New Finland, Saskatchewan
Encyclopedia
New Finland or Uusi Suomi is a district in the Qu'Appelle valley, the south eastern part of the province of Saskatchewan
, Canada
. Uusi Suomi is Finnish for New Finland, the name adopted by this Finnish
block settlement
. The homesteaders found an area in Saskatchewan near Qu'Appelle River
which resembled the homeland of Finland both in geography and climate. The earliest settler arrived in 1888, and was followed by Finnish immigrants from Finland as well as from the iron ore mines of Minnesota and Dakota regions in the United States. The centre of the New Finland district consisted of a church, hall, and schoolhouse. Finland was undergoing profound changes following Tsar Nicholas II February manifesto which was a main factor initiating the Great Exodus from Finland. The Canadian Pacific Railway along with Canadian immigration minister Clifford Sifton were advertising both abroad and in the United States encouraging settlement to Canada's 'Last Best West'. The community which arose had strong religious beliefs and celebrates Finnish cultural traditions.
, there were only three families living in the New Finland District in the spring of 1891. By 1882, the nearby town of Whitewood, Provisional District of Assiniboia, North-West Territories
was a major stop on the C.P.R. Kautonen had been joined by John Lauttamus and Matti Mustoma. The C.P.R. immigration department then encouraged Finnish settlers of the Minnesota
and Dakota
region in the United States
to emigrate to Canada. With this in mind, delegates from the American Finnish districts traveled to New Finland, North West Territories
and were well pleased with what they had surveyed. As a result, several Finnish settlers of the United States abandoned their employment in the iron ore mines and immigrated to the New Finland District.
The three families who originally came to the area wrote letters back to friends and family still residing in Finland, describing the settlement and urging them to come to Canada. Soon the New Finland district had swollen to 50 people. A letter to the Dominion of Canada Minister of the Interior was written February 15, 1900 by Samuel Kivela and Thomas Karppinen clergyman requesting information about settlement prospects in Canada. This letter was in response to articles placed in the Finnish newspapers by the United States who wished to discourage settlement in Canada. The Canadian Department of the Interior responded promptly, and advised that the Finnish newspapers would soon have reports directly from agents from Finland who had traveled from Finland to inspect Canada first hand. Many of these new immigrants were "Church Finns" with strong relious beliefs. By 1893 they had established their religious institution, the St. John Suomi (Finnish) Lutheran Synod; in 1907 they built their church. By 1899, a Finnish consul found the population close to 250 persons. The community had erected both a church and two schools, New Finland School District 435 in 1896 and Nurmi Oja SD #1416 in 1906. In 2010, around 200 people identify themselves as part of the New Finland district.
. There are several factors which resulted in immigration of Finns to Saskatchewan. Push factors refer primarily to the motive for emigration
from the country of origin, which usually involves its history
. The “February manifesto”
of Tzar Nicholas II in 1899 merged the army of Finland with that of Russia
which resulted in mandatory army training. Other cultural freedoms were being usurped during this time which violated the constitution of Finland. Many Finnish tenants who were working under Swedish feudal land barons emigrated during this time.
Pull factors towards Canada were largely of extensive advertisements done by the Canadian Pacific Railway
. The C.P.R. was undertaking the transcontinental railway, and was looking at settling the Prairie Provinces, rather than running a rail line through a barren plain. All lands east of the provisional districts of Saskatchewan
and Assiniboia were taken. Immigration Minister Clifford Sifton adopted the motto, "The Last Best West" and supported immigration by passing the The Dominion Lands Act offering a free quarter section for a $10 registration fee. Applicants just had to prove up the land with a three year residence. Enticing immigrants to Canada offset low internal migration, and developed its natural resources. Immigration agents targeted continental European farmers who would make stable and lifetime settlers as grain farmers in the western frontier.
Economic migration and labour migration show a profound difference in wage rates. As J.K. Lauttamus sums it up, in 1890, he arrived in New Finland with $15.00 CAN in his pocket. He worked his land from sun up to sun down and, by 1899, he had $1,600, a home, stables, horses, cattle, land and agricultural implements. He was very happy in the new land and could not even imagine where in Finland he would have been able acquire such possessions.
