CX EST. 1906 La Palma, California December 2016 Number 4 www.orderofruneberg.org

Genealogy Corner.....................................4

Lodge News..............................................6

Victor Gasstrom........................................11

WHAT’S INSIDE:

continued on page 2

Of course, as mentioned inthe June issue, “Finland’s bigyear is 2017.”

From the Home page of thewebsite, http://suomifinland100.fi/info/?lang=en, created by the FinnishPrime Minister’s Office:Finland became an independentstate on 6 December 1917. Thenewly born state was willed intobeing by the Finns after a longstruggle. In spite of hard times,the Finnish people have for ahundred years engaged in thebuilding of their country andmaking decisions together. Nowthe Finns are leading their coun-try into a new century with cour-age and determination.

The centenary of Finland’sindependence in 2017 will be themost significant commemora-tive year for this generation ofFinns. It will provide opportuni-ties to better understand thepast, experience the jubilee to-gether, and set the course forFinland’s future success.”

If you have not already doneso, you may sign up for thenewsletter, “Finland 100 years.”Sign-up is easy to do. From theFinlandia Foundation National

www.finlandiafoundation.org/finland-100/.

You may also select / view all10 of the newsletters publishedto date at the following website:http://suomifinland100.fi/info/?lang=en

Welcome Centenary of Finland’s Independence in 2017!

Wishing our membersin Canada, Finland,

and USA aMerry Christmas,

and for 2017,a Happy New Year!The most recent newsletter

was the June issue. – Some ex-amples of topics covered in theJune newsletter:

(FFN) website:

New Year’s Eve and theparty of the century!

Finland’s centenary celebra-tions as an independent nationwill be launched in Finland andelsewhere in the world on NewYear’s Eve on 31 December 2016.The day-long festivities inHelsinki will culminate in theparty of the century to whicheveryone is invited. You will alsohave the opportunity to watchthe event on TV. The celebrationof the 100th anniversary of Finn-ish independence begins on NewYear’s Eve, Saturday, 31 Decem-ber 2016. The party beginsaround noon near Helsinki’sTöölönlahti Bay and culminatesin the Party of the Century atKansalaistori Square between9:00 p.m. and 01:00 a.m. Expectan historical and unforgettableevening with a great programmein the heart of Finland’s capital– even the main street,Mannerheimintie, will turn into

2 December 2016

The Leading Star / LedstjärnanEditors: Dale and Mary Lou Hjort

Address all correspondence to:

Postmaster: Send changes of address to:

The Leading Star,Attn: Dale & Mary Lou Hjort

7682 Tracy LaneLa Palma, CA 90623-1501

Telephone/Fax: 714-739-0932Email: d.mlhjort@juno.com

Correspondents: Information received by the firstFriday of the quarterly month or as noted will beincluded in that quarter’s issue.

To correct our listing of your address, fill in therequested information in the form to the right andsend your old mailing label to:

The Leading Star is published quarterly by theOrder of Runeberg for its members and others interested in theOrder at 7682 Tracy Lane, La Palma, California 90623-1501.

Dale & Mary Lou Hjort 7682 Tracy Lane

La Palma, CA 90623-1501

Name:_____________________________________________

Street:_____________________________________________

City:_______________________________________________

State:______________________________ Zip_____________

Lodge & Number:____________________________________

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–DH

continued from page 1

a dance floor! At midnight, withthe magnificent fireworks showat Töölönlahti Bay, the 100th an-niversary year of Finland’s inde-pendence will officially begin.The dazzling display will take thespectators on a tour through Fin-land and its four seasons. Thedisplay will be visible throughoutthe event area. After the fire-works show, the party continuesat Kansalaistori Square until01:00. Finland 100 cultural high-lights abroad

Finland celebrates indepen-dence centenary in 2017. The cel-ebrations also reach beyondFinland’s borders: the big year iscelebrated at least in 70 differ-

ent countries and on five differ-ent continents.

In the USA and Canada, fromFFN’s July newsletter:“Finlandia Foundation Nationalagrees that the 100th anniversaryof Finland’s independence issomething to celebrate for its his-torical, cultural, and contempo-rary significance, and a chance torecognize and build awareness ofFinnish America, as well. We areencouraged by the interest ofFFN chapters and other organi-zations in planning Finland 100events and activities across theU.S. Finlandia Foundation Na-tional will also host significantprograms honoring the centen-nial.”

