were 67 members, although subsequently there has been a decrease. Hibbing has been represented on the MFAHS board of directors by Frank Linjanen and Edith Koivisto.

In 1957 the Hibbing chapter erected a monument to the local Finnish pioneers. Put up at the corner of First Avenue and 31st Street, the 8-ton granite block bears a bronze plaque on which is inscribed: "1892 - Dedicated to the memory of the early Finnish pioneers who helped build this community . . . The Minnesota Finnish-American Historical Society Chapter 14, Hibbing, Minnesota - 1957."

Finnish Business Endeavors : Following the familiar pattern, the first businesses were the boarding houses. Indeed, there were about 30 proprietors of `boarding house and furnished rooms' facilities, having from 5 to 10 or even as many as 30 guests. Among these enterprises were those of Leena Hietala, Mary Hill, Mrs. Hukari, Lizzie Koski. The last named had begun as a dishwasher for a few years in another boarding house before she opened her own; later, she also opened a grocery store and operated another boarding house in Chisholm as well. Other Hibbing boarding houses were run by Fanny Nevala, Heikki and Matilda Toivola, John K. Ojanperä and August Saari, and many others whose given names have been forgotten: Hakala, Hämäläinen, Kangas, Kiminki, Laakeri, Lehto, Leskinen, Manner, Mannila, Nelimarkka, Nilsi, Pelkola, Raunio, Rivall, Tarkkanen, Talso, Thompson and Västi.

Among the earlier storekeepers were the brothers Akseli and Victor Sandberg, who started a bakery and a soft drinks plant in 1902 and a year later a grocery store which grew into a sizeable enterprise. John Ketomäki and Mike Salminen opened a grocery store on Pine Street at the turn of the century and soon added to their business a new grocery store they opened in 1903 on Third Avenue, the Cash Market Company, which in addition to food sold "all kinds of utensils necessary for housekeeping" and a line of l0c articles. The business was for years among Hibbing's biggest firms. Furthermore, the same partners also had a branch store in Alice, about a mile distant from Hibbing. Later still, having sold one of their Hibbing stores, Ketomäki and Salminen also became wholesalers, selling principally flour, sugar, grain, farm tools and machinery from their Merchant Warehouse. After 20 years of partnership, Ketomäki sold his share of the business to Salminen, who later sold out all his business interests except his franchise as local General Mills representative. Among his

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