EMBARRASS — Hannu Seitaniemi had just retired and was ready for an adventure. An avid hunter and fisherman living in northern Finland above the Arctic Circle, he had always wanted to visit Canada. And Hannu’s wife, Leea, had an even better idea. She had recently been contacted by a doctoral student doing research on Gus Hall, a labor activist and communist party member with ties to the Embarrass area. The researcher was looking for information on Knute Seitaniemi, who was a cousin to Hannu’s grandfather, which piqued their interest in learning more about Embarrass.
The trip would give them a chance to visit Embarrass, and to see the historic log housebarn built by Knute’s father, Alex, where Knute and his siblings, Bill and Lulu, were raised.
“Our daughter found Sisu Heritage on Facebook,” Leea said, “and made these connections for us.”
Leea, who was more fluent in English, did most of the speaking, but Hannu, who had good comprehension of English, just not as much vocabulary, often chimed in.
The volunteers at Sisu Heritage were more than happy to arrange a special visit for the couple and were excited to add to their knowledge of the family and its connection to Embarrass.
The Seitaniemis’ two-week-long adventure started in Iceland, then to Vancouver where they took the Rocky Mountaineer train visiting national parks. They then flew to Minneapolis and drove up to Embarrass on June 26. They even found a bed and breakfast near Giants Ridge that reminded Leea of the log cabin from “Little House on the Prairie,” a favorite childhood book, where they were to spend the night. Then they were flying to Toronto, taking a side trip to Niagara Falls, and then back home to Finland.
She said the sightseeing on the train ride was amazing.
“Our necks are sore from swinging back and forth to see all the mountains and scenery,” she said. But driving up to Embarrass felt more like home.
“It looks like we are back in Finland here,” they both said.
Leea is a teacher in a vocational school, a school for high-school-age students who might want to study a trade rather than go on to a university. She teaches English and tourism studies, so she plans to use a lot of their experiences as tourists in Canada and Minnesota as real-life lessons for her students.
“Everyone has been so friendly and helpful,” she said. “I will take back so much from here that I can teach my students.”
The Lapland area also gets a lot of tourists coming to see the northern lights, Santa Claus’s village and the wilderness.
“The guides on this trip have had so much information,” she said. “In Finland, they will just say, ‘I don’t know.’”
Finns are also much more reserved, she said.
“We are quiet and understanding.”
Leea asked why so many Finns had settled in Embarrass, and Paul Knuti talked about the first wave of Finnish immigration, and how many who came to the mines on the Iron Range and Soudan ended up farming in Embarrass. The family still has some relatives who live in northern Michigan. No Seitaniemis still live in Embarrass.
Sisu volunteers greeted the Finnish visitors at the Nelimark Homestead Museum, where they were treated to a homemade chicken and blueberry salad, along with Finnish cardamom bread, pickled beets and lemonade. The “Neli,” as volunteers call it, also serves as a gift and bake shop, and most importantly, a meeting spot for area residents who stop by for coffee when the shop is open. While the couple was there, a few folks fortuitously stopped by, including Glen Salo, who had been a neighbor and close friend of the Embarrass Seitaniemis, and Millie Bissonette of Ely, who speaks Finnish and spent some time visiting in the Seitaniemis’ native language. Glen noted that Hannu looked a lot like Knute.
There was plenty of talk of saunas and the winter climate. They are also seeing a warmer winter climate, with snow coming later and leaving earlier.
“We used to get snow starting in October,” Leea said, “but now it’s not coming until November or December.”
Their winter temperatures get down to -20 or -30 Celsius, which converts to -4 to -22 Fahrenheit, so milder than Embarrass but still plenty cold.
They are worried about changes in the ocean’s gulf stream, which could trigger larger changes to their climate.
There was also an exchange of gifts. The Finns brought caps and T-shirts from their hometown of Sodankyla, which is part of Sami land. They live about 130 kilometers from the Russian border and said the closure of the border had really hurt the economy of the border towns, which used to get a lot of visitors from Russia. They also brought Moomin character keychains and some favorite Finnish candies, including salted licorice.
Leea said the Moomin characters, created by author Tove Jansson, are a favorite of both children and adults in Finland. She was wearing a top that featured a colorful assortment of these troll-like Scandivian creatures.
“These characters reflect the Finnish people,” she said.
The licorice tins sported the name Sisu, which is spelled Sifu in Finnish, but pronounced the same.
Sisu presented the family with information on the history of the housebarn and Seitaniemi family in Embarrass, along with gifts and books from the Nelimark, including the new Embarrass mug that features a drawing of the housebarn.
After touring the Nelimark, which had many items of interest for the family, they got a special tour of the housebarn, led by Sisu volunteers Paul Knuti and Marlin Bjornrud, who have both worked on the restoration project.
“They just lingered and touched the wood and seemed so excited to be there,” said Jeannine Bjornrud. She added they had never seen a housebarn before, so this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Hannu, who is quite handy and has done a lot of home renovations back in Finland, noted that the kitchen chimney needed to be restored. He said maybe he should come back to do that job.

The housebarn
The Seitaniemi housebarn, one of three such structures built by a Finn in the United States, and the only one still standing, was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. The structure was built in phases between 1907 and 1913 by Alex Seitaniemi. Bill Seitaniemi, Alex’s son, lived his entire life on the property until his death in 2003. The 80-acre property was sold to the Shaefer family of Ely, who then donated the building to Sisu Heritage, with a long-term lease for the land immediately surrounding the structure.
The restoration has been a major undertaking for Sisu Heritage, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the unique architectural heritage of the Embarrass area. Restoration started in 2011 and continues today. The roof, foundation, and exterior walls have all been repaired and stabilized, but work on restoring the interior spaces continue.
The public is welcome to visit the housebarn at the annual Community Night Out from 4-6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 7. There will be live music by Pat and Donna Surface, plus chili, cornbread and pie for sale.
Bring your own blanket or lawn chairs. The housebarn is located in Waasa Township, at the end of Comet Rd., but is only open to the public during this community event or by arranging a special tour through Sisu Heritage.
The Nelimark Homestead Museum is located on Hwy. 21, across from Timber Hall, and is open Thursday through Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., through Labor Day. Fresh bread and Finnish specialties are available on Fridays.