I suggest going to the FFNwebsite to see their Centenary

Welcome Centenary of Finland’sIndependence in 2017!

Finland 100 in 2017I hope you have read Stew

Lyon’s article about the Centenaryof Finland. One event that is occur-ring in the United States is theTravelling Sauna. The sauna willtravel around the U.S. from Janu-ary 12 starting in Minneapolis, Min-nesota, and ending up in Washing-ton, DC, on December 2. It stops inLos Angeles and San Francisco inMarch. It moves to Portland andAstoria, Oregon, in early April andthen to Seattle at the end of April.The sauna will spend May, June,July, and part of August in the Mid-west before heading east. It will goto New York in September anddown to Atlanta in October. It willbe in Florida in November beforearriving in Washington, DC, in De-cember.

If the sauna happens to travelnearby where you live, you shouldconsider visiting it. For more infor-mation about the Travelling Sauna,visit http://travellingsauna.com.

3 December 2016

Lecturers for Finland 100. http://finlandiafoundation.org/cente-nary-lecturers/

And from another page at theFNN’s website:http://finlandiafoundation.org/finland-100/Finnish Ambassador to theUnited States, Her ExcellencyKirsti Kauppi, and her staff at theEmbassy in Washington, D.C.,have been working with repre-sentatives of local Finnish-American organizations (includ-ing Finlandia Foundation repre-sented by FFN President OssiRahkonen) to plan a series ofevents across the U.S., notably atraveling sauna that will visit atleast a dozen locations through-out 2017. Stew LyonsNew Haven Runeberg Lodge #205

Publication Fund ReportDecember 2016Reporting on September Leading Star costs As with the March & June Leading Star 12-page issues, the September Leading Star 12-page issue costs werereduced compared to the previous 16 -page format.Cost summary of the September 2016 issue of the Leading Star:

September Leading Star issue:Editors’ stipend: $200Graphics: $360LS postage: $188.83 (for 218 copies mailed)Printing: $111.20Total / issue: $860.03

Publication Fund Balances:Balance reported in June 2016 $3,968.16Cost of September 2016 Leading Star $860.03Current Balance, June 2016 $3,108.13

Based on the above costs, it is estimated that the “last Leading Star issue,” to be the June 2017 issue(same as previously projected). Our Leading Star editors have suggested we may be at a point with a future issue of the paper that we go to 8 pages– depending on quantity of content submitted by our lodges. The plan is to look at each issue on a individual basis.Thus, the page count would be 8 or 12 depending on what has been submitted. I agree with the editors Fund Report submitted by Stew Lyons

It is with sadness that we re-member the passing of EnsiMirjam Kronholm, long timemember of our Vancouver Lodge.

Mia Kronholmwas born inKuusankoski,Finland, May4th, 1921. She ispredeceased byh u s b a n dHarry, son Kariand daughterSari. She wasvery active inthe EmmausL u t h e r a n

Church, Order of Runeberg, andthe Finnish Canadian Rest HomeAssociations Women’s Auxiliary. Music was her passion and sheenjoyed singing in many Choirs—Runeberg and Emmaus Choirs ,Finland Conference Choir—tour-ing with them, notably to Finland,Sweden, California, Florida andbeyond.

ObituaryRuneberg Social Club (aka – Vancouver Lodge #124)

Another travel adventure was hermost memorable trip to Israel. Until her passing, she remainedin her own home, driving her carwell into her 80s. She remained ac-tive in as many activities as shecould, as long as she was able. Inher younger years, she was an ac-tivist in many local causes, stand-ing up for things that she feltstrongly about. She had a very kindheart—always anxious to help thosearound her. We will miss herfriendly mannor and her faithfulattendance at our meetings. She leaves to mourn Seija, daugh-ter-in-law (Jari, Mira), grand-daughters Mari (Finland), Ari,Christina, and five great grand chil-dren as well as many friends and

family in both Finland and Canada.

