|
A few years ago when I began the search for my family tree, I was very fortunate to locate the website of The Genealogical Society of Finland. The information contained on their website has made my search so successful. The guidance and support from their Executive Director, Leif Mether, has enabled many genealogists to further their research. Leif wrote to me that he and 17 genealogists are traveling to Finnfest 02' in Minnesota. He expressed interest in visiting Fitchburg. Pasi Kuusiluoma, the Editor in Chief of their scholastic publication, Genos, would be traveling with him. I was delighted to have the opportunity to meet and guide them. Their two day stay began with a visit to the Historical Societies of Fitchburg and Westminster, hosted by Betsy Hannula, the Executive Director. Betsy outlined the resources available within the Historical Societies for genealogical research. The following day began with a tour of Fitchburg. We then visited the Finnish Center at Saima Park. I acquainted them with the history and the current charter of the Finnish Center. The contents of our Library Museum were of great interest to the visiting genealogists. It was my pleasure to show them the Oskari Tokoi monument, which was sculptured by one of our long time members, Sirkka Hoglund. Our visit continued to the Forest Hill Cemetery, which was important to Leif and Pasi. The information contained within the cemetery such as names and dates are a valuable resource. They took many pictures which will be added to their website to aid them and other genealogists. We ended our tour with a visit to the Raivaaja Publishing Company, where we met with Jonathan Ratila, their Business Manager. Jonathan provided them with the history of the Raivaaja and introduced them to their bookstore. Leif and Pasi were particularly interested in the books regarding Finnish Immigrants. The Genealogical Society of Finland has an extensive collection of books available within their bookstore and continues to expand upon it. It was a great pleasure to meet Leif and Pasi. I am very thankful for the information we exchanged. I wished them well on the rest of their trip. The Genealogical Society of Finland website is located at http://www.genealogia.fi Jane Knuuttila-Guercio Pictures from the visit below. Click on the individual picture to see a larger version of it. - All photos taken by Maija Mård - used with permission. -
|
