Aberdeen, WA |
Astoria, OR |
Berkeley, CA |
Eureka, CA |
Hockinson, WA |
Longview-Kelso, WA |
Portland, OR |
Reedley, CA |
Seattle, WA |
Winlock, WAVolume 85, Issue 2 APRIL - MAY
| news |
| about us |
| advertising |
| subscriptions |
| scholarships | news archives |
| contact us |
| APRIL - MAY Issue |
GRAND LODGE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGEIt seems like I never get my article in to Ryan on time but I have a good excuse this time. On March 19, Lila, my wife and loving companion of almost 58 years, passed away from pancreatic cancer. On the 16th she was diagnosed after chest x-ray, ultra sound and CT scan. What a shock! She had been having pain but the doctor thought it was the result of falling several weeks earlier as she had. She was at peace and said she was ready to go. What faith she had! With a smile on her face she left us to be with God. All of our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren were able to visit with her during those three days. The memorial service at our church was impressive. I have heard many remarks about it being the nicest one they had ever attended. I want to thank the lodges and members who sent cards, made calls or made donations to the UFKB&S Scholarship Fund. A scholarship is a nice living memorial for a loved person. I want to congratulate Hockinson Lodge #24 for sending me their neat and concise newsletter. It is really impressive. It sounds as if there is a lot of activity and revitalization going on there. I hope that this renewed activity can be transferred to some of our other lodges that are having problems. The Astoria Kahden Uutiset has a new editor and she is making a lot of improvements in it. I feel so relieved to have given up the reins. I keep reminding you that the Grand Lodge Convention is just around the corner, now just five months away. Those of you who come early, please take the opportunity to see the melodrama "Shanghaied in Astoria" which has been in production for over 20 years. Hiss the villain and throw popcorn at him. Information on Grand Lodge Convention has gone out to all the Lodges. I want to strongly suggest that you make your motel reservations immediately (if not sooner) as this is the weekend of the Hood to Coast Relay race. Motel rooms will be few and far between if you hesitate. So call and get your reservations NOW. Please do not let the cost of gasoline keep you home. How many lodges have a monthly newsletter? If you have one, please include me on your mailing list. My address is found in the back of the Viesti in the list of officers. Berkeley Lodge #21 used to send me theirs. Individual lodge information does come out in the Viesti but every other month. Communication is the life blood of any organization so keep it flowing. See you at Grand Lodge Convention. Regards, Ronald C. Collman, President
FROM THE EDITORDid everyone have a nice St. Urho’s Day? I’m glad to see we have a new reporter to bring us the news of Berkeley lodge. Thanks Gina! How about some news from other lodges? The more lodge participation we have, the more informative the Viesti will be.
BUSINESS MANAGER’S REPORTThe Finnish Brotherhood lost an active and well-liked member with the sudden death in March of Lila Collman, wife of our lodge and Grand Lodge President, Ron. She preferred to be a behind-the-scenes person, but contributed greatly. Lila was always involved with the initial preparations for our Scandinavian Festival booth each year, and she was in the kitchen during every laksloda and lutefisk dinner. She was a past officer of our auxiliary and was several times a delegate to Grand Lodge conventions, usually opting to serve on the Scholarship committee. She will be very much missed by all who knew her, and our deepest condolences go out to Ron and his family. Donations to Viesti during the past couple of months include $80 from Seattle Lodge #11 and $78.01 from the proceeds of Portland’s Bingo & Bake sale. Maila Cadd also added some extra to her subscription renewal. Seattle lodge contributed another $50 in memory of Aune Hepokoski, John and Nell Challis sent monies in memory of both Laila Heikkala and Roy Harden, and Evelyn Kujala donated in memory of Eileen Caballero and Lila Collman. Our thanks for all of these. As we look ahead to the summer months, remember that the Scandinavian Festival will be held June 20th through June 22nd at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds, and our Grand Lodge convention will be in Astoria August 21st through August 23rd. I hope to see you at both events!
