after his death by Herman Kortesoja and later, Verner Saranen. Membership meanwhile had risen to 60, but for the most part it varied between 20 and 30. In addition to the work common to all chapters, the Virginia chapter has engaged in special undertakings, including a display of Finnish ryijy rugs in local store windows in 1949, a float for the Minnesota centenary showing a Finnish sauna complete with bathers, etc. During the postwar years, a considerable share of the profits of the big midsummer festivals held in Virginia have been donated to carry on the work of the MFAHS.

Midsummer Festivals : The midsummer festivals of the Finns of Northern Minnesota were first held in Virginia in 1906, which was the third such festival organized in all Minnesota. Subsequent festivals have been held in Virginia in 1911, 1916, 1924, 1930, 1937, 1946, 1955. In connection with these festivals, athletic programs have always found a place, and in these programs valuable prizes have been the trophies donated by John Ketola and P. Savolainen of Virginia. To try to keep these trophies in Virginia, the community had a Finnish athletic society, Yritys, started in 1906. A later entrant on the scene has been the Finnish Bowling Association, started just prior to World War II, and counting as its officials in the 1950s, Einar E. Lauley, chairman; Walt Niemi, vice-chairman; T. A. Eskelin, secretary, and Elmer Aho and Hans Kesanen, treasurers.

The Civic Club: The depression decade of the 1930s led to the start of a Townsend Club among the Finns in Virginia, as it had done elsewhere, but it also led here to the beginning of an organization to foster Finnish participation in civic life. Actually, this attempt began at a time when the possibility of progress in this field was most limited. Other nationality groups already had their powerful organizations, which were capable of holding the special advantages they had gained, and whenever any opening for a position appeared their candidates were always certain of strong support. Finnish civic groups suddenly appeared on the scene in many communities in the range area, all more or less simultaneously, and as so often among the Finns, even in this they were divided into factions, even though their goals were the same. Several communities, therefore, spawned not one but two civic organizations, and so Virginia had both its Finnish American Club and its Fenno American Club. To try to bring some order into this confusion, representatives from the various organizations were invited to participate in a meeting in Mt. Iron in May 1934, and the following groups and individuals were represented:

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