NEWSLETTER OF THE FINNISH HERITAGE HOUSE NO. 45 ~ Spring 2015
SIBELIUS CONCERT
Craig Randal Johnson (above)
with Esa Ruuttunen, Finnish baritone (below)
FHH is proud to present Pianist and Conductor Craig
Randal Johnson in concert on Friday, May 15, at 7 pm. at the
Thomaston Federated Church, 8 Hyler Street, Thomaston,
ME. There will be a small donation of $5.00 per person
requested. We are sponsoring this event to honor the 150th
anniversary of the birth of Jean Sibelius (1865 to 1957).
Sibelius, the famous Finnish composer, wrote seven
symphonies, an opera, music for thirteen plays, and songs
for voice and piano. An excerpt from his symphony
“Finlandia” is used for two well-known hymns, “Be Still My
Soul” and “This Is My Song.”
Craig Johnson is based in Minneapolis, and has
performed engagements across the US and in several
European Countries. He maintains a wide range of musical
interests, having worked extensively in opera and theater, as
orchestral conductor, solo pianist, as orchestral double
bassist, as chamber ensemble performer, and concert
organizer.
As Finlandia Foundation Performer of the Year in 1999,
he delighted Finnish and Finnish-American audiences with
piano recitals throughout the country. FinnFest USA has also
enjoyed several of his performances. We are honored to
have this opportunity to have such a distinguished musician
here. Please invite all your neighbors, friends, and relatives
to enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be immersed
in Finnish music and culture.
Following the concert, refreshments will be served in the
Fellowship Hall downstairs. It is hoped that our members
will, as they always do, generously bring finger food for FHH
to serve to the attendees. If you would like to help with this
1 event, please call one of the officers.
NEWSLETTER OF THE FINNISH HERITAGE HOUSE NO. 45 ~ Spring 2015
Charlie Heino
Annual Membership Meeting and
Presentation by Charlie Heino
FHH and the Finnish Congregational Church 2/27/2015.
This has been the coldest, snowiest winter in many years.
.
Notice!
FHH is going to reopen every Saturday
From 9 am to 12 noon on May 2, 2015.
Drop in for Tori browsing and have a
cup of coffee with Edna and friends.
While you’re there check out the
newly refinished floors and trim.
FHH held its annual membership meeting on January
17, 2015 at Jura Hall. The attendance was small, but
enthusiastic, as the winter weather continued to be
horrible. After a delicious pot luck lunch with a nice
variety of casseroles, salads, and desserts, the
election of officers was held.(please note the list of
officers in the box on Page 5) We especially
appreciate Reggie Montgomery for the fantastic job
he does as editor of the FHH Newsletter, Iltatähti,
and another big thank you to all who work above and
beyond to benefit the Heritage House.
CHECK YOUR MAILING LABEL!
HAS YOUR MEMBERSHIP
EXPIRED?
If so, you may be removed from the
mailing list.
Your name will be removed if you are
more than two years overdue.
By Jacqueline Laffely
One of our favorite speakers, Charles Heino,
presented a program on Finnish immigration. As
usual, he did not disappoint us. He was very
informative, and interspersed humor with the details
about what our Finnish ancestors experienced as they
left Finland and settled in America. We appreciate
his willingness to speak, and hope he continues to
provide interesting programs.
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NEWSLETTER OF THE FINNISH HERITAGE HOUSE NO. 45 ~ Spring 2015
Did you know?
Recipe Box
Finnish innovation creates
trash-free deliveries
Vermont Baked Beans
Ingredients
1 pound dried navy beans
4 cups water
1/2 pound thick-sliced bacon strips, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2/3 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
Repack Repack’s reusable packaging can be folded to
letter size and returned to any post box in Europe.
Unboxing and disposing of piles of packaging
material is deemed a necessary evil of online
shopping. But not anymore, a Finnish startup
thinks it has the solution.
Every year over 3.7 billion disposable packages are
delivered to consumers in Europe solely from ecommerce, according to the 2014 Europe B2C
Ecommerce Report. The result is vast amounts of
waste, something Finnish sustainable design startup
Repack believes can be avoided. The company has
created packaging which is reusable up to 50 times,
returnable and stylish.
How Repack works is simple. When shopping online a
customer chooses Repack as the delivery option for a
small extra fee, usually around five euros. After their
shopping is delivered, the customer folds the packing
and places it into a post office or post box anywhere in
the EU. When the webstore receives the returned
packaging the user is rewarded with a voucher (usually
ten euros) to use at any web store using Repack
service.
According to Repack, its postal returns system reduces
CO2 emissions by up to 75 percent in comparison to
recycling and remaking new, disposable packaging.
www.originalrepack.com
Directions
1. Soak beans according to package directions.
Drain and rinse beans, discarding liquid. Place
beans in a Dutch oven, add water. Bring to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook bacon over
medium heat until crisp; drain. Stir the onion,
syrup, salt, mustard, pepper and bacon into the
beans.
3. Cover and bake at 300° for 3 to 3-1/2 hours or
until beans are tender and reach desired
consistency, stirring every 30 minutes. Yield: 8
servings.