GRAND LODGE SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE REPORTPERIOD ENDING February 29, 2008The Scholarship fund received a big boost in January with a nice check received from Astoria Lodge #2. A check in the amount of $635.00 was received with a notation this was a donation from proceeds of the 12-1-07 raffle held at their celebration of the 90th Anniversary of Finland’s Independence sponsored by the Astoria Lodge. Thank you Astoria for your generosity. In addition, we have received several donations in memory of three well-known names in the UFKB&S circles. I remember well my associations with Helena Perttu, who was active in lodge activities in Astoria and the Grand Lodge, and Aune Hepokoski, who my parents introduced me to when they were active in the Grand Lodge. We also received several donations in memory of Eileen Caballero from Astoria. We are sorry of hear of these losses and extend our condolences to their families. Also, death benefits from Astoria and Longview-Kelso lodges were paid to the Scholarship Fund in memory of Helena Perttu and Elma Keisala by their respective families. At the end of the year I did receive a statement on our two certificates. The certificate taken out last December netted us $387.04 in interest during 2007. Interest on the second certificate taken out in September netted us $45.03 in interest. The interest to 12/31/07 has been included in the reported totals as shown below. These certificates will mature in time for awarding necessary scholarships. Our position as of this writing : Beginning Balance from last report $ 540.32 Donations were as follows:
As you can see, we are in good shape for our upcoming Grand Lodge Convention and for consideration of Scholarship applicants. All of the Lodge secretaries should have received three copies of the Scholarship Application packet, along with three copies to each of the three district representatives. In addition I have mailed five other application packets to individual members requesting them. It appears there may be a fair amount of interest in our scholarships. If anyone has any questions, they may either write or phone me or one of the District Representatives as listed in the back of the Veljeysviesti. I appreciate the continued interest by our members and lodges. I might add one last thought: if you find your donation is not recognized in the Veljeysviesti, please feel free to contact me. I only ask that you keep in mind my report must be in the hands of the Editor by the tenth of the month preceding the month of printing and your donation and my report may have passed in the mail. Otherwise, check with me. We never know when something gets lost in the mail. Thank you.
ABERDEEN, WASHINGTONPaiva Paiva, Our winter birds are still here reminding us that it’s still winter, so we thought we’d take off for a month’s trip to see if Arizona has warmed up. We’ve heard that the thermometer hovers around 75 – 85 degrees there, so we’ll go down and bask in the sun. No sign up here of the swallows yet either. That’s always been a sure sign of spring! The year 2008 has begun for Lodge #9. It has taken awhile to get ourselves organized, due to illnesses and also the aftermath of that terrible storm and we all survived pretty well. But now we’re ready to get down to business at hand. Hope everyone’s sent in their lodge dues for the year 2008. If not, “get hopping!” We were hoping that everyone would pay up by the February meeting, if possible. We will be sending out our lodge newsletter shortly for everyone to read. Pin it up on a wall where you can read the calendar as to what’s taking place each month and join in. And of course, please remember the Viesti subscription for only $12.00 per year. One gets a wealth of news from other lodges as well as from our own lodge. One can always get some new ideas also that would benefit your own lodge, perhaps. I’m always grateful for the other writers that come aboard. Let’s have a recipe again in the Cook’s Corner. I’m tired of my same old cookie recipes. I just purchased a nice cookbook from the Mason County Hospital Guild. It cost $4.00 (half price of the original) so hopefully I’ll find something new for the June issue for Cook’s Corner. Donations are welcome, always: In memory of or IN honor of:
As for the confined members: Ollie Koski’s waiting for instructions on what type of treatments he’ll be scheduled for in Olympia. He’s had many types of tests as is the norm and all of them require waiting periods it seems. He says that he feels pretty good, but does want his strength back soon. John Maki has been in the Montesano Rehabilitation Center. A little while back he had a couple of strokes which left his legs a little weak. His wife’s going to be a caregiver for him at home for he wants to come home so bad. Best of luck to you, Delores. Our officers all wanted to remain in their same positions for this year again. Thank you so much. One of our new members, Rita Saloma, graciously accepted the auditor’s seat recently vacated by Sister Jean Kauno, who moved to Astoria and joined Lodge #2. Thank you Jean for your years of service for our lodge as an auditor. Astoria, she’s your gain but our loss. She’s a very devoted person. Hoping everyone will enjoy St. Urho’s Day at their lodges. Wasn’t he a great Saint to rid Finland of all those pesky grasshoppers? Freda Hendrickson
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIAA one-and-a-half coffee pot night! Here are the meeting notes from UFKBAS Berkeley meeting from March 11 2008 (Thanks, Mary, for the great title!). The first order of business, in Berkeley, usually includes COMMUNICATION FROM OTHER LODGES. At this time, we had only received the Rocklin, CA, Newsletter, The Finlandian, part of the greater Sacramento Area. Perhaps some of you have attended their Scandinavian Festival? Though this event won't be happening this year, I thought some of our Veljeysviesti readers (including some of our FAHA friends) might be interested in some of their events. Here's the list...
