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others. This, plus the coming of war in Europe, brought the new organization swiftly into oblivion.
Meanwhile, the Kaleva Knights had started a chapter in Cloquet in 1908, with John E. Johnson, John A. Mattinen and Henry Saarela as its founding members. The same year saw the birth of a local Ladies' chapter, with its founding members being Minnie Michaelson, Hilda Rautio, Sanna Biiberg, Helga Ekholm, Liisa Hella, Agda Hyttinen, Anna Johnson, Ida Joma, Ida Juola, Emma Koski, Helga Lumppio, Ida Päyhtäri, Lydia Pähtilä, Lottie Rautio and Hilma Tuura. At its peak, membership in 1925 was 34 ladies. They had incidentally suffered the ravages of fire twice: in 1918 of course, and before that a fire in 1911 which wiped out everything they had.
Religious activity began in 1889, when two pastors visited Cloquet to hold prayer meetings and services, but even so, the first Finnish congregation, an independent one, was not established until 1898. It was four years later still that land was bought for a church, for with the temperance hall available for the congregation's use there was no hurry to build. In fact, the plot of land was sold again, then a new one purchased the following year, before a church was eventually built. This congregation, which later joined the Suomi Synod, whose pastors had served it from the very start, has had a membership of about 200; the pastor, in 1957, was Carl Tamminen. Meanwhile, another congregation., affiliated with the National church, got its start in 1902, during the time W. A. Mandellöf was in Cloquet. Membership was about 100, and services were held at the local Swedish church. A third denomination, the Congregational, was established in 1924: August Lappala was its first permanent pastor, and subsequent ones have been Victor Holopainen, J. E. Tuomisto and Mr. Saario.
Finnish relief activities united the local Finns in December 1939, when a committee headed by J. A. Mattinen was set up to carry out this work. The first action taken was a solicitation of funds, door to door, with 60 volunteers doing the work and
Finnish church in Cloquet.
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