Wisconsin

Mapping Finnish America

Mapping Finnish America

Calling all Finns and friends of Finnish America!

As a Geographer and curious mind, I searched for a visual database of Finnish American places. After looking and not finding anything comprehensive, I set out in September 2022 to create an approachable map of places with Finnish connections in the United States and Canada. “Places” include city/town names, homesteads, museums, cultural institutions, churches, historic sites, and anything else with an inherent Finnish connection. I have added more places of interest over time sourced from personal travels, Finns in Minnesota (Alanen, A.), They Chose Minnesota (Riippa, T.), and DeLorme gazetteers of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

The goal is to compile a comprehensive collection of locations with Finnish connection in the United States and Canada. I am open to anything with a relevant connection. Now, I am calling on others to help add additional places to the map. Take some time to review the map and digest the locations currently pinned.

Foraging (aka, finding free things to eat)

Foraging (aka, finding free things to eat)

My mom and grandmas always maintained gardens, but as far as simply encountering things to nosh on out in the wild, this pretty much so never happened prior to living in Oulu, Finland. I just wasn’t really in tune with what was available in my communities to eat plant-wise. Part of that was my healthy dose of fear of getting poisoned by eating something not quite edible - I mean that is what happened in books and movies and such!

Happy Midsummer! || Iloista juhannusta!

Happy Midsummer! || Iloista juhannusta!

It is finally that most special time of the year again — juhannus! Last year, I had a few Finnish and Finnish-American friends up to our family’s cabin in Northwest Wisconsin. It was delightful. Here are a few photos from that most magical weekend.

How are you spending your juhannus this year?