murmured and nature was untouched there now stand villages and towns and homes, chiefly the result of the persistent and tireless efforts of the Finnish pioneer spirit. Now and then the eye will hit upon some vestiges of the past, which will shed light upon the life and conditions of the pioneer generation which toiled on long ago, and which will make traditions more alive. The voices of these pioneers have been stilled, but their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren can cast a contented look over the wide fields of Cokato, where the grain sways in the breeze, cowbells can be heard, and smoke rises into the American sky from hundreds of homes, speaking of the warmth of the Finnish hearths in Cokato. And whoever walks along through Cokato after sunset, in quiet meditation, can almost sense that the spirit of the pioneers still hovers over this region, blessing the work and the efforts of the generations which have succeeded them, in their efforts to show the greatness of America and the honor they do to the best virtues and traits of the Finns.'

French Lake: French Lake lies just north of Cokato. The first Finns to arrive there were Nils O. Nelson (Urard?) in 1875, and Oscar Ingman and Lars Romback (Römback) in 1876. The first Finnish child to be born there was Albert J. Nelson, in 1877. In 1950, out of a total population of 861, there were 477 Finns.

In a 1928 meeting of the Suomi Synod (Evangelical Lutheran) the Minnestota representatives proposed that a home for the aged be established by the church. The proposal was accepted at the 1929 Synod meeting, and French Lake was chosen as the site of the new institution, the Bethania Home.

Annandale: The village of Annandale lies northeast of French Lake, and as in Cokato, the Finns here are mostly farmers. In former days when the major work was finished on the home

25. Barberg, Hazel and Vernon. The Pioneers of Cokato. Voice of America radio program to Finland, 1951. Archives of the Minnesota Finnish American Historical Society.

One of the oldest Finnish homes at French Lake.

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