$15.00 would be around only $230 in today's market, and $1,600 would be equivalent to about $40,000 after inflation.http://www.usinflationcalculator.comhttp://www.bankofcanada.ca/rates/related/inflation-calculator/ (The Canadian dollar and the American dollar werre woth the same until 1914.)
One consequence of immigration was the change in surname. The lengthy, hard to pronounce and hard to spell, Finnish names did not serve well in English dealings. Kurkimäki was often shortened to Mäki, Ahonen to Aho, and Saarinen to Saari.
RM of Willowdale No. 153.
, Canada
. Uusi Suomi is Finnish for New Finland, the name adopted by this Finnish
block settlement
. The district is 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) north Wapella
. It is northwest of Whitewood, Saskatchewan
, and south of Yorkton
. The Manitoba border is located just 40 miles (64.4 km) to the east. Esterhazy
, New Stockholm and Tantallon
are other neighbouring settlements. The district is located in the rural municipality
of Willowdale
. The Dominion Land Survey
description of New Finland District's location are sections within Township (Tsp) 16, 17, 18 at Ranges 32, 33 West of the First meridian and sections within Tsp 16, 17, 18 within Ranges (Rge) 1,2 West of the Second Meridian. The centre of the district consisting of church, hall, and schoolhouse was Section 36 Tsp 17, Rge 1 West of the 2nd Meridian. New Finland is located in the north eastern section of the topographical area named Wood Hills to the north of Moose Mountain and south of the Qu'Appelle River
. New Finland is situated in the Melville Plain of the Aspen Parkland ecoregion
.
, and threshed it with a flail
. The Finns were also excellent cattlemen. For sustenance, fish was plentiful from the streams and rivers as were various species of wild game. Many settlers would add an extra room to the sauna to keep the chickens warm through the cool winter months. The families were self sufficient on the land trapping, hunting, completing garments of skins and hides, picking berries, canning and baking. Settlers would travel into town, a trip which took 24 hours by horse, selling logs for any additional provisions they may need. In the early 1900s the community saw a store, blacksmith, sawmill, grist mill, and shingle making enterprises spring up. The Clayridge post office was part of the New Finland district.
, with extreme seasonal temperatures. It has warm summers and cold winters, with the average daily temperatures ranging from -16.5 C in January to 18.2 °C (64.8 °F) in July. Annually, temperatures exceed 30 °C (86 °F) on an average in late July Typically, summer lasts from late June until late August, and the humidity is seldom uncomfortably high. Winter lasts from November to March, and varies greatly in length and severity. Spring and autumn are both short and highly variable. On July 5, 1937 a extreme high of 41.1 °C (106 °F) was recorded, and on January 12, 1916, a record low of -45.6 C.
was provided firstly in two one-room school houses, and in a few short years, six schoolhouses served the district and then ten. New Finland, Nurmi Oja, and Convent Creek were geographically situated within the district. Many of the students spoke the Finnish language
, and needed to be instructed to learn English.
The settlers assembled October 26, 1896 to construct New Finland School District 435. The ten schools serving pupils of the district were: Carnoustie SD #309 (1895–1959), Deerwood SD #465 (1898–1962), Forest Farm SD #90 (1889–1957), Grove Park SD #518 (1899–1966), Woodleigh SD #1023 (1905–1959), Hopehill SD #1519 (1906–1965), Nurmi Oja SD #1416 (1906–1958). And again on November, 1925, the community assembled to arrange for the construction of Convent Creek 4640 which was operational between 1926–1961, followed by Elliott SD #4742 (1928–1962), and Cranbrook SD #4753 (1937–1963).
After these one room school houses were closed, students would be bussed into the larger urban communities of Rocanville, Wapella or Whitewood for their education. Students would receive their secondary education at Wapella and Limerick high schools.
Many pioneers after building their distinctive Finnish log houses with the square corner finishing architecture would erect a sauna, steam aauna or a savu, smoke sauna. Vihtas, or switches were employed to open up the pores. "Jos ei sauna ja viina ja terva auta niin se tauti on kuolemaksi" is another Finnish proverb when translated means that "If a sauna, whiskey, and tar salve don't make you well, death is imminent." The sauna was valued for cleanliness and became a weekly gathering with men bathing together, then women, then children. Cooking and baking was brought, and a generally good time was held by all.
