Author: Mikko

As difficult as it is to believe, the time is fast approaching for another Annual Meeting of Finlandia Foundation Seattle Chapter. I am tempted to do the standard plea to FFSC members to attend the meeting, held this year on April 24 at 6:30 p.m. in the Swedish Cultural Center, but I want to approach this matter a bit differently this time.

Unlike many, perhaps most, of the forty-five local chapters of Finlandia Foundation, our chapter does not hold regular (or even irregular) membership meetings. Over the years, we have simply developed the tradition to do all our business at the Annual Meeting, including, of course, the election of chapter officers. It is also there where current officers of the organization report to FFSC members and, conversely, where members have an opportunity to express to the board their own ideas, suggestions and observations. In other words, the meeting is interactive, with officers and members talking with one another about how to make FFSC more dynamic and responsive.

I want to invite all of you to attend this year’s meeting, but I also ask that you do some thinking in advance about a very important question: “How do we increase the membership of Finlandia Foundation Seattle Chapter?” Perhaps a better way to put the question is this: “How do we make membership in Finlandia Foundation Seattle Chapter so attractive that others will want to join?”
Those of you with good memories will recall that I made a similar plea at last year’s Annual Meeting – a plea I repeated in a President’s Message following that gathering. In part, I wrote, “The big challenge for FFSC between now and the time of next year’s Annual Meeting is to increase its membership base …” Unfortunately, at the upcoming Annual Meeting, I will not be able to report that we have met this challenge over the intervening year.

This is certainly not from want of trying. A membership committee, comprised of board members Esko Männistö, Cathy Perry and JoAnne Rudo, has been at work. One of their ideas implemented was mailing invitations to former members to re-join FFSC. That produced some modest results, but we cannot claim to have made a major breakthrough.

I remain convinced, as I was in that President’s Message of last year, that increasing our membership “will simply require our doing a better job of letting people know what we do.” And what we do continues to be significant. For example, I have been impressed recently by the number of people who tell me how much they enjoy this bi-monthly FFSC newsletter. Our monthly film series continues to attract an appreciative audience. Attendance at our weekly language classes increased this winter. And, as the pages of this newsletter make clear, there are a number of special events we sponsor or co-sponsor, like the April 10 Robert Goldstein book reading and signing in cooperation with the Leif Erickson Lodge. FFSC is currently working with other local organizations in planning the bi-annual Finland Summer Festival for late summer. Progress is also being made to bring Finlandia Foundation Performer of the Year Marja Kaisla to Seattle this fall through a joint arrangement with a local college.

Personally, one of my long-time interests has been to have FFSC sponsor an excursion to Sointula – that almost mythical site of Matti Kurikka’s ill-fated attempt to establish a socialist utopia on Malcolm Island off the northeastern coast of Vancouver Island during the early 1900s. There is a precedent for such an activity. It was in 1971, within five years of the organization of FFSC, that Leo Utter and Pentti Uuspää organized a trip to Sointula. There are still those in our community who fondly recall that adventure, but now – over four decades later – the time seems right for new generations of Finns and their friends to experience Sointula. Those who go will find themselves enjoying a piece of Finnish and Finnish American history right in our own backyard.

If you, dear reader, are not now a member of Finlandia Foundation Seattle Chapter, I appeal to you to join and thus help to continue the kinds of activities indicated above. You will find a membership form at the end of this newsletter. If, on the other hand, you are already a member, please come to the annual meeting and bring along your own ideas for adding to our ranks. A growing organization is typically a healthy organization, and healthy organizations can make the lives of their members fuller, richer and happier. That’s what FFSC aspires to do.

Gary London
FFSC President

One of the core functions of Finlandia Foundation Seattle Chapter from its inception has been to offer classes in the Finnish language. Over the years, hundreds of individuals have passed through levels of instruction from beginning to advanced. According to 40 Years of History, published by FFSC in 2008, a conversational Finnish class with 25 eager students began in 1969 in Seattle under the tutelage of Jenny Pelto. Three years later, Pentti Uuspää started a Finnish literature class, and the next year Leo Utter initiated a Finnish literature study group. While all these learning opportunities were in Seattle, subsequent classes were also taught in Tacoma, Everett and Kent. Long-time FFSC member Aini Messmer recalls with fondness the Everett class taught by Kalle Keränen and credits that with a renewed interest in her Finnish heritage.

