Esa Halmeoja and Johanna Wilhelmina "Minnie" Lauri
Written by Elsie Koski Waterman
My mother's mother had the name above, but she was called Minnie. To me she was Aiti (mother in Finnish). She was born in northern Sweden in a village called Kuurajarvi. I had a chance to visit her birthplace when I was in Sweden in 2001. It was quite breathtaking to realize she was born there. However, her father died and her mother remarried. Several of the children were not happy with their stepfather so they decided to go to America—Minnie, Annie, John, Fiina, and Emma. Annie, John, and Minnie ended up in Rock, MI after they were married. At that time, the name of the town was Maple Ridge, but it was renamed as there was another community of that name in Lower Michigan. Rock is located about 25 miles northwest of Escanaba, MI. Fiina Kangas and Emma Waltee ended up living in the Crystal Falls, MI area.
A story my Uncle Maini told was that his father, Esa Halmeoja, had taken the train from Negaunee to Rock, MI were he had obtained a homestead. Also, he said that he had carried a stove on his back when he walked the five miles to his homestead. He had been working in Negaunee in the mines when he had met and married Minnie Lauri. She had been working as a "piika" a housemaid. Esa had emigrated from Finland, but I have been unable to find out where he came from in Finland or anything about his trip to the United States. The only thing I have been able to find out is that he had a brother in Montana and sisters in Portland, Oregon. My mother used to share letters with cousins in Oregon. I did not keep up with them after she died. She also had a cousin in Detroit who she kept in touch with. When I was a child, we used to get packages of clothes from her. Her husband was a lawyer, I believe.
Another story that my Uncle Maini told was that his father had started clearing land where he thought his acreage was when a surveyor came by and told him he was in the wrong spot. So he had to move only about a 1/2 mile away. One of the pictures of my grandmother with a child on her lap next to a log cabin, I believe, was the first house that he built. She had 4 babies: a set of twins and 2 others who all died in childbirth or shortly thereafter. My mother, Naima, was the first to live. Although they were not religious, they decided to use biblical names for their next two children in the hope that they would live—Naima Alvera and Moses Mainio (called Maini). After that, they had twin girls, Sylvia and Mae.
When Esa was living, I believe they had a good life. They built a dairy farm with a nice 2-story home on it, a barn, a garage, and woodshed or chicken coop. They had an outhouse attached to it. Esa did logging as well as farming. Oral history tells me that he was a leader in the community. He was on the board of directors of the Farmer's Mutual Insurance Company, the Co-op Store, and the Finn Hall. The Finn Hall was an activity center with plays, entertainment, a band, gymnastics, etc. I am told that Esa had some unhappy experiences with the state church of Finland and did not allow my grandmother to go to church. His reason was that in Finland he had witnessed the clergy (poppi) insisting that the children be baptized, and they needed to pay for the baptism. If they did not have the money, they would have to give a calf or something of value. He felt that being in America, it freed him of that.
My Aunt Sylvia shared with me some interesting stories. After my grandfather died, my grandmother boarded teachers and they had one who was gay and wore lipstick. She said he was very nice and good to the kids. As my grandmother needed to earn money she took a job as the Township Treasurer. I have heard that she was the first woman to hold public office in Marquette County. Well, one day, the kids decided to clean out her purse. So, they took out papers, which were very important, and put them in the stove. Fortunately, there was no fire so Aiti was able to retrieve them, because they were Township Treasurer papers. She told them to never clean out her purse again!
Esa wore a long fur coat when he was working in the woods, as he would have to drive home in his horse and buggy. One time Aiti was making him a coat for Christmas. However, he had come home late from a bar, and she was so mad she burned the coat! He had fallen under the kitchen table and went to sleep. However, she said he never hit her! Also, he was known to be very generous, giving money to people who needed it.
Also, Aiti used to get newspapers from Sweden, and she enjoyed reading them. The children were never allowed to go swimming without permission while she was in the barn. There was a creek nearby. One day they did, and that was the only time they got a whipping.
In pictures, I noted that Esa had one of the first touring cars, and I remember there was a 1929 Pontiac when I was young. I'm not sure if she ever drove it, Uncle Maini drove it when he was very young. My uncle told me that one day, his father became ill with pneumonia, and he took a train to Escanaba where he died. My grandmother was 48 years old. She always bragged that his funeral had the longest procession of cars ever held. This was because of his leadership and status in the community. His funeral was held at the Finn Hall, I believe. Everyone said at the funeral, that my grandmother being left a widow was especially difficult with having 6 year old twins, whereas if she just had the two older children (12, 14), it wouldn't have been so hard. The twins were the extra burden. My twin aunts told me they just looked at each other when they heard the comment and wondered why they were such a problem. In later years, my grandmother commented that she doesn't know what she would have done without the twins, because they stayed with her the longest.
Another piece of information that I learned recently—after I was born and my mother returned home after a short time and she went to work in Waukegan to do housework in order to send money to help with our expenses. During that time, my father and his mother, Amanda Koski, had come to see Aiti and wanted to take me home with them. Aiti was very unhappy about that and my twin aunts, Mae and Sylvia, told me they hid me so that they couldn't take me away. I am not sure how old I was, but perhaps that is why I have been so close to them. They are like my sisters. They also told me that my father contributed money toward my care. Some of it helped Aiti buy an electric washing machine. My parents were reconciled when I was about 4.
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