Another custom which was adopted in the New Finland district was to establish a "Temperance Society" as was popular with many Finnish settlements. With the outlawing of alcohol, the community would prosper on the new frontier which presented challenges of its own without the problems of drunkenness.
The New Finland district does celebrate St. John's Day
with their annual Juhannus
- Celebration of Summer. As part of the festivities a traditional bonfire kokko may be lit. This picnic and community gathering is held on the Saturday nearest to June 24 each year. Two particularly large celebrations were in 1988, the communities' centennial year, and another 1993, the centennial year of the St. John's Finnish Synod Evangelical Lutheran Church. In this way descendants of the original Finnish homesteaders who remain in the New Finland district still retain some aspects of their Finnish ethno-cultural heritage. The hall built in the community supported regular, theatrical performances and sports events. Music was supplied by accordion and mouth organ.
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Uusi Suomi is Finnish for New Finland, the name adopted by this Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
block settlement
Block Settlement
A block settlement is particular type of land distribution which allows settlers with the same ethnicity to form small colonies.This settlement type was used throughout western Canada between the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
. The homesteaders found an area in Saskatchewan near Qu'Appelle River
Qu'Appelle River
The Qu'Appelle River is a Canadian river that flows 430 km east from Lake Diefenbaker in southwestern Saskatchewan to join the Assiniboine River in Manitoba, just south of Lake of the Prairies, near the village of St. Lazare....
which resembled the homeland of Finland both in geography and climate. The earliest settler arrived in 1888, and was followed by Finnish immigrants from Finland as well as from the iron ore mines of Minnesota and Dakota regions in the United States. The centre of the New Finland district consisted of a church, hall, and schoolhouse. Finland was undergoing profound changes following Tsar Nicholas II February manifesto which was a main factor initiating the Great Exodus from Finland. The Canadian Pacific Railway along with Canadian immigration minister Clifford Sifton were advertising both abroad and in the United States encouraging settlement to Canada's 'Last Best West'. The community which arose had strong religious beliefs and celebrates Finnish cultural traditions.
History
David Jeremia Kautonen was the first Finnish settler to arrive at the New Finland district in 1888, setting up a homestead on southwest quarter section of township 36 range 17 west of the second Meridian. According to C.D. Hendrickson, immigration agent for the Canadian Pacific RailwayCanadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
, there were only three families living in the New Finland District in the spring of 1891. By 1882, the nearby town of Whitewood, Provisional District of Assiniboia, North-West Territories
Territorial evolution of Canada
The federation of Canada was created in 1867 when three colonies of British North America were united. One of these colonies split into two new provinces, three other colonies joined later...
was a major stop on the C.P.R. Kautonen had been joined by John Lauttamus and Matti Mustoma. The C.P.R. immigration department then encouraged Finnish settlers of the Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
and Dakota
Dakota Territory
The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.The Dakota Territory consisted of...
region in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to emigrate to Canada. With this in mind, delegates from the American Finnish districts traveled to New Finland, North West Territories
Territorial evolution of Canada
The federation of Canada was created in 1867 when three colonies of British North America were united. One of these colonies split into two new provinces, three other colonies joined later...
and were well pleased with what they had surveyed. As a result, several Finnish settlers of the United States abandoned their employment in the iron ore mines and immigrated to the New Finland District.
The three families who originally came to the area wrote letters back to friends and family still residing in Finland, describing the settlement and urging them to come to Canada. Soon the New Finland district had swollen to 50 people. A letter to the Dominion of Canada Minister of the Interior was written February 15, 1900 by Samuel Kivela and Thomas Karppinen clergyman requesting information about settlement prospects in Canada. This letter was in response to articles placed in the Finnish newspapers by the United States who wished to discourage settlement in Canada. The Canadian Department of the Interior responded promptly, and advised that the Finnish newspapers would soon have reports directly from agents from Finland who had traveled from Finland to inspect Canada first hand. Many of these new immigrants were "Church Finns" with strong relious beliefs. By 1893 they had established their religious institution, the St. John Suomi (Finnish) Lutheran Synod; in 1907 they built their church. By 1899, a Finnish consul found the population close to 250 persons. The community had erected both a church and two schools, New Finland School District 435 in 1896 and Nurmi Oja SD #1416 in 1906. In 2010, around 200 people identify themselves as part of the New Finland district.
