Charlie,

I am a friend of Donn de Yampert and a recent newcomer to Pasty.net and the photos. (My father and daughter were in the photo on Thanksgiving day.) This photo that is approximately 25-30 years old and was taken at the summer home of Jack Stevens, during a winter outing. We would go to the camp in the winter, turn on the water and light the sauna and go snowmobiling once a year. Jack has had many, many people at his home in the summer. Groups such as the Kiwanis, the Rotary, Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly, the Houghton High School Alumni Assoc. (known to them as Fort Stevens) and many more were always welcomed to share his home and his hospitality. He would even invite 200 plus to his "camp" in the summer to come for strawberry shortcake on the 4th of July and to watch fireworks that he purchased for the enjoyment of his friends. His winter activities included a 200+ invitation to his friends for a get together in his home in Houghton on New Years' Eve, complete with shrimp and champagne. Please note this is also the Jack Stevens that the snowmobile trail is named after. Excuse my ramblings, now back to the photo at hand.

Art Hill, a former Suomi College professor and renowned musician was known to spend more time in our sauna than anyone else, weekly in the summer. He would spend 20 min in the sauna, then 20 min in the lake with his toes floating above the water. He would continue this process for many hours and then would finally come in to eat with the family. At this particular winter outing he was making an attempt to come in for a bite to eat when he fell through the snow. He graciously waited while someone ran in to get a camera and hence we have this great photo. Art was a man with Sisu and one that many looked up to.

I am the child in the background with the snowsuit on.

Thank you for all that you do for the U.P. and those who love the Copper Country but can not be here.

Julie

Thanks pasty.net for "cooling me off" this morning with the photo of Mr. Hill (and my sister in the background!!)
Mr. Hill was the only one I know that truly relaxed and enjoyed his sauna and swim, or "jump in the snow."
I grew up with this photo on our changing room wall... you can see it has yellowed over the years!!

It is great to see people with with that much resolve (Sisu). If you let some California marketing type get this photo, they would immediately label this activity "Extreme" Sauna-ing and start a magazine and somehow it would become a routine hazing procedure for many college fraternities. Only a few people can handle this shock on the system. I love winter, the U.P., saunas, burning hot Thai food, but this activity is far beyond my sisu level. Hats off to those who can. I'd love to watch from a safe distance but not close enough to risk being thrown in!

A first time posting for me as a result of that great picture! We are displaced Yoopers... who have lived on the west (Lake Gogebic) AND the east (Sault Ste. Marie) end of the UP with a daughter who graduated from Tech. We love our sauna and enjoy coaxing "first timers" into a roll in the snow! Our daughter told us about your great site... and I have visited daily and always look forward to the next photo! Keep them coming!

oi minun hyvyys! What a wonderful picture of Mr. Hill, an icon at Suomi College.

I have vivid memories of jumping in the snow myself after sauna. For some reason, the memories are warmer than the actual jump was! Here in CA, people say "saw-na" and have no idea how wonderful, relaxing and revitalizing they can be. The keep the heat low and humidity high. Jukuri's Sauna could show them a thing or two!

Wednesday night saunas at Oiva Niemi's was a tradition for years. Many people passed through this little building, many jumps in the snowbank, many quarts drank, and many friendships forged.
THen it was to Malnar's for pool and more fun.

What a great picture of our distinguished, ever proper, Arthur Hill! He was at Suomi when I was there and we students would have been absolutely astounded to see this picture of him cooling off in the snowbank. Whee! I wonder if anyone has some fun photo of Pop Lehto who,in his own inimitable way reminded me chewing gum in his 8 a.m. Accounting Principles class was totally unacceptable behavior. Throughout my various college/ university experiences, only my times, activities, and educators at Suomi (now Finlandia) remain so firmly etched in my memories.

It's touching to read poignant comments by so many former Yoopers who remember the "good old days" with wishes to be back in what we used to call "God's Country." Thanks for the photos and best wishes to all. A²

When I was a teenager growing up in Lake Linden, I took piano, and then organ lessons from Professor Hill. They were wonderful introductions to playing Bach on both instruments. I can still hear his voice, but I was very shy and quite intimidated by this kind, dignified, superb musician. Never would have imagined this other side of him! Thanks for this.

Great pic, though I cringe at the "quarter century ago" headline - that's when I graduated from MTU and I don't feel THAT old!

Great comments about proper saunas, too, which I miss dearly. At the fitness club I attend (where the anemic heater can barely get it up to "warm"), not only is it pronouced incorrectly but people fan the door to cool it off so it can be used as a warm dressing room. Sigh. Thanks for the vicarious enjoyment!

The last time I was at Jukuri's Sauna was back in the late 50s. I think it was 50 cents. The place looks pretty deserted now. I told my uncle Hubert Jolgren once that it had been 15 years since my last sauna and he told me, "Wow, you must be dirty!" :o) Loved that when the sauna thermometer was over 180 degrees.