The Finlandia Club can be reached by mail at
Their newsletter also included a great EU article posted on San Francisco technology website, CNet from Jan. 17, "Why is Finland Europe's Technology Leader? The Prime Minister Explains" at http://www.news.com/8301- HEALTH AND WELLNESS REPORT Art Johnson broke a hip and had a replacement at Orinda Convalescent Hospital. He seems to be doing well and his basic health is good. Daughter Carol Johnson will soon be home for whole summer, working on writing a book. Sister Liisa Suominen seems to be doing much better. Lillian Peterson was in Oakland's Alta Bates Hospital after a stroke, but is now at home recovering at a youthful 89-years-old. SPECIAL COMMITTEES REPORT – Plans & Upcoming Dates
And now, the SIITONEN SPORTS REPORT
NEW WEBSITE
ADDITIONAL NOTES
PREVIOUS MEETING NOTES
Finally, I am looking forward to working on is our upcoming movie festival. This is likely to occur in sometime in June, near the time of the annual Ski Club Work Party. Two films will be shown. Traditional foods will be served. And, friends will be encouraged to attend. Several movies were suggested, but I wanted to suggest one to readers that may not be in attendance. As many of you know, I subscribe to a monthly movie rental service, Netflix. I give them a list of movies I'd like to see and as soon as they receive the current rental, returned, the company mails out the next movie from my list. If any of you subscribe to such a service, you might note that the Finnish selections are quite meager! At last count, I had only been able to locate FIVE Finnish films! Happily, I can report a new release I really enjoyed, "Mother of Mine" (aka "Adideista Parhain"). Mother of Mine received 12 awards in Finland and was Finland's Academy Award® Submission for Best Foreign Language Film. The Film Movement website, a North American distributor of critically acclaimed award-winning independent and foreign films, describes the movie below. During World War II, more than 70,000 Finnish children were evacuated to neutral Sweden to avoid the conflict. Mother of Mine, the latest from the award-winning director, Klaus Haro (also of "Elina"), tackles that painful patch of history in a tale of 9-year-old Eero, a child who increasingly feels abandoned by his biological Finnish mother and yet not attached to his Swedish surrogate mom. When he is returned to Finland, his confusion intensifies. Go to http://www.filmmovement.com/filmcatalog/index.asp?MerchandiseID=107 to read more about this 2007 Film Movement release. It's going to be a busy Spring!
