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Blogs by Carol Van Der Woude
A Finnish Farm 2/4/2011 5:48:55 PM
While a blizzard was raging in Chicago my husband and I headed to northern Wisconsin. We spent a couple days at Palmquist Farm (www.palmquistfarm.com). We enjoyed snow-shoeing on well groomed trails on a clear, sunny day.
It was fascinating to learn about the history of this Finnish farm. Jim and Helen Palmquist offered warm hospitality as they shared their heritage. They served us meals that were like feasts. We especially enjoyed some Finnish foods--creamed rice pudding, berry sauce and pulla!
A couple weeks earlier I had finished reading Blueberry God by Reino Hannula. This book gave me insight into another aspect of Finnish-American history.. Some of the first generation Finns were deeply involved in the labor movement that took place at the beginning of the twentieth century.
On the farm or in the labor movement the Finnish immigrants had great challenges that they met with a strong work ethic.
