On to Tornio and Seinäjoki

As we prepared to leave Kemi, I captured a shot of this fish sculpture in front of the Hotel Merihovi.

We would then drive up the coast to Tornio to see some other interesting sculptures located in this city that borders with Sweden. Arriving there, our first stop would be at the shopping mall. This seems to be a popular place in the morning for the older residents as we saw quite a number of older guys jockeying for position in front of the coffee shop that was about to open.

Stepping out of the back side of the mall, we found ourselves looking into Sweden. There are some interesting, photo-worthy sculptures to be seen here.

The coolest sculpture to be found in Tornio, in my opinion, is the stainless-steel salmon along the Tornio River that I understand was commissioned for the city’s 400th anniversary a few years back.

From Tornio, we would drive back to Rovaniemi along the Kemi River. After returning our rental car at the train station, we had a leisurely lunch at the adjoining restaurant. We were somewhat surprised to see someone bring in three dogs with them, but this did not seem to raise concern with anyone there even with one of them being prone to barking.

After lunch we would catch the train to take the five-and-a-half-hour trip to Seinäjoki.

We would meet up with my cousin Raija and her husband Juha at the Seinäjoki railway station. They have a new station under construction, so it was a big help for them to meet us on the platform to navigate through the work zone. Raija is the granddaughter of my great-grandfather Charles Sillanpää’s younger brother Jaako. Charles came to Calumet in 1900 and Jaako came to Calumet a couple years later, but, after several years in the Keweenaw, returned to Finland. Our families have maintained close ties.

That evening, Raija and Juha prepared an outstanding moose dinner and we enjoyed very nice conversation. Raija would share a very insightful letter that my grandmother had written to her that tracked my grandfather Nurmi’s movement through the Co-op system which spanned from Bruce Crossing to Chassell to Rock and finally to Hancock.

After an excellent breakfast the next morning, Raija would show me a photograph taken by the newspaper when my family visited Teuva back in 1973.

This photo includes her aunts Aune and Irma (far left and far right) and her father Veikko (front left). My sisters and I are in the back row with my grandmother Elizabeth who was Aune, Irma, and Veikko’s first cousin. My Mom and Dad are in the lower right.

Raija also showed me this photograph of her with her grandfather Jaako and my great-grandfather Charles that was taken when Charles visited Finland in 1950.

We would then head out for a backroad drive to Teuva (where my great-grandfather Sillanpää was born in 1878) to meet up with Raija’s sister Sinikka. More about our day in and around Teuva next time.