See Veljeysviesti Online at http://www.veljeysviesti.com
HOCKINSON, WASHINGTONSpring is around the corner with the crocuses, daffodils, and other spring flowers opening in our gardens. February included many sunny days, so I’ve managed to spread 10 yards of compost this spring with the help of my husband and/or grandson “bucketing” the compost with the tractor. Program chair, Ellen Schroeder, has planned some great programs for our lodge. Finnish visitor, Juha Vaananen of Helsinki, spoke at our February meeting. As he is still learning English, he spoke in Finnish. Member, Alli Mattson, translated (ably, according to Juha). We enjoyed the experience immensely. At our March meeting we had a presentation on Slovakia by one of our new members, Bill Grant, who spoke about his experience in Slovakia teaching English. Our April speaker will be the director of Finlandia from Seattle along with Finnish/Norwegian musicians. In May we have a special “mystery guest”, who is a member of the Cowlitz Indian tribe and who has Finnish ancestry. He currently resides in Olympia. If you live near this area, we invite you to come and meet him and learn about his Finnish connection. Anyone interested in hearing any of these speakers, come join us on the first Sunday of the month at 2:00 p.m. at the Hockinson Fire Department building on NE 159 Street in Hockinson. As mentioned in my last writing, we plan to have a program of first generation Finns, whose parents were born in Finland. A survey with interesting questions has been presented to those first-generation members in our lodge. Whenever we have no scheduled speaker or film, one of these eleven members of our lodge will tell the story of their parent(s). This segment of our Finnish membership is shrinking and inevitably the opportunity to learn about their backgrounds and memories will be lost forever. Member Travels Our lodge usually plans a trip or two as a group each year. One trip definitely planned is the July 26 trip to Astoria. Suggestions for other trips are: South Bend, Washington; an over-night trip to Poulsbo, Washington; Scandinavian Festival in Junction City, Oregon; Heritage Museum in Seattle; or a train trip. Members will decide later with the guidance of our in-house member co-ordinator, Janet Boulette, who has worked for many years at Marshall Center in Vancouver. In addition to our lodge trips, we have individual members who have traveled recently or plan to travel in the near future: On a crispy cold February 10th, Phyllis Maki, her sister, Cathy, and families departed from Seattle for Lahaina, Hawaii. After the usual retrieving of baggage and renting cars, the first stop was Costco! The first meal in Hawaii was a Costco hot dog and drink for $1.50. Their rental home was a huge two-story, four-bedroom home equipped with everything needed for the week. For the kids, that meant their own private pool! The ocean was two blocks away which they enjoyed either on the beach or drinking coffee and watching from the upstairs balcony. Lahaina is one of three on Maui and is somewhat between "touristy and laid back". Most of the week was spent relaxing. By listening to a time-share presentation, they were able to book a boat and spend a day snorkeling and watching sea turtles and whales for a very nominal fee. Hawaiian records indicate that Valentine's Day has the most sightings of whales, and they saw over fifty whales that day! They also went to the Lahaina Oldest Luau which included an all-you-can-eat buffet, an open bar, and, of course, the history of Hawaii as told through the dancers! Needless to say, it was very hard to leave the sunny, 81-degree day with good tans and arrive back in 30-degree Seattle weather. The moral of this story is: a sunny, fun vacation to Hawaii is worth every cent – “if you try it, you will love it!” Member Marie Campbell just returned from a train trip to Montana, spending 3 weeks with her mother, Mathilda Hollo, who will be 99 in July. With the help of another sister, Mathilda still lives out on a farm 13 miles west of Fairfield and about 45 miles from Great Falls. Winter there was quite cold with wind and snow; however, when walking in the snow, Marie was able to look west to a beautiful view of snow-capped Rocky Mountains 45 miles away. Marie’s mother, Mathilda, at age 20, immigrated to America from Nesbyen, Norway, along with her brother, Olaf Rodegard, then age 18. Mathilda raised 8 children and made sure each knew what lefsa, rummegrot, potet klub (potato dumplings), lutefisk, and other Norwegians traditions were. Marie had the privilege to visit Norway with her mother five times, got to know many relatives, and see beautiful country. Mathilda’s brother, Olaf, was a ski instructor for the military at Mt. Rainier, WA in 1942, and later a ski instructor at Mt. Hood, Oregon, and Sun Valley, Idaho. While at Mt. Hood, he was featured on the February 23, 1948 cover of Life Magazine for Mt. Hood Lodge’s 50th