and flourished even amid difficult circumstances. Everything that has been accomplished has been spontaneous, has depended on individual persistence and courage. The Finns who arrived in Minnesota in the early days hardly even dared to dream of enriching themselves spiritually, for they were faced primarily with the task of earning wages, of getting food and clothing. But as soon as economic needs began to be satisfied somewhat, the spiritual needs became apparent: man does not live by bread alone. In all their modesty, Finnish cultural endeavors have been surprisingly many-sided. In general, they did tend to be limited to the framework of one or another society or organization, but in many instances these desires, secretly cherished by one or more of their members, resulted in choral groups, in bands and orchestra, in dramatic groups."

Musical Activities : The earliest Finnish musicians in Minnesota were the fiddlers who played for the Finnish dances. It is impossible to estimate how many such self-taught musicians there have been in all, but some of them managed to get along more or less with just their music to support them. However, the real spark to Finnish-American music came later (the first Finnish band in Minnesota was started in Ely in 1889) when a considerable number of more professional musicians appeared; members of the military bands of Finnish army battalions who came to America when their units were disbanded. On the whole, these men had the wrong idea of what possibilities awaited them on the new continent. Like so many others, they had heard legends of the wealth to be had in this country, and they believed it would be a simple matter to purchase band instruments and start bands which they could serve as salaried directors. Others failed to take into consideration the prevailing musical tastes in the country. Many of these men, then, were faced with disappointment. Those to whom money was the chief concern quickly gave up and turned their backs on such prospects, but fortunately there were others more dedicated.

If one of these military bandsmen settled down in some community, it was to be expected that he would be asked to take over the local band, even though he may never have had experience in conducting. To train such an amateur band to the point where it could just passably face an audience demanded hard work on the part of the conductor as well as the players. Very frequently the embryo musicians could not even read music, so the work had to begin on the most elementary level. But there was enough

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