Immigration
The years between 1870 and 1930 are sometimes referred as 'the Great Migration' of Finns into North AmericaFinnish American
Finnish Americans are Americans of Finnish descent, who currently number about 700,000.-History:Some Finns, like the ancestors of John Morton, came to the Swedish colony of New Sweden, that existed in mid-17th century....
. There are several factors which resulted in immigration of Finns to Saskatchewan. Push factors refer primarily to the motive for emigration
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
from the country of origin, which usually involves its history
History of Finland
The land area that now makes up Finland was settled immediately after the Ice Age, beginning from around 8500 BCE. Most of the region was part of the Kingdom of Sweden from the 13th century to 1809, when it was ceded to the Russian Empire, becoming the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. The...
. The “February manifesto”
Russification of Finland
The policy of Russification of Finland was a governmental policy of the Russian Empire aimed at limiting the special status of the Grand Duchy of Finland and possibly the termination of its political autonomy and cultural uniqueness...
of Tzar Nicholas II in 1899 merged the army of Finland with that of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
which resulted in mandatory army training. Other cultural freedoms were being usurped during this time which violated the constitution of Finland. Many Finnish tenants who were working under Swedish feudal land barons emigrated during this time.
Pull factors towards Canada were largely of extensive advertisements done by the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
. The C.P.R. was undertaking the transcontinental railway, and was looking at settling the Prairie Provinces, rather than running a rail line through a barren plain. All lands east of the provisional districts of Saskatchewan
District of Saskatchewan
The District of Saskatchewan was a regional administrative district of Canada's Northwest Territories. Much of the area was incorporated into the province of Saskatchewan. The western part became part of Alberta, and the eastern part is now part of Manitoba. Its capital was Prince Albert...
and Assiniboia were taken. Immigration Minister Clifford Sifton adopted the motto, "The Last Best West" and supported immigration by passing the The Dominion Lands Act offering a free quarter section for a $10 registration fee. Applicants just had to prove up the land with a three year residence. Enticing immigrants to Canada offset low internal migration, and developed its natural resources. Immigration agents targeted continental European farmers who would make stable and lifetime settlers as grain farmers in the western frontier.
Economic migration and labour migration show a profound difference in wage rates. As J.K. Lauttamus sums it up, in 1890, he arrived in New Finland with $15.00 CAN in his pocket. He worked his land from sun up to sun down and, by 1899, he had $1,600, a home, stables, horses, cattle, land and agricultural implements. He was very happy in the new land and could not even imagine where in Finland he would have been able acquire such possessions.
$15.00 would be around only $230 in today's market, and $1,600 would be equivalent to about $40,000 after inflation.http://www.usinflationcalculator.comhttp://www.bankofcanada.ca/rates/related/inflation-calculator/ (The Canadian dollar and the American dollar werre woth the same until 1914.)
One consequence of immigration was the change in surname. The lengthy, hard to pronounce and hard to spell, Finnish names did not serve well in English dealings. Kurkimäki was often shortened to Mäki, Ahonen to Aho, and Saarinen to Saari.
Statistics
The population of the New Finland district was enumerated as a portion of the rural municipalityRural municipality
A rural municipality, often abbreviated RM, is a form of municipality in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, perhaps best comparable to counties or townships in the western United States...
RM of Willowdale No. 153.
Willowdale No. 153, Saskatchewan
Willowdale No. 153, Saskatchewan is a rural municipality of 333 rural residents in the southeastern part of Saskatchewan, Canada. Residents also belong to SARM Division No. 1 and Census Division No. 5, Saskatchewan. The RM was incorporated January 1, 1913. No localities in this RM. The town of...
Geography
New Finland is a district in the Qu'Appelle valley, the south eastern part of the province of SaskatchewanSaskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Uusi Suomi is Finnish for New Finland, the name adopted by this Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
block settlement
Block Settlement
A block settlement is particular type of land distribution which allows settlers with the same ethnicity to form small colonies.This settlement type was used throughout western Canada between the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
. The district is 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) north Wapella
Wapella, Saskatchewan
Wapella is a village of 354 located Northwest of Moosomin on the Trans-Canada Highway.-Demographics:-Notable natives:Cyril Edel Leonoff is the grandson of Edel Brotman, a homesteader and rabbi of the Wapella, Saskatchewan, farm colony, 1889-1906....