anniversary celebration. He has moved his family back to Norway and in January celebrated his 97th birthday. Marie hopes for the longevity enjoyed by her mother and uncle. Vi Schimpf is planning to go with her niece on a transatlantic cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Barcelona, April 11-28. Vi has made many enjoyable trips with her niece including at least one to Finland. My husband and I are going on our yearly trip to Arizona in March, where Larry ushers at the Mariner games. Our three grown children and families are all coming between March 24 and April 4 during their spring breaks. Other member news Members and friends gathered to help long-time member Margaret Hill recently celebrate her 95th birthday at the Hockinson Fire Hall. Congratulations, Margaret! Ellen Johnson and Maxine Osborn have been elected to represent Hockinson Lodge at the Grand Lodge meeting in Astoria, August 21-23. Ina Lindsay’s grandson, Derac Wilson, married Elizabeth Patterson on Friday, February 22, 2008, in a small service with dinner following. Elizabeth is a nurse at Southwest Washington Hospital and Derac works in refrigeration in Portland. Derac is Ina’s first grandchild to get married. Congratulations! As many of you may know, Vancouver experienced a rare tornado on Thursday, January 10, 2008. Member Emil Johnson’s carport, tool shed, and part of his roof blew about a block away into the WSU experimental station grounds. Emil was in Hockinson at the time, and now has had repairs done. Hockinson Lodge is planning a potluck anniversary party on October 18, 2008, at Salmon Creek Grange, Vancouver. Other lodge members are invited; we’ll let you know more about this in the next issue. It was suggested because I am a Master Gardener, that I offer a “gardening tip of the month” in each article. Well, at the time of writing, it is March; time of reading will be April, so I’m including several tips for March and April: March
April
LONGVIEW-KELSO, WASHINGTONDear Viesti Readers: Hello from Yuma, AZ! Spring that feels like summer has finally arrived after a colder than usual winter. There is one difference with our cold winter down here, however, as compared to the Pacific Northwest. We usually have sunshine every day; in Washington there are a lot of clouds and that “wet” stuff. Yes, we are supposed to be in the eighties all this week in March, and even the high eighties. And, beautiful blue skies and gorgeous sunsets to enjoy. I did make my spring trip back to Washington the last week of February and into March. I was home for nine days. I always plan my trips so I can get the best coverage of all the meetings we usually attend when we are home. This also included the February meeting of the Longview-Kelso Lodge. And, what a surprise. We had visitors as in our Central District Chairman Tom Turner and his lovely wife, Maree. At the meeting, I found that the January meeting had been cancelled due to bad weather. Therefore, one of the first orders of business was to install the incoming officers and give them their pledge of duties. Elder Eino Laine was present to take care of this task. It was also necessary to revise our schedule for meeting dates in 2008. Several dates seem to conflict with holiday weekends. We never want to interfere with holiday celebrations. Therefore, with Easter coming on our usual weekend in March, it was a consensus that we would change to the last Sunday of the month. So our March meeting will be held on the 30th of March. It was also decided this would be a potluck to celebrate our lodge anniversary. The problem is, we need to let members know as this publication will not be published in time to let the changes be known. Hopefully the people who are in the know will let others know about the change since this publication will not be available prior to that time. We will also change our meeting date in May to the 18th of May to avoid the Memorial Day weekend. Other changes will be printed in later issues. Information on the Grand Lodge Convention was received and discussed. The number of delegates was tentatively set so reservations for accommodations could be made. It was also necessary to drape the charter for two additional members who had passed away. We are so sorry we have lost four members in recent months. We enjoy and appreciate all our members and those who have passed will be missed. We also heard we need to be thinking about three of our other members who need to be kept in our prayers. Neighbor Ruff Pumala is having problems along with Sister Bea Hoy. Brother Eino Laine said he is facing problems. Get well wishes and our best wishes are with them all. As I mentioned, Jack allowed me to go back to Washington to celebrate my older and younger sisters’ birthdays. My visit was timed to come between both birthdays. All three of us have special birthdays this year. We had a “sister day” with a visit to the beauty shop; to a wonderful nursery and gift shop; to