4

Genealogy Corner

June PeloA Dedicated Genealogist

December 2016

It has been the percep-

tion that immigrantsmost of the time chose

professions such as con-struction workers, carpen-ters, farmers, and forestryworkers. During our vaca-tion trip in 1972 we receiveda deeper impression ofAmerica and its treasures,which were in the bowels ofthe earth. Without knowingit, we passed the ore fieldsand mining towns, whichtold us that America was andis a rich country. We visitedthe old unused mine in IronMountain, with an entrancebarely bigger than a regularthreshing house door. Wewere dressed in heavy pro-tective suits and rode on anarrow-gauge railway car-riage. With a constant dripof the waters inside the

mine, it was easy to imaginethe first emigrant’s world

We went back to the1800s when the men fromthe mines broke the ore byhand for over 87 years. Themining town grew into a city.They were tough times, butthe hardest time was alwaysinside the mine. The miningcompany tested whichpeople could endure themost demanding work. TheItalians were considered thestrongest. But they could bedifficult to manage, if theyhad to do their utmost. TheScandinavians were themost resilient. If they soughtwork they could expect to getit.

Already in the 1880s,Swede-Finns began to popu-late the area and emigrationincreased. But the conditionsin the mine were unbearable.The workers succumbed topneumonia and sufferedfrom lung sickness. We haveheard how the emigrantscame home from Americawith miners lung. They wereskinny and pale, theycoughed a lot, until deathended their lives.

Disturbances or strikesbroke out against the longworking day. They hadworked 12–14 hours pershift. Mining companies’representatives wereshocked and threatened withguns and several were killed.They also formed the firstunion, but could not competewith the powerful miningcompanies that started dis-missing all Scandinavians.They were now on the “out-side” and they lived from dayto day. Alcohol had been con-sumed in large quantities.

From our open railwaycarriage we saw the mine asa large egg shell, with anopening in the middle. It wasimpossible to estimate dis-

Reflectionsfrom

our visit toIron

Mountainin 1972

5December 2016

tances. Up there we saw astatue, which is 3.5 metershigh, but looked like a smallplaster doll.

Our train journey in theold mine lasted a little overan hour, but that hour leftthe lasting memory of thefirst emigrants slave laborand what they experienced.The younger generationtook the lessons of the olderand began to work else-where than in the mine,even in other industries thatgrew up. Some of the olderpeople bought land andmoved to work in small in-dustry such as in the oldcountry.

The northern Michigan’sUpper Peninsula as it is of-ten called, is largely betweenLake Michigan to the southand Lake Superior to thenorth and is bordered to thewest by Wisconsin. Naturalresources are good, espe-cially the big forests and theabundant iron ore whichgave dividends. Ourcountrymen’s numberswere particularly high dur-ing the first two decades ofthe 1900s.

The Medical Relief Soci-ety, “Sons of Finland”, wasorganized in 1905. During25 years, it paid $10,675 inmedical assistance and$5,400 in funeral expenses.

Efforts were made severaltimes to achieve a temper-ance society, including ourcompatriots in Iron Moun-tain, but strangely these ef-forts did not lead to lastingresults. Some compatriotsjoined the Swedish Lutherancongregation in Iron Moun-tain.

After the 2-km-long routeinside the dark and dampmine, it was a relief to see thedaylight. When you lookedback at the dark mine gal-lery, one could visualize theendless number of workerswho worked there. Althoughit was 100 years ago since themine was closed, there wasa strong perception of afierce struggle for existence.

Beside the mine was amuseum. Like the rest of thegroup, we visited this. Therewere the helmets withcandles inserted. There wererock drills and heavy ham-

mers, which would beswung all day long, and ev-ery kind of mining equip-ment. Such items were usedin the mine.

The memory of IronMountian has often come tomind. We wanted to hearmore about it, and then fiveyears ago Finnish televisionshowed a film from thatarea. It told us what hap-pened and about the Finns’terrible struggle for exist-ence. We knew well theplace that began scrollingon the screen. The river, thehigh bridge and the valleybelow. A beautiful areawhere we stayed until thefollowing day.

