The Thunder Bay Finnish Canadian Historical Society (TBFCHS) is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a commemorative event called “From the Ashes of the Old: The History, Loss, and Memory of the Finnish Labour Temple” at the Thunder Bay Museum on Saturday. The free public event, planned to start at 2 p.m., will recognize the TBFCHS’s several contributions to the preservation and interpretation of Finnish Canadian history in the region since it began in 1974 — including compiling thousands of historical documents, photographs, and oral histories in the Lakehead University Archives.
“It’s my sincere hope that the society is around for another 50 years and indefinitely after that,” said Saku Pinta, the TBFCHS’s president. “It is also my hope that the next 50 years of the society will be as fruitful as the first 50 years have been.”
Mourning the loss of the Finnish Labour Temple
The event serves a three fold purpose besides marking the TBFCHS’s 50th anniversary, Pinta said. The TBFCHS will also hold three presentations by members reflecting on the collective trauma felt throughout the city and beyond following the loss of the Finnish Labour Temple in December 2021 before concluding its annual general meeting.
Although the hall was not the only important historical and cultural landmark in the city, Pinta said its loss has impacted the Finnish community in ways both mundanely and profoundly. “I’m probably not alone in feeling that the loss of the Finnish Labour Temple was akin to losing a relative,” said Pinta. “And, I think that the mourning process of that, you know, it obviously takes time.”
Over the decades, it has also brought together many groups within the Finnish community, which Pinta said is made up of different ideas, belief systems, political orientations and organizations. “The historical society has always aimed to be inclusive of the entire Finnish community in all of its diversity, which has offered it strength over the years,” said Pinta.
The materials from a nearly 113-year-old time capsule — recovered from the building’s cornerstone by the late Marc Metsäranta in April 2022 — will be on public display for the first time, including a speech by early 20th century Finnish socialist movement leader, Moses Hahl, and multiple translated Finnish-Canadian newspapers.
Looking ahead to the next 50 years
Beyond the loss of the hall, the TBFCHS hopes to increase membership and activity that have also changed over the years, added Pinta. TBFCHS’s vice president, Jorma Halonen was one of the groups youngest members when it began and said many of the historical society’s original members have passed away. Older members are also having difficulty with online meetings that have been ongoing since the COVID-19 pandemic. “We have lost a lot of members,” he said. “At one point our membership was around 50 or 60 [people], and now we will be lucky to gather a handful of members for the society. But hopefully this meeting will draw in some younger blood.”
Looking forward, Halonen said he also hopes the TBFCHS can broaden its public access, especially online, to the historical collections at the Lakehead University Archives and minute books. “I would like to see as much as possible of the Finnish collection digitized, photographs as well as digital articles, but it costs money and right now seemingly no one is willing to invest money into the digitization of these things,” said Halonen. “But that’s the way people will become aware.”
Pinta agreed that the historical society must make more use of online platforms and expand its membership. “Looking to the future, I think that using online platforms can help to facilitate discussions with other historians and experts in Finnish North American history in workshops and meetings,” said Pinta.
All are welcome
Pinta, nonetheless, said that the TBFCHS encourages people who are non-Finnish ethnicity to participate. The annual general meeting is only open to members, but he said the public is welcome to join if they pay the $5 membership fee. “If any attendees want to join the day of and participate in the Annual General Meeting, and help further the preservation and interpretation of finished Canadian history in the Lakehead, and in the region, they are obviously more than welcome to do so and would be encouraged to do so,” said Pinta.