a nail shop, and then home to pick up brother-in-law to go to dinner and then we decided to add a movie. We had heard “Bucket List” was a good movie to see. We now endorse that recommendation. It was a movie with a very moving story and an underlying message. There are also comical parts for a little levity. This movie was recommended to his congregation by a priest. We didn’t think it could be toooooo bad! The rest of the trip was “cool” (as in the weather), but very pleasant. A cousin of mine asked me to accompany her to a viewing of a special showing of a clip prepared on the founder of our city of Longview at our local Historical Society. Robert A. Long came to Longview, Washington, to establish a logging company – Long Bell International Paper Company. From there he had a plan for a “planned city” which he financially supported it. Included the building of R. A. Long High School, the first church ( Longview Community Church), the library, Post Office, and a hotel (the Monticello Hotel) circling our community center along with other facilities. They even came to Longview to include some of our local leaders in the film. It was a very enjoyable trip even though Jack (who stayed in Yuma) kept telling me how warm and beautiful it was where he was. The number of people I was able to connect with was very enjoyable. But, without my partner, it is never the same. A lot of time was spent on the telephone. I just appreciate him letting me go, and it was a nice homecoming. A brunch the next day at a dear friend’s house and then a gathering of our gin rummy group and a light dinner to follow. The next day was a dance, and it was very enjoyable with more friends. We have to keep busy. Jack will be celebrating his 80th birthday on Sunday, March 16th after we return from a trip to Peoria, AZ to attend three Mariner Spring Training games with friends. Who asks, what we do in Yuma, AZ all winter? Never a dull moment! Take care everyone. Happy Spring! Be talking to you again soon.
PORTLAND, OREGONNo submissions at this time.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTONLODGE 11 MEMBERS are pleased with the officers who are leading the lodge’s activities and affairs. President Lynn Wirta produced a new membership address book, which is much appreciated. Liisa Mannery issued her Yhteis Hyvä newsletter for the March meeting. All commend Ruth Gorshkow for her competent recording of the meeting minutes and we all admire Shirley Roberts for keeping track of the finances. SAINT URHO and Urholiina were honored after the official business meeting on March 9. By random selection, Leo Utter became our 2008 sainted one and Rauni Sillanpää our honorary Urholiina. Leo and Rauni did their proper proclamation of "Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkkä, mene täältä hiiteen" before stomping out the grapes in the form of green and purple balloons. Grasshoppers seem to hop out in many parts of the delicious potluck table and its two decorated cakes. OUR MÄNNISTÖ FAMILY again was very instrumental in organizing the successful Kalevala Festival on Feb. 24 at the Nordic Heritage Museum. Besides singing in the Finnish Choral Socieity, which is directed by daughter Maria Männistö, they coordinated a varied and excellent program of choral and instrumental music as well as folk dancing and participation by Suomi Koulu children, and featuring kantele player Arja Kastinen. MARIA MÄNNISTÖ, who has been the Finlandia Foundation National Performer of the Year, also sang for the program at the Ethnic Heritage Council annual dinner and awards ceremony on Feb. 29 at the Nordic Heritage Museum. The program also included accompaniment by the Kalevala Trio with Yvonne Vollan on accordion, Peter Vollan on clarinet and Matteus Vaga on cello, as well as Odissi classical dance from India. The awards this year were to Leo Utter for the Aspasia Pulakis Memorial Award and to Dr. Ratna Roy for the Gordon Tracie Memorial Award. Several of our lodge members enjoyed the Ikea-catered buffet and an auction and raffle of ethnic items. BAKERY SALE will be featured at our April 13 meeting. Members are always happy to bring home some homemade pulla and limppu from our skillful bakers. MAY MEETING is moved up to the first Sunday on May 4, so that families can celebrate Mother's Day together. LUNCHEON OUTING is scheduled on May 17 at the Old Country Buffet on Aurora Avenue North and North 165th Street in Shortline, beginning at noon.. Bring your friends. AUNE HEPOKOSKI, 97, died on February 3. Aune and her late-husband Eli were longtime members and activists in the New Castle Lodge 4 in Renton before that lodge disbanded and they became members of Lodge 11. Aune was born in Evijärvi and migrated to Washington State, where she met Eli. The Hepokoskis were supportive of many Finnish community activities. The memorial service was conducted by Pastor Timo Saarinen at the Finnish Lutheran Church on Feb. 10. Muistoissamme elät.
