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| Little
Finland - The National
Finnish American Festival |
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Harma
House |
| The Harma House is a typical
log home of a Finnish immigrant family. Built in 1921
by Nante Harma, it was disassembled in 1972 and moved
to its present location on the grounds of Little Finland.
Reassembly was completed in 1985 and formal dedication
took place on October 1, 1989. |
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Nante
Harma was a subsistence farmer and also was a logger
in Iron Belt. Wisconsin. His four sons followed in their
father's footsteps. Nante and his wife, Ida, raised
five children, four sons and a daughter, north of Iron
Belt, Wisconsin. Dorothy Harma, Oliver's wife, supplied
much of the information.
The home was built on a higher elevation in Alder Creek
Valley overlooking the vista of present day White Cap
Mountain ski area. It was built on a small, cleared
area amidst large pine stumps, the aftermath of the
earlier logging era and a setting then typical of the
North Country.
The logs used for the house came from the cedar grove
surrounding the lower, level land. The trees were cut
down with crosscut saws, skidded out by horses, and
then the bark was peeled off. The men working on the
construction were skilled axemen, having learned their
trade in Finland. Neighbors and friends helped build
the house.
The logs were hewn on two sides with broadaxes and then
were scribed with a two-pointed tool so that it was
easier to fit each tier of logs together. The corner
ends were dovetailed to provide tightly fitting locking
corners. Wooden pegs were driven into drilled holes
to bind the logs. The family used rags to caulk logs
to keep out strong north winds.
There were structural changes as time went by and the
family's need grew. First, a second story frame construction
was added for sleeping space. Later, another room was
added to the west to make for a more modern kitchen.
At that time, the whole building was sided and painted.
The home got electricity in the 1940's.
In 1972, after years of being unoccupied, the family
chose to dismantle the home rather than repairing it.
The NFAF accepted the family's offer of the logs to
erect the core log section again. The home was painfully
dismantled, and the logs and other parts were set aside
for several years until re-assembling could begin. The
task was completed in 1985 by volunteer members of the
NFAF.
The Harma House is not only a memorial to the family,
but also a meaningful monument to all the pioneer settlers
who came to the area in the early 1900's.
To find out more about the Finnish immigrants in Minnesota,
visit Work,
Family & Community Builders Finnish Immigrant Women
on the Homestead (1895-1945) on the internet. JoAnn
Hanson-Stone examines everyday life on Finnish American
homesteads in the early twentieth century. Her work
is very applicable to Nante and Ida Harma as they struggled
with day-to-day hardships. |
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These
pictures are the grandparents of Pearl Jarvi, a member
of the NFAF.
No one knows where the clock came from. |
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Cooking and Eating |
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Edgar Guest, the poet wrote about the cook stove in
his poem, "The Old Wood Stove"
There was something in the kitchens
of days of long ago,
Which the children of the cities
are not priviledged to know.
"Twas a wood stove ,warm and glowing,
and the tasks for it were twin:
I carried out the ashes
and the wood I carried in.
On baking days, my mother
(there are times I hear her still)
Said:"Remember,in the morning
there's the woodbox you must fill."
Then from the shed into the kitchen
with arms loaded I would dash,
Till my coat was full of splinters
and my hair was full of ash.
In the kitchen now are gadgets,
and the stoves are lovely things.
But the children very seldom
hear the song the kettle sings.
On the ovens for the mothers
are thermometors and clocks,
But since wood is never wanted
there's no longer any box.
Is the modern way the better?
Well, it's easier I'd say
But I'm sure a joy was taken
from the youngsters of today,
For they'll never fill a woodbox'
never see a woodstove glow,
And they'll never have such memories
as now are mine to know. |
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This stove is
from the
Waino Hekkinen home. |
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One
of the Harma daughters, Mrs. Mary Brown, gave this beautiful
cupboard to the museum. It was originally purchased
in the 1920s and was in her Hurley home when she bought
it . Members of the NFAF contributed all of the pots
and pans.. |
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This
very old cook stove not only was used to prepare all
the food for the family, but it was also used to heat
the kitchen in the winter. Children would often open
the oven door and put their feet on the opened door
to warm cold toes after a romp in the snow. |
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Clothing and Textiles |
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A
kerosene lamp, hair clips and curling iron are on top
of the round table. A curling was put in the chimney
of the kerosene lamp to heat it up. Then the woman's
or girl's hair was wound around the iron and tight curls
were formed in this way. The tablecloth was hand-woven
and was made in Finland. |
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immigrant Finnish woman had a sewing machine in their
home. This one is a Singer treadle machine, as were
most models. It was used to make clothing for everyone
in the family. Some women were professional seamstresses
(ompelija) and made clothing to sell at local shops
and bazaars. All buttonholes were made by hand. |
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This
bed was donated by Waino Hekkinen. Nante and his wife,
Ida slept in a bed similar to this and was probably
hand-hewn.The five Harma children slept in an upstairs
loft. Carpets came from Bertha Kangas.Next to the bed
is a cradle that Frank Heino was rocked in. Frank is
just shy of 100 years old and still lives at Westgate
Nursing Home in Ironwood.
Many Finnish homes had a spinning wheel similar to the
photo on the right. Most families had a sheep. The wool
sheared from the sheep and was then carded or combed
to remove knots and impurities. |
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