production seemed assured. The Päivälehti was already writing about Payne in April 1914 and pointing out the desirability of having Finnish businesses `in a region which is going to develop into a Finnish settlement.' Apparently there were no candidates, for later articles returned to this theme and pointed out that whoever opened a store here would also have the right to open the local post office and serve as postmaster. Gusti Päivärinta eventually accepted the offer. "Ordinary Finnish farmers" seemed to arrive in sufficient numbers; in September 1914 alone six families came. That autumn the population had grown to such an extent that it was necessary to open the first school, and the children of six Finnish families were among the first pupils.

Brookston - Perch Lake

Scattered in approximately equal numbers through eight townships - Alborn, Arrowhead, Brevator, Culver, Industrial, Ness, New Independence and Stoney Brook - Finnish settlement along the southern edges of St. Louis County began toward the end of the 1890s. Before the big fires in Minnesota, Arrowhead, for example, had 87 Finns, Stoney Brook 104, etc. In addition to permanent residents, there were considerable numbers of workers moving casually from community to community.

Workers' societies apparently were the first Finnish organizations within this area, and the first and most flourishing one was at Brookston, followed by Perch Lake and Twin Lakes. The Brookston society had 38 members in 1912, and more than 60 at its peak membership, which did not come until after the schism. Of its auxiliary activities, its outstanding one was the dramatics group, directed in 1928-30 ja Jallu Nukala. At the same time a mixed chorus was also begun, directed by Mayme Nukala. Also present were gymnastics and track teams, and a lending library. The hall which has housed these activities has been more or less abandoned for many years. The Perch Lake society became IWW and continued as such, with its limited membership. The Twin Lakes Finnish Workers Independent Association was the official name of that community's workers' society, incorporated in 1914, which proclaimed its purpose to be "the procurement of scientific literature and social education." The first chairman was John Vertanen, the vice-chairman Victor Vehka, the secretary John Helimäki, and the treasurer William Korpi. The life span of this society was quite limited. That even more radical philosophies gained ground here, too, is evident in

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