Hilding Widjeskogfrom Emigrantvägar,by Hilding Widjeskogand Ole Granholm

English translation byJune Pelo

Greetings to allfrom Alfred Nelson,Past President WesternDistrict, Coos Bay Lodge

6 December 2016

LODGE NEWSLODGE NEWSLODGE NEWSLODGE NEWSLODGE NEWS

Members & friends of Lodge # 205

Join us for our

Annual Fall Walk & Potluck Dinner Saturday, October 15, 2016Info.:Meet to walk:

2 PM at Hammonasset State Park in Madison, CTMeet in the parking lot on right, just after the entrance booths(sign “to camping area”).

FYI: This walk is on level trails.We will be exploring the new trail recently built.Note that there is no charge for admission in mid-October.1:45 PM at Robert & Tuula Berke’s if dropping-off food4 PM at Robert & Tuula Berke’s if not walking,& coming for the dinner.

Hosts: Robert & Tuula Berke –at their home: 8 Vincent Ct Clinton, CT 06413 map to 8 Vincent Ct Clinton, CT 06413 –not far from Hammonasset ParkThe Berke’s home is at the end of Vincent Ct –the middle driveway of 3 driveways in cul-de-sac.If the driveway is full, park in the cul-de-sac.

Please RSVP (by phone or email) by Thursday, Oct. 13thPhone (M): 203-415-9830Phone (H): 860-669-7404email: tuulaberke@sbcglobal.netPlease bring an appetizer, main dish, side dish,salad or dessert to share.Check back here for updates.

Roy & Marjatta enjoying coffee &conversation

L-R: Sirpa & Leena - enjoying ourLodge event

Lodge #205

New Haven,

Connecticut

7 December 2016

LODGE NEWSLODGE NEWSLODGE NEWSLODGE NEWSLODGE NEWS

On the trail at Hammonasset StatePark, Madison, CTL-R: Marjatta, Tuula, Sirpa,Kirsti. Photo by Inke

View from trail overlooking salt marsh &toward Long Island Sound. Photo by Inke

View from trail overlooking saltmarsh and looking toward LongIsland Sound. Trees on right dis-playing Fall colors.Photo by Inke

L-R: Klas, Tuula, Stew, Lise, Peter

8 December 2016

L-R: Tuula, Leena, and Marjatta enjoyingconversationand the delicious potluckdinner entrees.

Robert & Inke out on the deck overlooking the beautiful yard

Thedesserts!

AnnualFall Walk& PotluckDinner

9 Dectember 2016

L-R: Lise, Roy, Dottie & Stew Business meeting in progress

L-R: Klas, Dottie, Stew, PeterAll enjoying the many delicious

potluck dinner entrees

L-R: Kaarina, Tuula, & Dotie

I am grateful for the chance topresent to the readership of theLeading Star the fascinatingcase of Viktor Gåsström (1885–1969), an immigrant in the USA

in his formative years. Viktor hadan unusually strong conviction inthe cause of socialism, which com-bined with his talent and energy ledhim and his family to very excep-tional back-and-forth migrationsacross the so called Iron Curtainthat divided the West and the So-viet block, in times when this wasimpossible for ordinary people.

In his old age, Viktor wrote fora left leaning newspaper in Finland(Ny Tid) a short autobiographicalarticle about his life, whichsketches the both dramatic andtragic events and turns in his life.These events are undoubtedly true,but certainly Viktor is not giving usthe whole truth. Nevertheless, thattale forms the basis of this articlealso, as other sources only comewith piecewise information. I will,however, try to maintain a criticaleye.

Viktor emigrated to the USA in1906 from Nedervetil in Finland, aSwedish speaking-rural countyclose to the northwestern coast,where emigration was particularlystrong. Viktor settled in New Yorkclose to his brother, and earned hisliving as a carpenter. Besides this,he schooled himself and partici-pated vigorously in society lifeamong immigrant circles. Andmost crucially, he also became at-tracted by the socialist movementof his day.

I will return to this Americanphase in Viktor’s life later. Therevolutionary events in Russiacaused Viktor with wife and twochildren to move back to Nedervetilshortly before Finnish Indepen-dence was declared. Soon followeda short but intensive Civil War be-tween “Whites” and “Reds”, the lat-ter aiming for a socialist society.Viktor, experienced but still youngand thus in his prime years, becameimmediately the leading Red activ-

tive case for an American read-ership could be that of the Ger-man soldiers wearing US Armyuniforms, who during theArdennes offensive penetratedthe US front lines in special mis-sions. Those captured were ex-ecuted, as wearing uniforms ofthe opposing army meant forfeit-ing the rulings of the GenevaConventions for conduct in war-fare. This was also the fate of ElisGåsström, who was captured bythe Finnish police forces in 1942,wearing civilian clothes. His caseis relatively well documented inFinnish WW II literature. Theother Gåsström siblings survivedthe war.