Following in this long and honorable tradition, another semester of language classes began on January 10 at the Finnish Lutheran Church – long-time venue for students and teachers to meet. Chris Morris, current beginning and intermediate class teacher, is joined in February by Paula Berg, who is to lead the advanced group. The recruitment of these two excellent teachers and the general supervision of language classes has been the task of Jenni Salmi in recent years, and she has been tireless in her devotion to this work. A first-rate teacher herself, Jenni well understands what a difference high quality instruction can make to students motivated to learn what is generally accounted a difficult language.

My own appreciation for Finnish has been increased recently by a book my friend and fellow Finnophile Gary Lundell gave my wife and me for Christmas. Gary had previously piqued my interest in Diego Marani’s New Finnish Grammar, referred to him, in turn, by the creator of local productions of Sampo and the Magic Mill and Troublemaker’s Daughter, Nick DiMartino. Judging from the title of Marani’s book, I assumed it to be yet another effort to make Finnish accessible to foreigners. I was surprised when Gary told me that it was actually a novel by an Italian linguist about an injured amnesiac who has no recollection of who he is and whose only clue to his identity is the “Sampo Karjalainen” name stitched into the collar of his jacket. Assumed to be Finnish, he is sent to Finland to rediscover his language and himself.

In the broad sense, New Finnish Grammar is, then, about the relationship between language and identity. Clearly, though, Marani finds there is something particularly strong about the connection between Finnishness and Finnish – the sense of being Finnish and of speaking Finnish. Consider, for example, this explanation of Finnish by the protagonist’s teacher, one Pastor Koskela:

The forms of a language inevitably have repercussions upon the speaker, it is they that mould his face, his land, his habits, where he lives, what he eats. The foreigner learning Finnish distorts his own bodily features; he moves away from his original self, may indeed no longer recognize it. This does not happen studying other languages, because other languages are merely temporary scaffolding for meaning. Not so for Finnish: Finnish was not invented. The sounds of our language were around us, in nature, in the woods, in the pull of the sea, in the call of the wild, in the sound of the falling snow. All we did was to bring them together and bend them to our needs. When God created men, he did not bother to send any men up here. So we had to do what we could to struggle free of defenseless matter on our own. In order to gain life, we had to suffer. First came trees, lakes, rocks, wind. Becoming human all on your own was no joke. Finnish is a solid language, slightly rounded at the sides, narrow slits for eyes, like the houses in Helsinki, the faces of our people… If you were once Finnish, at some point or other you will find all this within you, because all this is not stored in your memory, it cannot be mislaid. It is in your blood, your guts. We are what remains of something extremely ancient, something which is bigger than ourselves and is not of this world. (Dedalus, 2012, 53-54)

Those of us with non-native skills in Finnish will identify with “Sampo” in his quest to learn (or relearn) Finnish. We will understand what Koskela mean, when he tells his pupil that Finnish is “a logarithmic grammar: the more you chase after it, the more it escapes you down endless corridors of numbers, all alike yet subtly different, like the fugues of Bach.” (Ibid., p. 70) Yet, what sustains “Sampo” can sustain all of us who seek some mastery of Finnish: his teacher’s belief that he is capable of learning (or relearning) this wondrous language.

So, I thank Jenni and Chris and Paula and all their FFSC language class predecessors (I counted at least 50 teachers but I know that number is low). And, let us expand the circle of gratitude to include Taija Hämälainen and all the CIMO-sponsored lecturers from Finland who have taught Finnish at University of Washington over the years. The dedicated teachers at Suomikoulu also deserve fulsome appreciation for keeping Finnish alive among children and youth. Finally, a salute to you parents who in your own homes are resisting the considerable pressures of English monolingualism to give your children the gift of your mother tongue. There is probably no other place in this country where there are so many opportunities to retain, learn or re-learn Finnish.

