the United States entered the war, the activity of the Suomi Chorus was interrupted, but rehearsals were resumed in 1945, when the group became a mixed chorus. Two years later this chorus was requested to represent Finland at a Festival of Nations in St. Paul. Anderson was not content with his local Virginia chorus for such an appearance but called in singers from other communities. The response was gratifying, and weekly rehearsals of this augmented chorus were held at Virginia; several concerts were given, in the spring of 1947 in the local area, and then came the successful performance before an audience of 14,000 at the St. Paul festival in May 1947.

In addition to sponsoring song, the temperance society had also begun a brass band in August 1895, with 35 musicians under the direction of John Haapasaari. Membership in the band was open only to members of the temperance society, for which the first concert appearance was made in November 1895, with the band members dressed in grey-blue uniforms piped with dark blue braid. This band remained active for several years, but when a municipal band was begun, many of the members transferred into that organization. Meanwhile, a few of those who had made this transfer began to organize an independent Finnish band, named the Jyrinä, which performed at both the temperance society and the socialist hall and which was also in great demand at funerals of southern Europeans, appearances for which the band received payment. In 1907 this previously independent organization decided to join the Socialist chapter as an auxiliary of that society.

In addition to fostering music, the temperance society also stressed reading, and in 1893 it established a lending library which, in the course of years, gradually assembled a library of over 800 volumes. And in 1893 it also began a dramatics group which remained active for more than three decades, producing several plays each year: in 1913, for example, a total of 18 different plays were performed.

The next auxiliary organization of the temperance society was a women's sewing circle, started in 1895, for the purpose of raising funds for the society. Then followed an adult education group, still later a reading room, kept open from 6 to 11:30 PM as well as on Sunday afternoons, where all Finnish-American newspapers were on hand, as well as 20 more sent from Finland. Finally, the temperance society was also a benevolent society, giving assistance to its members and their families, in the form

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