the Finnish national epic
Kalevala in March, and in June celebrate Midsummer's Eve,
an ancient pagan ritual marking the longest day of the year, by
dancing and singing around a bonfire. The FAHS also maintains
archives and videotaped interviews of elderly Finns at their
Finnish Hall.
The project is documented with a thirteen-page
narrative, 21 8x10 color photos with descriptions, and a binder
containing a spiral-bound booklet "Immigrant Radicalism in Rural
New England: A History of the Finns in Eastern Connecticut,
1915-1945," magazine articles, newsletters, calendars, and
additional miscellanea.
Originally submitted by: Sam Gejdenson, Representative (2nd District).
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