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Oskari Tokoi
OSKARI TOKOI (1873-1963) was a Finnish socialist who served as a leader of the Social Democratic Party of Finland. Born Antti Oskari Hirvi in the Central Ostrobothnia region of Finland on May 15, 1...view moreOSKARI TOKOI (1873-1963) was a Finnish socialist who served as a leader of the Social Democratic Party of Finland. Born Antti Oskari Hirvi in the Central Ostrobothnia region of Finland on May 15, 1873, he emigrated to the U.S. in 1891, aged 18, working as a miner in the Midwest. In 1900 he returned to Finland, supporting himself as a farmer and merchant. He became politically active in 1901 and was elected as chairman of the workers’ association of Kannus in 1905. In 1907 he was elected to the Finnish parliament (Eduskunta) as a representative of the Social Democrats, chairman of the Finnish Trade Union Federation in 1912, and head of the Senate of Finland in 1917. When the Revolution began, Tokoi sided with the Reds, who appointed him Finland’s minister of foodstuffs. However, the Finns won their independence, forcing Tokoi into exile in Canada. He returned to the U.S. in 1921 and moved to Fitchburg, Massachusetts, where from 1922-1959 he served on the editorial staff of the Finnish Daily Raivaaja. During WWII, Tokoi toured the U.S. as an active public voice for the cause of Finland, and the Edskunta exonerated him in 1944 of all charges related to the Finnish Civil War. After WWII he became an activist among Finnish-Americans and was honored with an Aaltonen sculpture at the Social Democrat party headquarters in Helsinki, Finland. Tokoi died in Fitchburg on April 4, 1963, aged 90.
John I. Kolehmainen (1910-1995) was a Finnish-American historian and writer. Born in 1910 in Conneaut, Ohio to Finnish immigrants from Viitasaari, he studied at the Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He served as a professor of history and political science at Heidelberg College in Tiffin, Ohio, and as a Fulbright lecturer at the University of Helsinki (1955-56). He published several books, including studies on the history of American Finns and a history of the Finnish Daily Raivaaja. He died in Canada in 1969, aged 85.view less