Dear Members, Summer of 2009
During the past year I have been in touch with many of
you – something I appreciate very much. Thank you for your letters, phone calls
and visits. Our members abroad are such an important link to our work at the
Emigrant Institute. I am also very aware that some of you may expect a personal
letter, but please forgive me... From this newsletter you can see that this
year has been exceptionally busy.
Alaska
trip in September 2008
Last September I had the privilege of meeting some of
you in person on my visit to Seattle and Alaska. It was a wonderful tour
arranged by the Institute of Migration in Finland, in Åbo/Turku. Thanks to
friends and contacts of Maria Enckell, M.F.A. and well-known Russian-American
Company researcher, so many doors were opened for our group. We met much kindness
and hospitality wherever we went. It was a journey I will always treasure and
remember. Everyone whom we met, I wish to thank you all again for all your
goodness towards us. During our journey we met many people with roots in Åland
and also people who were closely linked to our “Russian exhibit” (see below).
We also went to Seattle. There it was possible for me
to visit the Nordic Museum, the former Nordic Heritage Museum. It was a very
important visit. If all works out as we wish, our “Russian exhibit” about Swedish
Finns in St. Petersburg and in the Russian Empire, nowadays called “1721-1922: Two
Centuries of Finnish Labor Migration to Imperial Russia”, will be on display on
the premises of the Nordic Museum in the summer of 2010. Everyone living in
Seattle or in the vicinity of Seattle we sincerely hope will find the interest to
view this exhibit next summer.
In Seattle I also met the artist Phil Fagerholm. Some
of his artwork we packed into two big suitcases which I took back on the plane to
Åland for the exhibit “Åland →
America footprints Warner Sallman
♦ Phil Fagerholm ♦ Haddon Sundblom – peddling messages – “
in Åland in September 2009. It meant my luggage on the plane was overweight –
but it was really worth it.
Exhibitions during 2008 and 2009
By now our “Russian exhibition” has been displayed in
Helsingfors twice, at the Institute of Migration’s Ostrobothnian Regional
Centre in Peräseinäjoki, in Hangö as well as in Malmö, in southern Sweden,
where Maria Enckell and I presented it at Sweden’s Coalition of Genealogical
Societies’ year-end conference in August 2008.
In September 2008 the Emigrant Institute together with
the Åland Maritime Museum borrowed an exhibit from the Institute of Migration featuring
the Titanic, which sank on its maiden
voyage. Three Ålanders who were drowned in this terrible accident were in focus
for the exhibition. In March 2009 the Titanic exhibit was displayed once more at
Föglö library, where at Christmas time of 2008 the exhibit “Haddon Sundblom’s American Christmas” had been on display – the
very right place for it as Haddon Sundblom’s ancestors came from the community
of Föglö. This exhibit featuring Sundblom’s Santa Claus created for the
Coca-Cola Company was originally produced by the Emigrant Institute and
displayed at the Åland Museum during Christmas Season of 2007.
In October / November 2008 the exhibit “In the Footsteps of Nicholas Delin: the
Swedish Presence in Tacoma and Pierce County – 1850-1996” was put up at the
Åland Museum. This exhibit was produced
for the celebrations of the Swedish Immigration Sesquicentennial 1996-97 and
was originally displayed at the Tacoma Library. At the opening ceremony at the
Åland Museum Brian Magnusson, of Tacoma and whom some of you know for sure,
gave a lecture featuring the Swedish emigrants / immigrants, their lives and history
in the region to a crowded and most fascinated audience.
The annual meeting of the Emigrant Institute Society was
held on April 26. Erik Lindholm was
unanimously re-elected President of the Emigrant Institute Society for another
term. This year John Malmquist, who returned to Åland in 2000 after 45 years in
New York, was appointed Honorary Member of the Åland Islands Emigrant Institute
Society. The Institute also officially thanked Lars Birger Blomqvist for his
assistance and support in benefit of the Institute for so many years and in so
many ways.
The Membership Fee of 2009
The membership fee for 2009 is 10 euro, the same as
last year. The fee can be paid to the account of the Åland Islands Emigrant
Institute at Ålandsbanken (ÅAB 660100-1206770) in Mariehamn or by sending a
cheque. It is also possible to pay for two or three years at the same time if
you find it more practical. New members are very welcome.
