"There exist very few real Finnish apothecary shops besides ours where our citizens can procure the authentic Finnish drugs they have been accustomed to in Finland," Södergren wrote in one of his catalogs : "The success achieved by our mail order department through the years proves clearly enough that a well-organized apothecary shop meets the requirements of Finnish immigrants in America. We have set up our shop in Minneapolis, which is a focal point of Finnish settlements and which, because of its excellent transportation facilities, offers all those facilities indispensable to this kind of enterprise." More recently, the most outstanding business enterprise has been the Wire Specialty Manufacturing Company, owned by Veini Tuoma.

At the turn of the century the Finns began to appear in great numbers as office workers, nurses and teachers, among them Marie Kallio, who has advised thousands of immigrants on the formalities of becoming American citizens. Hundreds of Finns have studied at the University of Minnesota, and several Finns have been faculty members there, beginning with Clemens Niemi, who served as assistant professor, circa 1910. Robert E. Nylund and Professor Olga Lakela have taught in the Department of Botany, Gertrude Esteros in Home Economics, Pearl Niemi in foreign languages, Gerald Hill in music, Mary B. Lampe in physical education. John I. Kolehmainen has spent one academic year as visiting professor. Mr. Laitala has taught at the School of Engineering, Vera Mäkivirta-Clausen and Anne Kallio in the School of Medicine. During World War II, the Finnish language was taught to military personnel at the University by Arne Halonen, who has received the Order of the Finnish Lion from the President of Finland in recognition of that work. In the field of government, it should be noted that President Truman in 1945 appointed Viena P. Johnson to be Collector of Customs for the Minneapolis Customs Office. Esko E. Ranta, a Minneapolis lawyer, was appointed Finnish Vice-Consul in 1954.

In cooperative activities, a Cooperative Consumers, Inc., was established in 1935; three years later it had a membership of 157, but it was terminated soon thereafter. Previously, however, a cooperative life insurance company (Cooperators' Life Association) was established in 1933, with Arne Halonen the guiding spirit, and a cooperative Mutual Service Casualty Insurance Company covers fire and automobile insurances. Minneapolis has, of course, several successful cooperative enterprises, such as the Franklin Cooperative Creamery and the Cooperative Services,

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