TOTAL TIME: Prep: 15 min. + soaking Bake: 3
hours
Originally published as Vermont Baked Beans in Taste
of Home's Holiday & Celebrations Cookbook Annual
2010, p189
Read more:
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/vermont-baked-
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— We believe that as long as reuse is made easy,
NEWSLETTER OF THE FINNISH HERITAGE HOUSE NO. 45 ~ Spring 2015
GENEALOGY CORNER
Here are some photos of the newly repainted and refinished floors and trim
inside of FHH. The work was done during February by Bouchard Painting of
South Thomaston. Two bids were reviewed at the FHH Officers meeting April
15, 2014. No other bids came in.
So far everyone seems to be very pleased with the outcome. Stop in to see it. It
looks great!
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Things have been "ramping up"
for Dig and Delve Genealogical
Services these past few months.
I actually have three new trees to
work on all from our Church
members . Two of these have
Finnish ancestors and I am
finding communication with the
Provincial Archives of Finland
very challenging. Besides that,
some documents are in Swedish.
I've been fortunate to enlist the
aid of Irene Vaino in translating
these things. The course I took
in Scandinavian Records does
have a list of commonly used
terms found in vital records, but
it doesn't cover everything. I'm
very excited about all that I
continue to learn in this field.
As always, I stand ready to assist
any of our members with their
genealogy research needs. Who
might be hiding in YOUR family
tree??
Peggy Oliver
NEWSLETTER OF THE FINNISH HERITAGE HOUSE NO. 45 ~ Spring 2015
WHY I’M PROUD TO BE A FINN
Finnish Heritage House
My Finnish pride comes directly from my Finnish born
mother. Ella Sivia Wuorinen Webel was born in
Aura,Finland in 1899 and came to America in 1909.
Although becoming Americanized was part of
adapting to her new home, she was thoroughly proud
of her Finnish heritage it showed in everything she
did. I grew up with Finnish foods, Finnish Christmas
traditions, Sauna, and very strong connections to all
my Finnish cousins. The Finnish language not so
much… it was not spoken much within the house as
my father was not Finnish. But when we gathered
with my mother’s Finnish friends I certainly became
familiar with the more common words. I may not
always look or sound like a Finn… but a big part of me
certainly is… And proud of it.
Officers
President: Jacqueline Harjula
Vice – President: Gary Aho
Clerk/Secretary: Jacqueline Laffely
Treasurer: Edna Montgomery
Newsletter Editor: Reggie Montgomery
Trustees
Fred Webel (January 2018)
Gail Robinson (January 2018)
Steve Gifford (January 2016)
Anne Little (January 2016)
Kirsti Fish (January 2016)
Building Committee
Chairman: Neil Harjula
Finnish Heritage House
P.O. Box 293
South Thomaston, ME 04858
Send articles to [email protected]
Finnsh Language Classes Return This Spring
Marja-Leena Bailey, chair of world languages and
English as a second language at Middlesex
Community in Massachusetts, will be offering ten
hours of Finnish language instruction on four
Saturdays this spring. Classes will be held on April
11th and 25th and May 9th and 23rd in Jura Hall
beneath the Finnish Church on Route #131 (River
Road) in South Thomaston. Classes will run from 1:00
to 4:00 and include 20 minutes for the traditional
Finnish “kahvi aika”.....coffee break. Aire-Maija
Schwann, Marja-Leena’s good friend and colleague,
will be teaching as well so the class may be divided
into two sections to accomodate both beginners and
intermediate students. The class will use the book
Beginners Finnish by Agi Risko and for those students
not having the book Marja-Leena will provide
photocopies of the material. The cost of the the class is
$120.00 and a second family member would pay
$100.00. Students from age ten thru adult are
welcome. If you are interested in learning Finnish
taught by enthusiastic and dynamic teachers contact
Steve Gifford by telephone (207-989-1971), by mail (4
Park Avenue West, Brewer, Maine, 04412) or by
email ([email protected]). Tervetuloa.
By: Fred Webel
ST. URHO’S DAY CELEBRATION
The always popular St. Urho’s Day will be jointly celebrated
with the Finn-Am Society on SATURDAY, MARCH 21,
starting with a pot luck meal at NOON. Don’t forget that
purple and green are the colors of the day for this FinnishAmerican holiday started several years ago in Minnesota as a
spoof on St. Patrick’s Day. The (fictional) legend tells the tale
about how St. Urho drove the grasshoppers out of Finland
because they were eating all the grapevines used to make wine.
We are thrilled that there will be 14 students with 4 chaperones
from Camden/Rockport High School who will be joining us at
our meeting. They are involved in an exchange program with
a school in Finland, and will be traveling there soon. Since
they are interested in learning about Finland, Anne Little has
graciously agreed to show her Power Point presentation again.
Those of us who have seen it once can certainly enjoy it again
and see things we missed the first time.
Another exciting addition to the program will be a special
presentation to all the “galvanized Finns” in our groups. That
term refers to those members and friends who do not have any
Finnish ancestry, but who have Finnish friends, spouses, or
partners. These “galvanized Finns” enjoy learning about our
heritage and culture, and assist our groups in many ways, such
as planning programs, serving as officers, cleaning, and doing
many other things behind the scenes.
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Finnish Heritage House
P.O. Box 293
South Thomason, ME 04858
Please Join Us!
FINNSH HERITAGE HOUSE P.O. BOX 293 – South Thomaston, ME 04858
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Make checks payable to Finnish Heritage House and send to P.O. Box 293 South Thomaston, ME 04858
Is it time to renew your membership? Check your address label. If there is a star, it’s time to renew.