The Finnish American friendship activities initiated during The Continuation War, when Finland was waging war on the “wrong side” from America’s point of view. The Finnish-American Society of Tampere was founded in 1948 when the war was over, but the political circumstances were still ambiguous. According to the rules, the Tampere Society operates as a local friendship organization in the League of Finnish - American Societies. Its main task is to increase the mutual understanding and contacts between the Finnish and the American people. Cultural-, scientific and student exchange activities are the prominent element in the Society’s operation. The organization is independent and avoids interfering in any political matters. At its peak the Tampere Finnish American Society had over 3,600 members.
The Society’s founding meeting was held in Grand Hotel Tammer in Tampere.
Mr Hans Rosenberg had invited representatives from political and economic fields
of life to the meeting. The United States of America was widely considered
as the protector of the free world in the end of the 1940s. The reason for
the incremental growth in the number of members at the very beginning of the
organization’s history was accounted for this and the kinship felt by
migrants that moved to the US during the decades that preceded the foundation
of the organization. The early activities at Tampere Society commonly consisted
of presentations, causeries, travel descriptions, music recitals, and movies.
The organization had an important role in language teaching and in organizing
the Finnish American groups’ visits to the region. The visitations of
ambassadors to Tampere were always regarded as significant events. One of the
most renowned language teachers that taught in Tampere in the early 1960s was
Mr Harold Connolly, who won the gold medal in hammer in the 1956 Melbourne
Olympics.
Ms Edith Sampson, a member of the United States’ UN delegation at the
beginning of the 1950s, talked about “Negro life in America” in
a presentation in the City Hall of Tampere. Also another unique event took
place when Tampereen Työväen Teatteri theater performed the work
of Aleksis Kivi’s “Kihlaus” (Engagement) in English, the
cast beeing the staff of the US embassy.
Tampere Society organized its path breaking group tour to the United States in 1960. The leaders of the trip were Mr Mikko Nupponen, Ms Aino Paloheimo and Mr Viljo Torpo. The newspapers Aamulehti and Kansan lehti had sent photographers to immortalize their departure with two busses from the central square of Tampere. The flight time was 23 hours and 30 minutes. After arriving in the US, the group toured in altogether 11 states.
For the past sixty years four national America Days were arranged in Tampere.
The first event was held one year after the organization was founded in 1949.
The main ball was organized in the City Hall, where the keynote speech was
given by Mr R. Erik Serlachius. A recitation was performed by actress Ella
Eronen, who had recently returned from a US recital tour. The representative
of the US embassy was ambassador Avra Warren. Both theaters in Tampere had
organized American plays in their programs during the America Days. Also
the local movie theaters were showing more American films than usual.
The largest American Days in Tampere, measured in content and the number
of people, were held in 1968. Among others, Mr Johan Nykopp, chairman of
the League
of Finnish American Societies’ Mr Jussi Saukkonen, and Tampere Society’s
chairman Mr Juho Tuomikoski, gave speeches in the assembly hall of the university.
Assisted by the US ambassador Tyler Thompson, they managed to invite Mr George
F. Kennan as a guest of honor, to give the main keynote speech. Mr Kennan was
an ex ambassador, a writer and a scientist. Altogether 3,000 people participated
in the America Days weekend event. At the end of day the guests would enjoy
a garden festivity called the “Spare Ribs Picnic” organized by
Mr Jussi Linkosuo in the Näsinkallio park. The next America Days were
to be arranged in 1987 and 2002.
The big wave of immigration to the United States of America took place around the 19th and 20th Century. The immigrants brought along with them the institutions of the Old Country, including Lutheran church, working class ideology, abstinence, sauna, and the press. Today, however, only two papers are printed in Finnish, “Amerikan Uutiset” in Lake Worth Florida, and “Raivaaja” in Fitchburg Massachusetts. Both have their ties in Tampere, too.
Working class oriented “Raivaaja” paper’s editor in chief Ms Marita Cauthen is from Messukylä, and she has spent her early school years in Tampere. For Ms Cauthen having lived in the US for a good deal of time, her warm childhood memories of swimming trips in lake Kaukajärvi , berry picking ventures in the forests of Hervanta, and the summer cottage in an island in lake Näsijärvi, have stayed with her to this day. “Amerikan Uutiset” paper was saved by Mr Paavo Suominen in 1990s when the paper was facing financial difficulties. Mr Ari Ahola, also influential person in Tampere economic life, a former pilot, and the founder of “Keltainen Pörssi”, came in command of the Finnish Media Group Inc., which was a later established background organization of the Amerikan Uutiset paper. The current editor in chief is Mr Mikko Koskinen, renowned for his sport years and connections in advertising.
The friendship activities mostly comprise cultural collaboration with a small and a big nation, and their people. It is commonly regarded as self evident that the influence of American films, music, and theater in Finland has been notable. Numerous plays by American playwrights have been performed at Tampereen Teatteri theater and Tampereen Työväen Teatteri theater. Most notably, the West Side story, Sugar, Show Boat, Death of a Salesman, A View from the Bridge, Who is Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Cat on a hot Tin Roof etc. The list of American plays in our old centennial theaters is long and impressive.
Making Finnish play works known in America has offered a real challenge. The
chief resident director Mr Mikko Viherjuuri in the Tampereen Teatteri theater
has done a real tremendous job in promoting Finnish theater exports to the
theater stages in the United States. The “Find a Fine Finnish Play” project
enabled him to direct a work by Ms Anna Krogerus in Santa Barbara California
in 2007. The play was called “Rakkaudesta Minuun” (For Sheer Love
of Me) and it was starred by Irina Björklund and Peter Franzén.
Under the same project the work by Ms Sirkku Peltola called “Suomen Hevonen” (The
Horse of Finland) from Tampereen Työväen Teatteri theater was performed
by American directors and actors.
The nature of friendship co-operation has changed a bit throughout the years,
but the League of Finnish - American Societies with its local organizations
is still one of the biggest friendship organizations with the United States
if measured by the number of members. Currently there are 500 members in the
Tampere Finnish –American Society.
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