Finns of Michigan's Upper Peninsula - Paperback

by James Kurtti (Author)

Explore the lasting influence of the Finnish people in the Upper Peninsula.

At the time, Hancock consisted of nothing more than a small cluster of humble buildings, but it was here, on the outskirts of mid-19th-century civilization, that Finnish settlement in Michigan's Upper Peninsula (UP) took root. Much to the surprise of these new Americans, Midsummer was not a religious holiday marked by feasts in celebration of the season's prolonged sunlight. Rather, the newcomers were immediately hastened into the bowels of the earth to extract copper in pursuit of the American Dream. In short order, hardworking Finnish immigrants became reputable miners, lumberjacks, farmers, maids, and commercial fishermen. A century and a half later, the UP boasts the largest Finnish population outside of the motherland and sustains the determined spirit the Finns call sisu - an influence that remains palpable in all 15 UP counties.

Author Biography

The staff of Finlandia University's Finnish American Heritage Center (FAHC) takes pride in "being Finnish" for a living. The FAHC actively preserves materials to tell the story of Finnish immigrants in the United States. This book offers a small glimpse at the FAHC's extensive collection while illustrating a spectrum of the experiences of Finns across Michigan's UP.