IN MEMORIAMLILA COLLMANLila Hilja Haggren Collman, 82, of Warrenton, died Wednesday, March 19, 2008, in Astoria. She was born Jan. 17, 1926, in Astoria, to Mikko and Hilja (Lukkarila) Haggren. She was raised on a homestead on the Lower Nehalem River south of Elsie until the family moved to Astoria in 1941. She attended elementary school in Elsie and high school in Jewell and Astoria, graduating from Astoria High School in 1943. In 1946, she graduated from the Oregon College of Education in Monmouth and became a teacher at Lewis and Clark Consolidated School for four years. On May 13, 1950, she married Ronald C. Collman at the Zion Lutheran Church in Astoria. He survives, residing in Warrenton. The couple went on a student tour of Central America with 18 other students and a professor from Pacific University Mrs. Collman worked as a substitute teacher. Later, she taught cooking at the evening school at Clatsop Community College. She was a member of the Lower Columbia Power Squadron and served as secretary and treasurer. She recently became a life member of the United States Power Squadrons, earning her 25th Merit Mark. She was a charter member of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 64, and served as secretary. She became a member of the board of Loaves and Fishes and became secretary recently. She was a member of the Finnish Brotherhood Lodge. Family members said she loved baking and was well known for her "pulla" and her cooking. In 1976, she was honored by the late chef James Beard by winning a recipe contest for her herb cheese bread. The Collmans made two trips to Finland to visit relatives and trace family roots. In addition to her husband, she is survived by a sister, Katherine Karna of Astoria; a brother-in-law, Don Starr of Portland; three daughters and sons-in-law, Permelia "Perky" and John Rasmussen of Portland, Dr. Rebecca and Tim McMahon of Colchester, Vt., and Jennifer and David Warren of Benecia, Calif.; two sons and daughters-in-law, Rodney and Susan Collman of Boring and Benjamin and Michelle Collman of Juneau, Alaska; 10 grandchildren, Andrew Collman and his wife, Melissa, and Heidi Collman, all of Boring, Hilja Taylor and her husband, Ryan, and Laila and Hannah Collman, all of Sandy, Matthew and Chad Warren of Benecia and Eleanor, Sarah and Kathleen McMahon of Colchester; five great-grandchildren, Sierra, Kyle and Caleb Taylor of Sandy and Elizabeth and Autumn Collman of Boring; five nephews, Michael Karna of Astoria, Dick and Bob Starr of Kodiak, Alaska, Gary Starr of Portland and Mike Haggren and his wife, Bobbie Jo, of Lynden, Wash.; a niece, Cindy Cahill and her husband, Chip, of Bellevue, Wash.; and several grand-nephews and nieces. She was preceded in death by a sister, Elina Starr; and a brother, Herman Haggren.