After the war Viktor togetherwith his oldest son Runar movedback to Finland, a very rareevent, since in those times theSoviet Union was a very tightlyclosed society from the Westernpoint of view. One assumption,since both eventually again re-turned to the Soviet Union, couldbe that they were rather closelyassociated, so to speak, with cer-tain Soviet governmental agen-cies. But here I must just statethat we do not have facts, andViktor is silent on this point.

From now on Runar is per-haps the most significant personin the Gåsström family. Havingjust before the war obtained aphysics degree from MoscowUniversity, he joined the Phys-ics Department of the Universityof Helsinki and worked mainlyon the emerging use of radio-iso-topes in medicine. While it isstandard practice in modernhospitals, in the pioneering yearsthere was much need for physi-cists in establishing the scien-tific-technical basis of the craft.Runar certainly was productivein his work, but for reasons un-known, he was unpopular insome circles. One persistentrumour claims that he wouldhave been assisting when theprominent Italian physicistBruno Pontecorvo defected to

The Life of Viktor Gåsström By Markus Ahlskog

10 December 2016

ist in Nedervetil, which as the frontlines formed, was far behind in“white” territory. Viktor gives us manydetails of the dramatic events duringthe Civil War in his autobiography. Hewas arrested three times and was veryclose to having been executed. He wassaved by relatives who were on theWhite side.

The Gåsström family moved to theSoviet Union in 1933, among manyother American Finns, who in the eraof the Great Depression were luredinto this adventure. It is a little re-markable in the Gåsström’s case, asViktor was by then 48 years old andwith a family of four children, 10 to19 years old. As is well known, thisemigration occurred just as the worstStalin-era persecutions were about tounfold, and ended in prison camp andeventually death to many emigrants.The Gåsström’s, however, escapedthat fate. One factor might be thatViktor seems to have taken the initia-tive to quickly become intimate withRussian culture and by relocatingsoon to Moscow, away from otherFinns who would soon disappear tothe Soviet prison camps. We can prob-ably here see one example of the ex-ceptional capabilities of Viktor indealing with difficult circumstances.In Moscow, Viktor tells us, he workedon the construction of the Pavilion forthe All-Union Agricultural Exhibitionduring the years 1935–1937, whichtoday still is a major amusement parkand site for trade shows. Though wehave a very limited base of certainfacts, it seems that on the eve of theSoviet-German war in 1941, theGåsström families were doing well un-der the circumstances. The war, how-ever, meant evacuation for Viktor andhis wife, during which she perished.

Viktor’s children were by nowgrown up, and all four, 2 older broth-ers and 2 younger sisters, were re-cruited to the Red Army. The youngerbrother, Elis, was dropped deep intoFinland as a so called “desant”, whichis a word derived from Russian forparachutist, and means a non-uni-formed spy or saboteur. A compara-

11 December 2016

the Soviet Union from Helsinki in1950. Runar left Finland in 1954 fora researcher position in Holland,and after this was for a brief periodassigned to the InternationalAtomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inVienna, Austria. He moved backwith his family to the Soviet Unionin 1960, and took a Research Direc-tor position in the Siberian cityNovosibirsk, where large facilitiesfor scientific research were beingconstructed, perhaps a little like theTexan universities arose fromempty plains to world class institu-tions with oil money.

Viktor also returned to the So-viet Union, to Runar’s family, in theearly 60s, when he was already ap-proaching the age of 80. He passedaway in 1969 and is buried inNovosibirsk. Runar soon aftermoved to Kaliningrad at the BalticSea, where he passed away in 1999as a retired professor of physics. Thelast of Viktors children passed awayin 2012. He has grandchildren inboth Russia and Finland.

