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After conducting a funeral in Ironwood today, the family invited me to join them for a luncheon after the service at Little Finland. I've driven past Little Finland often, but never realized exactly what it is. Today I learned that is a cultural center and gathering place established to celebrate and preserve the heritage of the thousands of Finnish immigrants who settled in the Penokee Iron Range on the south shore of Lake Superior beginning in the 1880s. They came to work in local iron mines and to establish small farms in a region similar to their Finnish homeland. The focal point of Little Finland is a 1970's era log building that houses a gathering room for meetings and parties on the upper level and gift shop on the lower level. A pavilion and picnic tables outside the main building provide a beautiful outdoor setting for summer gatherings -- like our gathering today. Though they were closed today, I was able to peek through the windows of a couple of hundred year old historical homes and a traditional Finnish sauna that have been located on the property. Each of the homes were decorated with period furniture and artifacts. Though it is a small organization, it preserves an important aspect of local history and I look forward to stopping in again to learn more and look around the inside all of the buildings. read more