I was taken aback last fall when my wife and I entered a shop on Korkeavuorenkatu in Helsinki and were immediately informed by the proprietress that she did not speak Finnish. I suppose one could see that as a good sign – the increasingly cosmopolitan nature of a city where all are likely to speak English or one of the other half dozen languages this shopkeeper had learned before she met and married a Finn and came to Finland to live a decade or so previously. But, at the same time, what a loss! For, when any of us knocks on the door of a foreign culture, the response from the other side is likely to be, “If you really want to get in, you will have to learn our language.” Diego Marani appears to be telling us in his beautiful book that this is especially true of Finnish. I see no reason to disagree.

Gary London
FFSC President

I was surprised to see a major retail chain starting up the holiday gift-giving advertisements even before the Ghosts of Halloween Present had done their tricking or treating. By now, however, the last of the Halloween candy is likely gone, so can Thanksgiving be far behind? And we all know that the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is accelerated in a way that defies the laws of physics. With the advent of the holiday season, most of us, in one way or another, begin to operate in ways that can be described as traditional. My American Heritage College Dictionary suggests that tradition is the passing down of elements of culture from generation to generation. These elements consist of customs and usages from the past that have relevance to the present. The Latin root of the word “tradition” refers to handing over, delivering or entrusting.

So, as the holidays unfold, we will find ourselves doing a number of things as we have done them for years, decades, even generations. How we decorate our homes, those we visit or who visit us, how we spend our time together, what we eat, the stories we tell – much of this has been passed down.

We acknowledge that not all tradition is worthy of keeping and handing over. Indeed, we live in an age when tradition is often seen as an obstacle to the necessary march of progress. And, it is possible, that even when we see that tradition is plainly withering, we may be reluctant to part with it, since it does give us reassurance of some measure of continuity in an uncertain world. I readily admit to being a traditionalist, in the sense that I find it difficult to part with the customs and usages to which I am emotionally connected. For example, though no one in our family is really fond of rutabaga casserole, I continue to make it as part of our Christmas Eve culinary tradition. I do so because lanttulaatikko is associated with my first memories of Christmas in Finland. Christmas would not cease to be Christmas without this dish, but, for me, it would be diminished.

Much of tradition enriches us. I think of examples in our local Finnish community in the Puget Sound area. By the time this newsletter goes to press, the annual Seattle Finnish Community Bazaar will be over. Note the “annual,” for this event has been part of our collective life for decades now. It’s really quite a remarkable coming together of nearly all Finnish organizations, which rent their tables, put up their displays, sell their baked goods and handicrafts, pass along their information, raffle off their baskets and offer their Finnish food. For longer than I can say, Leo Utter was the guiding spirit behind the bazaar. There may have been some concern when he died that the tradition would languish, but it did not. Sandy Haug, Tuija Kaarrekoski, Liisa Mannery, and Norman Westerberg, who form of the core of the Finnish American Heritage Committee, have kept the bazaar going, and in doing so have honored Leo’s memory, since we all know how important this event was to him.

Another holiday season event happening among us is the Finnish Independence Day Dinner Dance, coming up on December 1. While sponsored for some time by Finlandia Foundation Seattle Chapter, there are archival materials and even some living memories that trace it back beyond the founding of our chapter. By now, it is widely-known among us that the first Saturday in December is the date we come together to remember the circumstances under which independent Finland came into existence, to pay tribute to those who fought to preserve that independence, and to rejoice in the advancements that have been made under conditions of independence in post-war Finland. It is a source of real satisfaction to us to know that there are dozens, even hundreds, of such festivities now going on wherever Finns and friends of Finland are gathered all over the globe. We don’t all celebrate in the same way. Here, there is a full evening of dinner, program and dance. That is our tradition, and we have kept it for about a half century.

But is fifty years long enough to create a tradition? How much time is required? I like what the theologian Thomas Merton says about that: “Tradition, which is always old, is at the same time ever new because it is always revising – born again in each new generation to be lived and applied in a new and particular way.” So, tradition is not ossification. Tradition honors the past, but does not fear the present, nor shrink from the future. Even the recipe for my rutabaga casserole has changed over the years, and it is better for it. Surprising what a little ginger can do. And may the coming holiday season bring you joy in your own evolving traditions.

