he took part in the administration of Finnish banks. The man who defeated Pete in the 1942 elections for the St. Louis County Fourth District Commissioner was also a Finn, Toimi Ahola. In addition to the Commissioner post, Ahola has also served two terms as an Ely alderman. Other Finns who have served in the latter capacity include Andrew Watilo, G. A. Mäki and John P. Erickson, while John A. Harri was Ely city manager from 1914 to 1916.

The Finns of Ely have also found themselves capable in many other fields. Ever since Anna Leino was the first Finn appointed to teach in a state educational institution, a great number of her compatriots have followed her in this field. In 1914 the Päivälehti reported from Ely that "our city has many Finnish teachers, and there are many more in the surrounding areas. Omitting mention of those serving in the municipal schools, the following Finns are active in the region : Meidi Takkunen in the 3rd School District, Lillian Nieminen in the 74th, Selma Nuopponen in the 9th, Ida Porthan in the 11th, Elma Harju in the 36th, and Hilma Kajuutti in the 49th." In the banking field, G. T. Somero has been president of the First National Bank. Another Finn, Arvo Theodore Thompson, served in the U.S. Army, being commissioned in 1932 and receiving promotion to captain three years later.

Military Service : Finnish participation in the armed services of the United States began in Ely with the Spanish-American War. Lieutenant, later Captain, George Gibson, arrived in Ely in the summer of 1899 to open a recruiting office above Gust Mäki's clothing store. One of his first recruits was John A. (Juha Aapo) Harri, who in turn got several of his fellow-Finns interested

Laihia), Juha Heikkilä, Herman Hill (Mäki), Juho Järvi (from Jalasjärvi), Antti Kamunen (from Kalajoki), Oscar Kauppi (Laihia), Jaakko Kujala, Mikko Lehtinen (from Kylänpää, Laihia), Juho Mattila (from Jurva), Juha Nylund (from Evijärvi), Iisakki Tiura (from Kemi), and Matti Tusa (from Alavus.) Gibson took all these Finns into his own group with a sense of satisfaction they were all handsome young men, and tall, with Kauppi and Tusa 6 foot 2, and all the rest over 6 feet. With the exception of Harri, they were all recent immigrants to America and spoke very little English. To this group was added Matti Kero, a former resident of Ely, who spent the last years of his life in Duluth, and Peter Oksa of Hancock, Michigan, who spent the rest of his life in Ely. (Even later the group was joined by Oscar Lake, Finnish name Järvi, from Butte, Montana, and a few

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