Finnish settlement gradually spread to other Wadena Count) townships. Thus Huntersville, lying east of Menahga, has had several Finns, as has the village of Finn, which was a real Finnish farming community, with a Finn, H. Fredrickson, serving as its postmaster.

If all the communities cited up to now have been located in the northern part of Wadena County, the city of Wadena itself, located considerably farther to the south, has also had its share of Finns, although in 1950 only four were left. Nevertheless, the Wadena radio station KWAD has for years transmitted Finnishlanguage programs into the wide area around New York Mills. And of Finnish business life in Wadena, mention should be made of the Wadena Co-op Creamery Association, which joined the Cooperative Central in 1938, at a time when its gross annual income was $117,000.

In 1870, all Wadena County had but six inhabitants. In 1900, however, there were already 7,921 persons, of whom 480 were Finns. The corresponding figures in 1910 were 8,652 and 550; in 1920, up to 10,699 and 625; in 1930, a total of 10,990, with 491 Finns; 1940, up to 12,772, of whom 369 were Finns; and finally in 1950, up to 12,806, and down to 256 Finns.

Becker County

In the southern part of Becker County lies the three or fourmile long Wolf Lake, deep in wilderness. In 1888 there moved into this area Johan and Minie Wirkkanen, with their two sons, Carl and David. It is said that it took them six weeks to reach this area from New York Mills, where they had been living previously. The first stages of their trip were along trails cleared by the earliest pioneers, but after that they had to clear a trail themselves, wide enough for their span of oxen to go on through the forest to the homestead site staked out on the southern shore of Wolf Lake. That same year they were followed by Aapeli and Kerttu Kinnunen, who also had two sons, Kalle and Gabriel, and who also came from New York Mills. After them came Jeremias Soronen in 1889, and two years after that came Henry Hemminki with his family. It was in 1893 that the Hemminkis had a daughter, Ida Alina, who was the first white child born in the Wolf Lake region. The first white boy born there, in 1894, was Ivar, son of John and Maria Wirtanen.

As soon as two or three pioneers came, others soon followed, and new neighbors in turn received even newer neighbors, and

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