Gary London
FFSC President

My wife Kaisa recently mentioned how often one hears the question, “When are you going to Finland?” in the Greater Seattle Finnish community. It’s likely that our area is not unique, but the stream of Finns and Fennophiles traveling from here to Finland this past summer has been impressive.

The flow of people works the other way as well. Particularly noteworthy is the number of performers from Finland who have found their way to the Northwest over recent months. So, while the Finnish Choral Society from Seattle traveled to Finland to concertize (See pages 16 and 17), Finnish artists have found many opportunities to perform here, and we are the richer for it.
The summer influx of Finnish musicians actually began on May 19 with a concert by master fiddler Arto Järvelä at the Phinney Neighborhood Center. This event, sponsored by the Seattle Folklore Society, was so popular it pushed the walls of the venue. Järvela was accompanied by Kaivama – an excellent duo from Minneapolis. What pleased observers who attended this event was the number of attendees whose only connection to Finland was their familiarity with Järvelä’s reputation.

On June 6, Finland’s famous fiddling tradition continued with a visit from six female fiddlers who make up Jepokryddona. These talented young women from Ostrobothnia played at the monthly dinner meeting of the Swedish Cultural Center. A record crowd of some 140 people, swelled by a large turn-out from the Finnish community, gave this group an enthusiastic reception – an auspicious beginning to a tour that was to take them to concerts in Lynden, Washington, and Astoria, Oregon.

The Nordic Heritage Museum was the venue for a performance by the Polka Chicks on June 21. This time the fiddler, Kukka Lehto, was joined by an accordionist, Teija Niku. Named “Band of the Year” at the Kaustinen Festival in 2009, this pair had the hall hopping with their own compositions and with Finnish folk standards. They returned to Finland after going on to successful concerts in Astoria and Salem and used their web page to thank “all the lovely audiences” who came out to hear them.

The day after the Polka Chicks played, the youth choir Merituuli arrived in Seattle for several concerts before going on to a choir festival in Eugene, Oregon. This group of 35 teenagers from the Kirkkonummi parish church, with Tarja Viitanen as their conductor, was driven indoors by the rain to sing to an appreciative audience at the Crossroads Strawberry Festival on June 23. The following day, they did double duty, performing at the Finnish Lutheran Church in the morning and at the Skandia Midsommarfest in Kenmore during the afternoon. During their stay, members of Merituuli were housed with families in the Seattle area, with the logistics ably handled by Heikki and Eva Männistö.

The last musical group of the summer to come from Finland to Seattle was the Psallite Kammarkören from the largely Swedish-speaking parish of Korsholm. This 35-member choir, with its long history of singing in the historic Mustasaari Church, sang at the Swedish Cultural Center on August 6 under the sponsorship of the Swedish-Finn Historical Society, who Syrene Forsman engaged in a heroic, late effort to make the concert possible. Good thing, too, for this fine amateur chorus, under the direction of Susanne Westerlund, sang both sacred and secular music with skill and fervor. Their Northwest tour included Bellingham and Vancouver, BC, as well as the Seattle event.

In addition to the number and quality of these performances over a nearly three-month period, there are some other striking features that should delight out entire community. Notably, the groups were brought by different organizations and performed in different venues. How exciting to see, for example, Arto Järvelä brought here by the Seattle Folklore Society. We can only hope that this is a sign of things to come. When the responsibility and the opportunity for spreading Finnish culture and showcasing Finnish talent are shared, the results are obvious. No one organization could have made these five visits from Finland possible.

Finally, it is truly encouraging to see the number of Finnish musicians who want to visit the Northwest. In the past, our corner of the country has had more difficulty attracting performers, but many now seem interested in entering the United States through Seattle and continuing their tours from here. By sharing the work and supporting one another, our lively organizations can enhance the reputation of Seattle as a place where Finnish artists will want to come in ever-increasing numbers.

Gary London
FFSC President