LAILA HEIKKILALaila Hilja Heikkila passed away in Portland Febraury 24th at the age of 83. She was born October 22, 1924 in Kuusamo, Finland --the youngest sibling in a family of eight children. As a young woman during World War II, she worked as a nurse in Finland. Folowing the war, she maintained contact with one or more of the soldiers she had helped as a nurse. Even as recently as last year she received a postcard greeting from one of them. After the war, Laila was empolyed as a baker. Laila's aunt convinced Laila to come to Oregon in 1952. She found work as a watress at Devlins (now Overlook Family Restaurant), Henry Thiele's, and lastly in the Georgian Room of Meier & Frank Co. downtown. Her outgoing personality and personal warmth was well known. She met George Heikkila not long after she arrived in Portland. He was from Clatskanie, Oregon. They were married November 12, 1955. Laila and George joined the Portland Lodge 23 on April 3, 1957. They were especially well known for the laksloda. rice pudding and fruit soup and pulla that they prepared as treats served at programs and potlucks. George passed away in 1994. Laila maintained an active presence both in her neighborhood and in her Lodge. She was known to many children of the area who attended her memorial service as a body on Sunday March 16th at Kaiser Town Hall in Portland as "Mummu". Laila was well respected and loved as was apparent at the large attendance at her memorial service. We all will miss the love and devotion, the kind words and the many good deeds unselfishly performed during her presence with us. Additional note: Laila received her 50 year pin from the Grand Lodge President a year ago
ELMA KEISALA Longtime Woodland resident Elma R. Keisala, 86, died Jan. 25, 2008, in Edmonds, Wash. She was born Feb. 12, 1921, in Red Lodge, Mont., to Eino and Eleanor Saari. She moved to the local area 75 years ago. Mrs. Keisala worked in the poultry business for 20 years. She was known as the "Egg Lady". After retiring, her husband of 36 years, Walter, passed away. To keep busy, she went to work as a pole wrapper at Lamiglass Inc. for 13 years, retiring in 1987. She was a member of the United Finnish Kaleva Brothers & Sisters, Woodland Garden Club and Woodland Senior Center. She loved to knit and crochet sweaters and afghans for loved ones. She was happy and always smiling. She loved family gatherings and oldtime music. Mrs. Keisala is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Karen and George Buxton of Edmonds; seven grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren. She is also survived by a sister, Betty Youngblood of Longview; and a brother, Bob Wallila of Woodland. In addition to her husband, Mrs. Keisala was preceded in death by a son, Walter Jr.; a grandson, Adrien; a granddaughter, Merna; a great-granddaughter, Katie; a brother, Leonard; and a sister, Viola. MORE: Elma originally joined the United Finnish Kaleva Brothers and Sisters, Lodge #32, Longview-Kelso in April 1982. She dropped her membership for a short time, but was reinstated. Elma was a very pleasant lady and seemed to enjoy her time with our lodge. It was only in the past year that she had fallen and moved to Edmonds, WA to receive care and assistance from her daughter. She will be missed from our midst.
HELEN ROOD Lifelong Woodland resident Helen Ida Rood, 89, passed away Jan. 9, 2008, at a Vancouver Hospice. She was born June 20, 1918, in Portland to Jacob and Ina (Tapani) Filla. Helen was a homemaker. She was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary Portland Unit #1 and the United Finnish Kaleva Brothers and Sisters. She enjoyed gardening and her family. Helen made two trips to Finland to visit relatives. Helen was easygoing - just rolled with the punches. She was very caring and compassionate towards others and will be remembered for her gentle smile. Her first husband, Arne Reijonen, preceded her after 28 years of marriage. Her second husband, Bob Rood, preceded her after 38 years of marriage. She is survived by two sons, Albert Reijonen of Portland and Bobby Reijonen of Woodland; two daughters, Esther Chambers and Bonnie Reijonen, both of Woodland; a brother, Eino Filla of LaCenter; a sister, Gertie O'Brien of Woodland; 14 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. In addition to her husbands, she was preceded by a daughter, Betty Mackey. MORE: Helen joined the United Finnish Kaleva Brothers and Sisters, Lodge #32, Longview-Kelso on May 9, 1996. She faithfully attended meetings and took part in extra activities planned by the lodge. As noted in her obituary, she was very easygoing and not too vocal……just enjoying the fellowship at the meetings and activities. She was joined in membership by her two daughters and her sister. We will miss her smiling face. The family had looked forward to celebrating her 90th birthday in June 2008, but that was not to be. Our condolences to the family.
|
11128_3-9852832-54.html?tag=more
QUICK LINKS
Grand Lodge President's Message
LODGE NOTES
Cook's Corner (read to end)