THREE HUTTULAS: A Finnish American Story About Strong Woman

By John Aalto, Charles Nurkkala and Robert Lehto

Immigrant families in the United States often have rich histories—many of them involving hardship, struggle, and loss. Some say these experiences have helped make us the strong, creative, and independent country we are today. Three Huttulas tells the immigration stories of the Huttula and Alm families beginning in the early 1900s. It describes the lives of three Huttula sisters as told by their families. The stories include heartbreaking tragedies that the families experienced from arriving on our shores, virtually penniless, until they were able to watch their children and grandchildren grow and thrive. It also describes bravery, perseverance, steadfastness, and the resolve sometimes needed to transcend the challenges life threw at them. Ultimately, this is a book about triumph and success as each of the three women left behind families that have grown and flourished in ways they could not have imagined during their most challenging moments. It is a book told by the sons of these woman and by other loving family members.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jul 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798350905861

Book preview

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Published by EFE Press

Los Angeles

Watton, Michigan

Coos Bay, Oregon

Cover Photos Aalto, Lehto, and Nurkkala Family Collections

Printed in the United States of America

© 2023 by John Aalto, Robert Lehto, and Charles Nurkkala

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without the written permission of the copyright owners.

Print ISBN: 979-8-35090-585-4

eBook ISBN: 979-8-35090-586-1

Information: John Aalto, [e-mail]

Contents

Chapter 1—Introduction

Finns in the Upper Peninsula

Early US Huttula History

Emil and Edla in the US—A Brief Chronology

Chapter 2—Emil Huttula

Emil’s New Home: America

Symbiosis, of a Sort

Leadville, Colorado

Lead, South Dakota

Labor Unions Everywhere

Emil’s Final Stop

Chapter 3—Edla (Alm) Huttula

Alm, Laukkanen, or Kottra—Which is it?

Edla Alm (a.k.a. Laukkanen or Kottra) in Finland

Edla Huttula

Cobalt, Ontario

Life in Cobalt

Chapter 4—Butte, Montana

History

More Mines and Miners

Butte Mining Families

Chapter 5—Michigan

Life Restarts in Michigan

Fire of 1920

Another Tragedy

Chapter 6—Edna Huttula

Leaving Her Birth Family

Edna’s First Family

The Red Exodus

Edna and Sons Move On

How Edna and George Met

Illegal Alien Deported

Ozzie and Harriet Speak Finnish

The Sunday We Couldn’t Forget

Stories from Edna’s Children

Family Meals

The Sauna

Vacation Escapes

Family Friends

Our Move to the Suburbs

What, the Children are Leaving?

Jessica Moves In

Europe, Asia, Africa, and a Dozen States

Steady, Slow, Stop

Final Years

On Reflection

Letting Go

Chapter 7—Fanny Huttula

Life with Grandma and Grandpa

Fanny Finds Her Mate

Mary Ann Nurkkala’s Story

My Story

Betty Jean Remembers Grandma

Fanny’s Second Grandchild, Russ

I Remember Grandpa

Chapter 8—Eva Huttula

Eva Leaves Michigan

Life Begins in the West

Oregon as Home

Profound Changes

Back to the West Coast to Stay

Chapter 9—Bill and Edwin Huttula

William Emil Huttula 1912–1959

Edwin Ellard Huttula 1914–1936

Chapter 10—The Three Sisters’ Legacy

Legacy

Made of Strong Stuff

Next Generations

One Family’s Stories

Appendix A: Notes and Sources

Appendix B: Bibliography/Other Resources

Other References

Appendix C: Image Credits

Chapter 1—

Introduction

This is the story of three American-born sisters, Edna, Fanny, and Eva Huttula, as remembered by their sons and other family members and as recorded in letters, public records, and other historical documents.

When they arrived in Ontonagon, Michigan, in 1918, the Huttula family had hope. They had purchased a small farm and felt that they had finally escaped the years of life in gritty mining towns—towns with labor strikes, grey landscapes, and harsh living. But in less than five years after arriving, Edla Huttula, a poor Finnish immigrant, would die in her oldest daughter’s arms. She was thirty-eight years old and left behind five young children and her husband, Emil.

Life dealt all the Huttulas, especially the five surviving children, some grueling and dismal times. However, the three young Huttula sisters would overcome many challenges, and with remarkable strength and perseverance (as we would say in Finnish, with sisu), each found her way. They all eventually thrived, married, and started families of their own.

