of sickness benefits and burial funds. Certainly the statement in the Mesabi Daily News (24 November 1952) that the Valon Tuote Temperance Society was of great significance to the members' well-being as well as to the development of Virginia as a community seems to be justified.

Religious Activity in Virginia: Immediately after the founding of the temperance society, religious activity among the Virginia Finns was initiated, beginning with a meeting at Pelto's hall in September 1894, when 26 persons gathered to establish the Virginia Finnish Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church, a name changed in 1948 to Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church. It was decided to request Heikki Sarvela, who lived in Duluth, and who had already visited the community occasionally on his trips to take care of his Mt. Iron parish, to take charge in Virginia. Once a month, then, Sarvela used to leave the comforts of the city behind him, come part of the way by train, and then proceed to Virginia as best he could, riding on someone's wagon or even trudging along on foot if need be. However, since the Virginia parish grew rapidly (in the end it was the second largest in Minnesota, with its maximum membership of 548 coming in the year 1953) it became necessary to establish new parish boundaries. Two years after the Virginia church was established a meeting was held and the decision made to establish a regional district, to be served by one pastor who was to reside in Virginia. Later (in 1915) when the church joined the Suomi Synod, this became the Virginia-Mt. Iron district, whose pastors were frequently required to take care of even more distant parishes like Palo, Markham, Alango-Field and Idington, sometimes even Cook, Orr, and even as far away as Emo in Canada. When this area proved too large, it was in turn cut into two, and only Idington and Alango-Field remained in the Virginia district. Finally, even this district was dissolved when the Virginians wanted their pastor to serve them exclusively. Since 1947, the Virginia pastor has only gone forth once a month, to Pike River, to hold services. The following pastors have served the Virginia congregations : Heikki Sarvela, 1894-96, John Back, 1896-97, Heikki Sarvela, 1898, Mikko Havukainen, 1898-1901, Heikki Sarvela, 1901-05, Kaarlo Salovaara, 1906-07, John Wargelin, 1907-09, Pekka Keränen, 190914, Victor Kuusisto, 1914-18, K. H. Mannerkorpi, 1918, M. E. Merijärvi, 1918-22, Victor Kuusisto, 1922-45, Douglas Ollila, 194647, Herman Matero, 1948-51, Viljo Puotinen 1951-.

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