Let us return to the beginning ofthese events, which unfolded in theUSA, and take a closer look at them.It may sound strange, that someonefrom what many Americans see asquasi-socialist Europe, moves to theUSA, and once there becomes a con-vinced socialist. But in fact, social-ist movements were vigorous andgrowing in turn of the centuryAmerica, though they never cameeven close to obtaining the samelevel of electoral support as in manywestern European countries. Themother tongue of Viktor was Swed-ish, but he was also fluent in Finn-ish, and is likely to have quitequickly gained fluency in English aswell. This means that in New Yorkhe could have been active in Finn-ish socialist circles as well as in theSwedish/Scandinavian. Viktor sayshimself that he was a member of theFinnish Socialist Club of New York,and was along in founding in 1910the Scandinavian Socialist Club (orSociety) of New York. Moreover, hewrites that the club grew to haveover 100 members, and that it

rented localities at Proctor’s The-atre on 125th Street. This buildingwas demolished in the 1980s. Im-portant reading for Viktor was the“Svenska Socialisten”, which was aleading socialist Swedish languagenewspaper among Scandinavianimmigrants in the USA. The paperwas published from Chicago, whichwas another hub for Scandinavianimmigrants with socialist convic-tions. It is likely that Viktor spentsome time here, since he writes thatin Chicago he took evening coursesat an “International School of Ar-chitecture.”

At the more joyous eveninggatherings of the Scandinavian So-cialist Club, Viktor played the pianoand met the immigrant JennyWilen from Helsinki. They marriedin 1913 at the Finnish Seamen’sChurch. At that point it would cer-tainly had seem absurd to them thattheir common journey, after havingparented 4 children, would end inharsh conditions in Siberia in 1942,upon the death of Jenny, as refu-gees from Moscow fleeing the Ger-man Army. Their first child, Runar,was born in 1914. Elis, also men-tioned above, was born in Chicagoin 1916.

The socialist October Revolu-tion in Russia, led by Lenin, tookplace on November 7, 1917. A littleless known is that it was preceded

the same year by the so called Feb-ruary Revolution that toppled theCzar from power. A lesser conse-quence was that it prompted Viktorto move with family back to Fin-land. Viktor tells that the new gov-ernment in Russia offered such im-migrants from the Russian empire(of which Finland was still part of),who were active followers of thesocialist movement, a free journeyback to their homeland. Viktorwrites that he discussed the propo-sition with a “Russian doctor”, whopredicted that a second revolutionwould take place and that Viktorshould pick up on the chance to re-turn. Viktor did so, and thus left theUSA to pursue a socialist dream,that probably realized itself in anastier form than he expected.

The early years of Viktor in theUSA are the root cause for theGåsström family saga, since it isclear that it was there that Viktorbecame a convinced socialist, andthat this led to all that followed.Viktor was throughout his life avery outspoken and vivid person-ality and had lots of spare energyto put into society activities. There-fore it is likely that traces of Viktor’sactivity can be found in archivesand perhaps in letters from the pre-WW I era in New York and Chicago.It also very conceivable that the lifepath of Viktor has crossed withmany persons, whose descendantstoday do genealogical research onthese people. Especially, it is myhope that this article would be readby someone who happens to knowin detail what Finnish and Scandi-navian socialist activities therewere in the New York and Chicagoareas in the period before andaround World War I. But anyonewho has information relevant to thestill a little mysterious topic ofViktor Gåsström is encouraged toget in touch with the author.

Editor’s Note: If you have anyinformation you would like to sharewith Markus, send it to your edi-tors. Our addresses are on page 2of this issue. We will forward it toMarkus.

The church in Nedervetilis a beautiful wooden church situatedon a hill, which makesit an eye catcherin the village.It was builtin 1752.

Dale & Mary Lou Hjort7682 Tracy LaneLa Palma, CA 90623-1501

Address Service Requested

God Jul, Hauskaa Joulua

and Merry Christmas to

all of our friends from the

members of

New Haven Lodge.

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a most Happy and Joyous New Year! Dale and Mary Lou Hjort

To the Leading Star

The crew at the Finnish American

Reporter wishes you a

Merry Christmas and aHappy New Year. Hauskaa Joulua

Jim & Dave

To all Runeberg members both

past and present:

Vancouver’s Runeberg Social

Club (formerly Runeberg Lodge

#124 – Vancouver BC)

Wishes one and all a

VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS

AND A HAPPY AND

PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!