Juho Vierunketo-Porraslahti-Isomaki was born in Toysa, Finland, December 12, 1858.

As a young man Juho met and married a village girl, Anna Kaisa Savolainen, who

was born July 11, 1862. Juho was the third child born to Juho Kustaa Lamminmaki-

Vierunketo and because the oldest son of the family inherited the land, the younger

children often left home and worked for others. Another tradition of the time was for

a person to have the name of the farm as their last name. That is why Juho had had at

least three last names. After their marriage, Juho and Anna Kaisa built a house and

the placed was called Isomaki (Big Hill).

In 1898 Juho left for America. Through the Homestead Act Juho received 160 acres

of land, near the western shore of Lake Superior, in the area known as Misery Bay,

eight miles east of Toivola, Michigan. At that time Misery Bay was a wilderness area

and Juho had to walk through the forest to his new homestead. According to the

Homestead Act rules Juho was required to clear a certain percentage of the land within five years.

To help in his efforts and to earn cash, Juho worked for Matti Perala, who owned a sawmill

in the area. Juho proved to Mr. Perala that he was a good and trustworthy worker and Mr. Perala

lent the necessary money so that Juho could send for his wife, Anna Kaisa

and their children; Nestor, Albin and Senia, who Juho had not seen for four years.

While the Anna and the children were waiting for Juho to send for them, the family

had to move into the city of Tampere, an industrial city, where the family worked

hard. The oldest son, Nestor, at age eleven worked as a street sweeper, as well

as sweeping the floors of factories.

Juho's wife and children arrived in the Copper Country in 1902 and temporarily stayed with

relatives named Heikkinen in Wolverine, a mining location north of Calumet. After a few

weeks Juho brought his family to Misery Bay. Because there still were no roads,

they traveled from the Calumet area to Misery Bay by boat. Landing near the

mouth of the Misery River, Juho and Anna Kaisa and the three children carried all their

belongings through the forest to their new home. They arrived at a small, humble

dwelling Juho had built. To prepare for the arrival of his family, Juho had neighbor

ladies clean and prepare the home. Obviously the house needed a woman's touch

because the women later remarked that they even found fish bones on the floor.

It became obvious that the house was too small for Juho and his family. His

young children were now nearly adults. With the help of Nestor, the oldest son,

and the rest of the family, Juho built an addition to the home, using from skills with

the broadaxe, which they had learned in Finland. Although Nestor was only

eighteen years old it was obvious that he was a skilled kirvesmies (a broadaxe

carpenter). As more Finnish immigrants moved into the area Nestor Maki

(shortened from Isomaki) gained a repution of being one of the best kirvesmies

in the area.

In 1912 Nestor met and married Anna Autio, a twenty-one year old Finnish immigrant

from the parish of Lappajarvi. In keeping with Finnish tradition, Anna moved into the house

of Nestor's parents. Close to the time that Anna moved into the Maki home Anna Kaisa,

Nestor's mother, became ill with cancer and passed away in 1913. During her illness

the newly-wed Anna cared for her mother-in-law, being there was no doctor or other help.

After Anna Kaisa died, Juho, along with his son, Arne, moved to a log cabin on the shore of

Lake Superior.

Altogether Nestor and Anna had eight children, including my grandmother, Vieno

Eveliina (Evelyn). In addition to being a master kirvesmies, Nestor was lucky since

he had many talents. He forged iron into farm implements, including tongs and also

made other things necessary for farming and living in the wilderness. During the

winters when there was less to do on the farm, Nestor worked in the logging camps

to earn cash for the family. While working there he came home once a month,

walking twenty miles round trip. He had to carry a gun for protection from the bear

and coyotes.

Among the farm buildings which Nestor built, was the kesakokki (summer kitchen).

The family used the kesakokki during the summer, so the main house would not get

hot from the wood stove. According to Grandma Evelyn Olson, the main house

never got too hot, because Nestor's fine log buildings stayed cool due to the

thick log walls. In the winter these buildings stayed warm for the same reason.

Farming was hard due to the lack of technology. Heavy work, such as plowing fields

and pulling stumps, was done by horses. Nestor had a horse, named "Tuppu". Later

on farmers began using tractors. Being a "jack of all trades", Nestor made his own

"jukkeri" out of an old truck. He also made his own grapple hooks, which he hooked

to the jukkeri, pulling the hay stacks to the top of the barn and into the loft.

Nestor only had a few years of education, but he taught himself English by reading

magazines. He encouraged the young to get educations so that they wouldn't have to

work as hard as he did. Nestor and a neighbor walked to the county seat in Ontonagon

to request money for the first Misery Bay School, which Nestor helped build with his

own hands.

The Maki family wasn't wealthy, but they got through life using their skills and knowledge

which they obtained through hard work and determination. In 1978 my grandparents,

Stuart and Evelyn Olson traveled to Finland for the first time. It was exciting for Evelyn

to visit Toysa, meet relatives and visit the places where family members had lived.

The house at Isomaki, where Juho and Anna Kaisa had lived was gone, but the ruins of a

grainery remained, although the roof had fallen in. There on the wall one of Evelyn's

cousins found a large, hand-forged key, which they presented to Evelyn, saying the

key had been waiting for her to come. Once back in America, Grandpa Stuart mounted the

special key on a piece of worn board from the sauna which Nestor had built,

combing two pieces of history of the Maki family - one from Finland and one from

America.

Brooks Olson

9th Grade - Houghton High School, Houghton, Michigan