At Co-op Point
Preface: From Finntown’s Kaleva Hall in Virginia, to the Finland Coop (Minnesota’s oldest continuously operating co-op), to the unique Finnish log buildings of Embarrass, Finnish culture graces the Iron Range. One of the hallmarks of that culture was, of course, the sauna, but the other hallmark was the establishment of cooperatives. Here is one story, with gratitude to Valerie Myntti for sharing it.
My Family’s Immigration Story, contributed by Valerie Myntti
The early twentieth century Finns came to Minnesota because work was plentiful, the landscape familiar, and many Finns were already here. They found work as domestic maids—miners—in the lumber mills—and fisheries. They left Finland with only the shirts on their backs to escape grinding poverty and political instability with the hopes of a brighter future—much like the immigrants today who are seeking refuge in the United States.
My grandmother, Laura Jarvinen, found work as a domestic maid with a kind and generous family in Chisholm. My paternal great-grandparents, Isaak and Anna Liisa Myntti, settled on a farm in Pike Sandy and are buried there at Hope Lutheran Cemetery. My grandfather’s younger brother ran the Pike Sandy Co-op until his death in the 1950’s. My grandfather, Charles Myntti first worked in lumber mills in Winton and then in the Ely mines. My grandfather was from Vahakyro in western Finland. There is a Myntti Farm that still exists there today, in continual operation since 1550. My grandmother was born in Karkkila. While they had suffered in Finland, they maintained their idealism. They were committed to creating their own unique version of utopia here in America, the land of democracy and possibility.
My grandparents, along with other Finns, embraced a uniquely Finnish worldview and a philosophy formulated in the old country.
It was a blend of ideas taken from:
n The progressive ideology;
n From The co-operative ideology-- with its concept of the “common good” and “mutual aid;”
n From socialist values, which to them meant working toward a morally-conscious economy where the social welfare of ALL surpasses the value of private individual profits—an economy that emphasizes equality, justice & economic security for all;
n And, of course, from the ideas generated by Labor Unions.
According to the Minnesota Historical Society, “From the beginning—many Finns were active in progressive politics spearheading the labor movement on the iron range, and along with other Nordic immigrants – the Finns played a dominant role in Minnesota’s protest politics.”
Finns came to the US from Finland with an already well-formulated, well-developed co-operative ethos. Deprivation under the Russians and an entrenched communal way of living in Finland made the values of mutual aid and the emphasis on the common good centerpieces of Finnish philosophy. The notion of ENLIGHTENED Self-interest---- that promoted the common good over the individual--- was well-established and part of the Finns’ identity.
Finns created Co-ops on the Iron Range out of necessity and out of the desire for self-determination. Their creation of co-ops on the Range was directly related to the discrimination directed at them for the activities of the Finnish Union activists. Local merchants, the company stores and wholesalers all sided with the mining companies during the labor strikes of 1907 and 1916 that were led by Finns. These stores refused to extend credit to the Finnish miners during this challenging and uncertain time.
Finns refused to be victims, and to that end created “consumer cooperatives,” retail businesses that were democratically run and owned by the workers who bought a share. As they had always done, the Finns banded together to help themselves and to render mutual aid. Finns lived under rampant discrimination--during this period, the word “Finlander” was used as a slur, along with “China Swede” and “roundhead”-- but they steadfastly built their co-ops and their own cultural institutions.
They created co-ops that included dairies/creameries, car dealerships, mortuaries, grocery stores, coffee companies, hardware, gas, cafes/restaurants, clothing, butcher shops and credit unions to name a few.
Finns built cultural & educational institutions, including opera houses, theaters, social clubs, workers halls, newspapers, publishing houses, temperance halls, churches, libraries, book clubs, adult education centers, schools, nursery schools, sports leagues, colleges, and communal parks and summer camps like Co-op Point on Eagles Nest and Mesaba Co-op Park near Cherry.
Co-op members getting gas
My father, Donald Charles Myntti was born in Chisholm in 1923. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to Ely where he graduated from Ely Memorial High School in 1941. His father was a miner in the Pioneer Mine and one of the original men that helped develop Co-op Point. My father, Don, and his sister Onerva Delight spent every summer there while growing up in Ely. In the late 1920’s to early 1930’s approximately twenty Finnish men (“miners and co-operators” as they called themselves) under the leadership of a Finn named Mike Simonson, who was head of the Co-op Mercantile Association from Virginia to Superior, bought land on Eagles Nest Lake 1 between Ely & Soudan.
In addition to building twenty or so individually owned cabins, this association of co-operators created a large Co-op Park, where Finnish workers and their families across Minnesota and beyond were invited to camp and enjoy a lake experience each summer. The original co-operators also developed a Co-op Summer Camp, where their children and other Finnish children, from all over the state, could have a summer camping experience and be immersed in the co-operators’ values. Many present-day Finns remember attending these summer camps.
My father until the end of his life believed he had the happiest boyhood imaginable. And a wonderful life. Dad did not speak English until he was 7 and began school. He had all kinds of friends, both Finns and non-Finns. He built lifelong friendships that lasted until his death last April, four months short of 99 years old. He attributes his long, healthy and happy life to his Finnish upbringing--including the communal Finnish Sauna where folks of all ages gathered, and to the cold plunge afterwards in an icy cold northern Minnesota lake. He described that experience as “heaven”.