The
Emigrants’ Day of 2008 and of 2009
The Emigrants’ Day of 2008 was celebrated at Pellas shipmaster’s
homestead, today a museum, in Lemland. The Åland descendant Patty Conroy from
California gave a lecture about her comprehensive and most fascinating research
on the Lundberg family and her great grandmother Mina Lundberg, who had a life
full of hardships but was a most admirable woman. Patty Conroy, her husband
Bill, cousin Gail and husband Duane Dower came for their first visit to Åland
to see their Lundberg relatives. I can tell their visit was as much welcome as
awaited by all and everyone and the old Pellas cowshed was really crowded not
only by relatives but also by members of the Society, as well as other guests. We
listened to music from a violin and an accordion, were told the captivating
history of the Pellas farm, not least about the devastating fire at Christmas
2005, had coffee and sandwich and then, in the end, had the opportunity to see
the newly reopened museum which was just beautiful!
This year’s Emigrants’ Day will be celebrated quite
late, in the end of August or in the beginning of September. Artist Phil
Fagerholm of Seattle will tell us about his artwork and the Art/Not Terminal Gallery
he has been an active member of all since it started in 1988. The reason why we
have chosen Godby Hotel in Finström for this year’s event is that it is run by
Phil’s relative Kjell Fagerholm.
At the Emigrant Institute we are arranging two
seminars this coming autumn. The first one, on September 22-24, is in many
ways very special. It got its starting point when we planned an exhibit
featuring the work of the three Åland descendants, artists Warner Sallman, Phil
Fagerholm and Haddon Sundblom, now called “Åland → America footprints Warner
Sallman ♦ Phil Fagerholm ♦ Haddon Sundblom – peddling messages
– “. Here prints of originals by Sundblom and Sallman as well as original
artwork by Phil Fagerholm will play an important part. For the conference we
have invited five panel experts from the USA who will discuss the impact of
these three Åland descendants on the culture of the North American continent. During the conference we will visit the homesteads of
Warner Sallman and Haddon Sundblom in Föglö one day and the next day we will
make an excursion to the homesteads of Phil Fagerholm’s ancestors in Jomala and
Geta. We are delighted that the artist Phil Fagerholm of
Seattle will attend the conference in person. We are very much looking forward
to this conference we think will be most fascinating. (Please see enclosed information)
The second conference will take place in Autonomous
Åland Islands’ Government Building on October 9-11. When, in March 2007, we
heard the XVth Swedish Language Family History
Conference, by-annually arranged by the Genealogical Society of Finland, was
not yet decided where to take place the Emigrant Institute offered to host this
big event, and our offer was accepted! Now we find ourselves organizing a big
conference for 150-200 people – or even more! – in cooperation with the
Genealogical Society of Finland, the Provincial Archives of Åland, the G-Group
– Genealogy across the Baltic (Sweden) as well as the Nordic Association on the
Åland Islands. We have worked on the programme and the arrangements for months.
As this year of 2009, two centuries have passed since the Kingdom of Sweden
lost its Eastern part, today’s Finland, to the Russian Empire in the war of
1808-1809, we wanted to celebrate this historical event and planned the
Conference much wider than usually. The heading of the Conference is “1809-2009:
Contacts tied – untied – retied” and covers the whole time span of history
of the past two centuries. (Please see www.eminst.net for information).
We are happy to tell that Britt Lundberg, the Åland Minister of Culture, will
open the Conference and the Keynote Speaker will be Helen Jane Knagg Simeonoff,
artist and genealogist of Anchorage, Alaska. I had the privilege of meeting
Helen on my visit to Alaska last fall. By meeting her the poster on the Knagg
family in our “Russian exhibition” became even more alive to me, and hopefully
Helen got to know a little more about her ancestors in Finland!
During the Conference the partakers have the unique opportunity
to view three of the Emigrant Institute’s exhibits, the “Russian exhibition”, “Haddon
Sundblom’s American Christmas” as well as the exhibit “Åland → America footprints...”.
As you can see we have a very challenging programme
here at the Emigrant Institute this autumn. I wish that all of you could come
over and take part in it. I also hope to see all of you when we come to Seattle
with our “Russian exhibition” next summer. Please remember, whenever you come
to the Åland Islands you are always welcome to drop in at the Emigrant
Institute. We are situated in the centre of Mariehamn just waiting for you to
show up. – Wishing you all all the best!
The Åland Islands
Emigrant Institute, Norra Esplanadgatan 5, AX-22100 Mariehamn, Åland, Finland e-mail: emi.inst@aland.net ph. +358-(0)18-13325