Thanks for the great photo. We knew Art Hill from Maranatha church. We enjoy this website greatly and are looking forward to being back in the UP someday.

I used to use Jukuri's sauna in the late 80's it was increased to $3.00, but I think that was still fair......wish it was still there for us "urban" (lake linden) yoopers without their own!

That would be my dad, thanks Julie! His love for sauna will never be forgotten. He called it his Sanctification Room (because it steamed the h*** out of him). heh heh. And check out that ancient Ski Doo in the background! I think that is the one that ran over the hedge behind my dad while I was supposed to be driving it.

Hi Mike and Kathy!

I too remember Art Hill from my Maranatha days. I only wish I had spoken to him about his love for the sauna. Unknown to me, at least, was that "other" mutual love.
I will also note my opinion of the absolute first place pick for QUALITY SAUNA; that would have to be Tauno and Toini Kilpela's in Atlantic Mine. Certainly - SAUNA EXTRAORDINARE!!!

Yup that's my dad! The same one who got marks on his report card for goofing around in class to much... I miss him.

Thank you Julie!

Dear old Dad - yep Rebecca & Vicki he didn't
want us to know how much trouble he got in in
school, until we were DONE with it, at the very
least!

heh heh...

JK,

You mentioned some names I have not heard in a long time!

Are you an former Ahmeek resident? What is your name? email me at jam81289@peoplepc.com (I grew up in Ahmeek Location)....

Unfortunately, Jukari's Sauna suffered from fire a few years ago and hasn't been open since! I miss Jukari's greatly when I come back to see my mom in Hubbell - that was always my treat. However, my husband and I built one of our own last year, so I can sauna every Saturday night now. Not much snow to jump in so far this year though. We have to make do with an ice-cold bucket of water on the porch of the sauna instead, but it works. Nothing quite like a good sauna!

What a fantastic picture!

Though I never knew Professor Hill, I am good buddies with his son, Karl. Like his father, Karl is an accomplished musician and a world-renowned maker of French horns (known as "Kortesmaki" horns - what could be more Finnish?!)

And it was Karl who first introduced me to the concept of Sisu. This photo of his dad says it all!

The" resolve" that Maestro Arthur Hill demonstrated in his music making, left no doubt about the inner strength he possessed: He had the ability to require (and get) from his choirs the quality of sound that he believed in. Nevertheless, I too was stunned by this photo. And his three-year-old great granddaughter examining the image (and grasping the incongruity) blurted out: "But he has no winter clothes on!"

One further item will cast a bit more light on this man’s unique metabolic profile: he was the only person I ever met who, each evening, drank an entire pot of coffee in order to rouse himself sufficiently to fall asleep.

An awed son-in-law in balmy California

This photo brought back many good memories. As good friends of one of Art's daughters, I was fortunate to be invited over on a regular basis to thier home sauna on Minnesota Street in Hancock. I remember 1 or 2 times trying our hand at snow sitting in the back yard - but I'm sure we had much less Sisu than Art! Afterwards, there was always plenty of popcorn, Art's homemade rootbeer & laughter to rehydrate & restore the weary body. It's a wonderful memory I treasure & a tradition I am continuing with my own family - albeit the rootbeer is not near as tasty!

What a pleasant surprise to find this wonderful photograph of Art Hill on my monitor. Who could ever forget Professor Hill? My Suomi College days were all about singing in the choir. The Spring trip to Florida remains one of the great milestones of my college life. I, too, was honored to be invited to the Hill house for sauna, rootbeer, and conversation. I remember Art as a man of immense imagination. He not only knew how to ask a question; but how to listen to an answer. In this age of the "Electronic Leash" Art understood that a man isn't worth much if he lets his brain outpace the growth of his heart. Thanks for the memories. I needed this pleasant surprise.

What a great picture. To all the Hill women, I feel like I have met your dad now. I sure wish I had what it takes to do the steam and roll-in-the-snow. Having been (really) sick for the last 2.5 weeks I sure could use the h*** sauna'd out of me! In this photo life seems so simply sweet and serene up there in the UP. A taste I could get used to. Thanks for sharing.

I took some music classes from Arthur Hill
and sang in his choir. I also took piano
lessons from his first wife who was a lovely
lady.

Mr. Hill was about the best choir director
I have ever seen. He demanded the best from
us, and usually got it. His classes were hard
but I learned a lot.

I never saw this side of Arthur Hill but enjoyed
this picture immensely.

What a surprise to see Arthur Hill's picture as I was surfing pasty.net for the very first time. I graduated from Suomi in 1946 and had musical training from him as well as from Martti Nisonen. Also, Art sang at my wedding a little over 50 years ago when the scheduled soloist coudn't attend. He was also a neighbor but I left the UP in the fall of '46 and have been back only for visits (and my wedding!). Thanks for the photo and the memories!