I’m John Aalto, the editor and a co-author of this book. I’m also the son of one of these three sisters. Emil and Edla Huttula were my maternal grandparents. Their oldest child, Edna, was my mother. I have been curious about their stories for decades. Unfortunately, like many children of immigrants, I did not explore and capture enough of their stories while my mother or her siblings were still alive. I’ve been researching our family for decades, and now, in the seventh decade of our lives, my cousins, siblings, and I have captured these stories for today’s family members and for future generations that might be curious.

Finns in the Upper Peninsula

In June of 1865, the first Finns crossed Lake Superior from Canada and landed in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (known as the U.P.) in the town of Hancock. It was June, and in Finland, June was not a time just for work but also a time for summer celebrations. However, the Finnish men seeking a new life in America didn’t have time to celebrate. Instead, they were quickly put to work underground in the copper mines of Michigan. Many other Finnish people followed, traveling from Finland to Michigan’s U.P. during the late 1800s and many more in the early 1900s. The men and women who came to the US were mainly working class and by necessity, very hardy people. They would need their native toughness for the challenges ahead.

Hancock, on Lake Superior, Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In 1873, the first Finns immigrating to the US landed here.

In Finland, repeated crop failures had led to periodic years of famine and severe hardship for many families. Also, Sweden, and then Russia, had control over Finland until 1917. As a Grand Duchy, the Russian Duke controlling Finland led a ruthless government, taxing the Finns to support the occupying Russian troops. The Finnish church attempted to appease the Russians but proved ineffective in protecting the people. As a result, some Finns chose to leave Finland, and the US and Canada provided familiar geography and much opportunity.

Many of the first Finnish emigres were experienced in the lumber industry and could immediately work alongside French-Canadian loggers in the U.P. Others took jobs in the mining industry, although they usually had no experience in mining and were given the most menial, back-breaking work: loading tram cars with ore. Many Finns despised such work, and they did it only long enough to save enough money to purchase land for farming or to pursue other employment. Cheap land was available from the lumber companies, but their logging operations had abandoned the stumps of trees on such plots. Once cleared of tree stumps, however, it did usually prove to be sufficient for farming, and many people took advantage of the cheap or even free land.

Early US Huttula History

The first Huttulas in the US included August Huttula, who arrived in the U.P. in the mid-1800s. After working for others, he applied for and was awarded 160 acres of land as a part of the US Land Grant Program of 1898. It may be hard to imagine the US government giving 160 acres of land to a relatively new immigrant, but that was a part of the rapid growth of our nation. August Huttula eventually developed a large farm, had logging operations, and employed many people. His many descendants are throughout the U.P. and elsewhere in the US today.

Postcard of the Huttula Farm in Covington, Michigan, ca. 1930s. It was owned by August Huttula, one of the first Huttulas to emigrate to America. He was awarded 160 acres of land, given to applicants by the US government at no cost but with a commitment to develop the land. Today the buildings have been converted to a nursing home for the elderly called the Covington Rest Home.

Ida Matilda Huttula, Emil’s sister, came to the US via New York in 1901. We have yet to document how Matilda and August Huttula are related, but we’ll leave that detail for another time.

Ida Matilda went to work near Watton, Michigan (in the U.P.), as a cook in a logging camp owned by August Huttula. William Pihlaja emigrated to the US in 1899. He was working in the same camp, and there he met Ida. They married in 1902 in Crystal Falls, Michigan, but had no children that survived infancy. Instead, they would later raise many of Emil (her brother) and Edla’s children as if they were their own.

Emil Huttula emigrated in 1902 and headed to Lead, South Dakota, where the Three Sisters’ story really begins. Emil’s life in the US is a bitter-sweet story, as we will learn.

Arther (Matti Artturi) and Hjalmer (Heikki Jalmari) Huttula were two of Emil’s brothers and were the first and the last of his siblings to emigrate, respectively. Arther emigrated in 1900 and Hjalmer in 1910. After arriving, they both traveled to Butte, Montana, to work in the mines, and they both spent the rest of their lives there. Arther married and had one daughter, Weino Helen, who died at the age of fourteen.

Hjalmer also married in Butte and had two sons, William (Willy) and Oliver. Both Willy and Oliver moved to the