Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Iron County Paisano Club president Joe Walesewicz (right) calls bingo during the National Finnish American Festival annual membership potluck on Sunday. His wife Dorothy helps out marking the bingo balls.
By JEAN NORDINE
KIMBALL - News of the good life on the Penokee Iron Range brought Finnish immigrants here as early as 1887. By 1900, native born Finns were the largest ethnic group seeking a new life on the Range. Not only were there many Finns in the area but a smaller group of Italians as well.
Descendants of those early settlers gathered together on Sunday when the National Finnish American Festival invited the Gogebic and Iron County Paisano Club to their annual membership potluck at Little Finland.
About thirty Finns and Italians gathered together for the social event which meant there was a bountiful spread of delicious food and desserts served. After lunch they enjoyed 20 games of bingo. Iron County's Paisano Club president Joe Walesewicz called the numbers while his wife, Dorothy took care of the board.
The log building known as Little Finland was built in 1970 is used as a cultural center to preserve the area's Finnish heritage.