. It is northwest of Whitewood, Saskatchewan
Whitewood, Saskatchewan
Whitewood is a town in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is located approximately east of Regina on the Trans-Canada Highway Sk Hwy 1. It is situated at the crossroads of two major highways systems – the Trans-Canada, which runs east and west, and Sk Hwy 9, which runs north and south from...
, and south of Yorkton
Yorkton, Saskatchewan
Yorkton is a city located in southeastern Saskatchewan, Canada, near the Manitoba border. Founded and incorporated in 1882 by a group of settlers from Ontario, it has grown to 15,038 residents as of the 2006 census. The city is bordered by the Rural Municipality of Orkney No. 244 and the Rural...
. The Manitoba border is located just 40 miles (64.4 km) to the east. Esterhazy
Esterhazy, Saskatchewan
Esterhazy is a town in the southeastern portion of the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, located 83 km southeast of Yorkton along Highways 22 and 80. The town is located within the rural municipality of Fertile Belt No...
, New Stockholm and Tantallon
Tantallon, Saskatchewan
Tantallon is a community in Saskatchewan. It is located in the Qu'Appelle Valley about 32 km east of Round Lake . The community celebrated its centennial in 2004...
are other neighbouring settlements. The district is located in the rural municipality
Rural municipality
A rural municipality, often abbreviated RM, is a form of municipality in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, perhaps best comparable to counties or townships in the western United States...
of Willowdale
Willowdale No. 153, Saskatchewan
Willowdale No. 153, Saskatchewan is a rural municipality of 333 rural residents in the southeastern part of Saskatchewan, Canada. Residents also belong to SARM Division No. 1 and Census Division No. 5, Saskatchewan. The RM was incorporated January 1, 1913. No localities in this RM. The town of...
. The Dominion Land Survey
Dominion Land Survey
The Dominion Land Survey is the method used to divide most of Western Canada into one-square-mile sections for agricultural and other purposes. It is based on the layout of the Public Land Survey System used in the United States, but has several differences...
description of New Finland District's location are sections within Township (Tsp) 16, 17, 18 at Ranges 32, 33 West of the First meridian and sections within Tsp 16, 17, 18 within Ranges (Rge) 1,2 West of the Second Meridian. The centre of the district consisting of church, hall, and schoolhouse was Section 36 Tsp 17, Rge 1 West of the 2nd Meridian. New Finland is located in the north eastern section of the topographical area named Wood Hills to the north of Moose Mountain and south of the Qu'Appelle River
Qu'Appelle River
The Qu'Appelle River is a Canadian river that flows 430 km east from Lake Diefenbaker in southwestern Saskatchewan to join the Assiniboine River in Manitoba, just south of Lake of the Prairies, near the village of St. Lazare....
. New Finland is situated in the Melville Plain of the Aspen Parkland ecoregion
Flora of Saskatchewan
The native flora of the Saskatchewan includes vascular plants, plus additional species of other plants and plant-like organisms such as algae, lichens and other fungi, and mosses...
.
Economy
The Finnish settlers found an area which was still wooded and had historically escaped the many grass fires which blanketed the great plains. The homesteaders found an area which resembled the homeland both in geography and climate. Qu'Appelle River and round Lake were nearby water areas, for a community used to a land of lakes. Suomi, translates to mean "the people and the land of the marshes". They were able to bring many of the farming customs of Finland to the new country. They ploughed the land with oxen, and harvested by employing a scytheScythe
A scythe is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass, or reaping crops. It was largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor machinery, but is still used in some areas of Europe and Asia. The Grim Reaper is often depicted carrying or wielding a scythe...
, and threshed it with a flail
Flail
A flail is an agricultural implement for threshing.Several tools operate similarly to the agricultural implement and are also called flails:...
