The Ely Ladies of Kaleva celebrated their 120th anniversary on Dec. 9 with food, exhibits, and music. Guest speakers included Sally Koski, the current emanta (hostess) of the group, Jimmy Johnson, Honorary Finnish Consul, and Steve Solkela, who provided Finnish and festive music. Over 30 Kaleva members and interested community members attended the celebration to learn about and celebrate the Ely Ladies of Kaleva organization.
In July of 1905, the official charter for the Ely Ladies of Kaleva Vellamon Tupa #4 was signed by Kaleva Grand Lodge officials, making them an official Kaleva Tupa. The Grand Lodge is the overarching organization of the Kaleva movement. The Ely Ladies of Kaleva were the fourth recognized Kaleva Tupa in the nation and the first Tupa chartered in Minnesota. In Finnish “tupa” means “cottage” or “Finnish farmhouse living room.”
Men’s and women’s Kaleva groups were founded by John Stone (Johannes Oxelstein) who was born in Oulu, Finland. John Stone immigrated to Tower, MN in 1887 but moved to Montana soon after. The Knights of Kaleva, founded in 1898, was considered a brotherhood and a fraternal organization. Six years later, the Ladies of Kaleva was established (1904).
In 1916 the Grand Lodge Convention was held in Ely and ran for six days. Representation at the convention was limited to one delegate from each of the 30 recognized tupas at that time. In it’s prime, the Ladies of Kaleva movement grew to 67 tupas across the US and Canada with a total membership of 969. The ladies sponsored activities such as sewing groups, Finnish choirs, and youth leagues known as Junior Kaleva. Ely continued to play a prime role in the Kaleva organization when they hosted the 50th anniversary convention in 1948.
Each Ladies of Kaleva Tupa has a signed charter, which makes them official. The Ely Tupa retains its original charter which is still in its original frame.
Initially, members needed to be of Finnish heritage and to speak, read, and write Finnish. If a Kaleva group admitted people who couldn’t meet those requirements, the groups were required to provide instruction to ensure their membership could meet the requirements. Today, anyone interested in Finnish heritage can be a member of the Kaleva organization.
Ely’s Ladies of Kaleva Vellamon Tupa #4 formed in 1904. Ely also had a men’s group (maija) which was active until 2002 or 2003. The Ely Kaleva men and women jointly owned/managed several properties in the Ely area. The Kaleva Hall building (currently 5 Pines Candle Company on Chapman Street) was the official meeting space with official ritual inlaid markings on the floor. Meetings were held twice a month in the second-floor meeting room.
One aim of the Kaleva groups (men and women) was to promote Finnish heritage to younger people. One way they did this was to purchase four lots on Burntside Lake off of the VanVac Road which they called Kaleva Bay. The men paid for the construction of a lodge building and the women paid for the construction of the men’s and women’s sauna. Kaleva Bay was a summer social area which also included a youth camp.
The Junior Kalevas was organized in 1930s. Members were between 10 and 16 years old who had at least one Finnish parent. Membership peaked at 30 members. The group disbanded in 1945 (due to WW II). Since the1970’s the property has been privately owned by Walt and Norma Leino.
Ely Ladies have been active in collecting and shipping clothing for the Finnish Relief effort, sending over 32 sacks of clothing and one box of shoes to needy families in Finland. Over the years the Ely Ladies sewed women’s clothing, knitted over 52 pair of white mittens for the Finnish ski patrol, knitted socks, contributed money to the Finnish Red Cross, and sponsored Finnish war orphans.
From the beginning, the mission of the Ladies of Kaleva is to preserve, promote, and foster the Finnish heritage, develop a spirit of open sisterhood, assist members in need, promote higher education and encourage good citizenship.
Historically the Ely Ladies of Kaleva have sponsored plays and programs about Finnish heritage, purchased books about Finland for the library, and sponsored a Finnish choir.
Past members had longevity in the group and included Senja Maki (74 years of membership), Jennie Manni (74 years of membership), Helen Lakner and Delores Karasti (46 years of membership). Member Luella Maki won the National Pillsbury Bake-off and shared her electric range with the tupa. Current long-term members are Judy Swenson (42 years), Doreen Packila (19), Dorothy Akins (13), and Joan Luhta (13 years).
More recently the Ely Ladies of Kaleva have welcomed women interested in Finnish culture to become a member. The current membership includes women who are Pulla/biscuit and Finnish tart makers, rug weavers, knitters, and people just interested in Finnish culture.
The group has shared programs with the broader Ely community such as Pikku-Joulu Celebrations, Finnish Christmas traditions, and why Finns are consistently rated the happiest people. On a monthly basis, the Ely Ladies have short programs which have focused on Juhannus Celebrations, the Finnish Baby Box, genealogy, Finnish music, making birchbark knife sheaths,and recipe exchanges and potlucks.
True to our mission, the Ely Ladies of Kaleva continue to focus on supporting groups in need such as Ely Community Resources, Northwoods Partners (tree and donations), the Ely Area Food Shelf, Contented Critters, Cripple Critter Ranch, Ely Community Health Center, and Ely Senior Center (now Ely Community Center). We are supporters of the Ely Bloomenson Community Hospital, Sisu Heritage, FinnFest, the Finlandia Foundation and Concordia Language Village. The Ely Ladies are co-sponsors of the Finnish Sauna Exhibit and the Ely-Winton Historical Society.
Meetings are currently the third Tuesday of the month at the Ely Community Center from 1 to 3 p.m. Each meeting consists of a short program, business meeting, coffee an’. Anyone interested in learning more about the Ely Ladies of Kaleva can contact Sally Koski at 218760-2036.