. The Finns were also excellent cattlemen. For sustenance, fish was plentiful from the streams and rivers as were various species of wild game. Many settlers would add an extra room to the sauna to keep the chickens warm through the cool winter months. The families were self sufficient on the land trapping, hunting, completing garments of skins and hides, picking berries, canning and baking. Settlers would travel into town, a trip which took 24 hours by horse, selling logs for any additional provisions they may need. In the early 1900s the community saw a store, blacksmith, sawmill, grist mill, and shingle making enterprises spring up. The Clayridge post office was part of the New Finland district.
Climate
New Finland has a humid continental climateHumid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....
, with extreme seasonal temperatures. It has warm summers and cold winters, with the average daily temperatures ranging from -16.5 C in January to 18.2 °C (64.8 °F) in July. Annually, temperatures exceed 30 °C (86 °F) on an average in late July Typically, summer lasts from late June until late August, and the humidity is seldom uncomfortably high. Winter lasts from November to March, and varies greatly in length and severity. Spring and autumn are both short and highly variable. On July 5, 1937 a extreme high of 41.1 °C (106 °F) was recorded, and on January 12, 1916, a record low of -45.6 C.
Education
EducationEducation in Saskatchewan
Education in Saskatchewan, Canada teaches a curriculum of learning set out by the Government of Saskatchewan through the Ministry of Education. The curriculum sets out to develop skills, knowledge, understanding to improve the quality of life. June 22, 1915, Hon...
was provided firstly in two one-room school houses, and in a few short years, six schoolhouses served the district and then ten. New Finland, Nurmi Oja, and Convent Creek were geographically situated within the district. Many of the students spoke the Finnish language
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
, and needed to be instructed to learn English.
The settlers assembled October 26, 1896 to construct New Finland School District 435. The ten schools serving pupils of the district were: Carnoustie SD #309 (1895–1959), Deerwood SD #465 (1898–1962), Forest Farm SD #90 (1889–1957), Grove Park SD #518 (1899–1966), Woodleigh SD #1023 (1905–1959), Hopehill SD #1519 (1906–1965), Nurmi Oja SD #1416 (1906–1958). And again on November, 1925, the community assembled to arrange for the construction of Convent Creek 4640 which was operational between 1926–1961, followed by Elliott SD #4742 (1928–1962), and Cranbrook SD #4753 (1937–1963).
After these one room school houses were closed, students would be bussed into the larger urban communities of Rocanville, Wapella or Whitewood for their education. Students would receive their secondary education at Wapella and Limerick high schools.
Arts and Culture
The community established a lending library early in its pioneering days. "Suomalainen uskoo sanan voimaan" is a Finnish proverb which translated means that Finns believe in the power of the word. The Finnish valued literacy and initiated the building of both school and library to encourage education.Many pioneers after building their distinctive Finnish log houses with the square corner finishing architecture would erect a sauna, steam aauna or a savu, smoke sauna. Vihtas, or switches were employed to open up the pores. "Jos ei sauna ja viina ja terva auta niin se tauti on kuolemaksi" is another Finnish proverb when translated means that "If a sauna, whiskey, and tar salve don't make you well, death is imminent." The sauna was valued for cleanliness and became a weekly gathering with men bathing together, then women, then children. Cooking and baking was brought, and a generally good time was held by all.
Another custom which was adopted in the New Finland district was to establish a "Temperance Society" as was popular with many Finnish settlements. With the outlawing of alcohol, the community would prosper on the new frontier which presented challenges of its own without the problems of drunkenness.
The New Finland district does celebrate St. John's Day
Midsummer
Midsummer may simply refer to the period of time centered upon the summer solstice, but more often refers to specific European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice, or that take place on a day between June 21 and June 24, and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary between different...
with their annual Juhannus
Midsummer
Midsummer may simply refer to the period of time centered upon the summer solstice, but more often refers to specific European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice, or that take place on a day between June 21 and June 24, and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary between different...
- Celebration of Summer. As part of the festivities a traditional bonfire kokko may be lit. This picnic and community gathering is held on the Saturday nearest to June 24 each year. Two particularly large celebrations were in 1988, the communities' centennial year, and another 1993, the centennial year of the St. John's Finnish Synod Evangelical Lutheran Church. In this way descendants of the original Finnish homesteaders who remain in the New Finland district still retain some aspects of their Finnish ethno-cultural heritage. The hall built in the community supported regular, theatrical performances and sports events. Music was supplied by accordion and mouth organ.