Finns in Minnesota

Personal Account: Fred Torma (Törmä)

Personal account: Fred torma (tÖrmÄ)  93 Personal Account: Fred Torma (Törmä) Fred Torma (1888–1979), a Finnish immigrant miner and carpenter, was a Socialist and cooperative leader in Nashwauk. Torma married Hilda Lampeä (1889–1959) in 1909, one year after she arrived from Alatornio, Finland. The couple had two children: Sylvia and William. Their son-inlaw , Richard H. Silvola, whose parents were Finnish immigrants, served in Minnesota’s House of Representatives from 1945 to 1953. The narrative is excerpted from a lengthy 1973 interview, conducted in Finnish by Douglas Ollila,Jr.,and on deposit in the FinnishAmerican Heritage Center and Historical Archive at Finlandia University (Hancock, MI). The much-abbreviated account has been edited and reorganized for clarity. Further biographical information was derived from the “Torma-Silvola Family Papers” at the Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota, and an account in the Finnish-language cooperative newspaper Työväen Osuustomintalehti [Superior,WI],17 May 1956. I heard about America when I was but a little boy, and at age 16 left for this country, arriving in Duluth on February 5, 1905. I immediately went to the Whiteside Lumber Company camp, where I worked three weeks for fifty cents a day.From there it was to the Stevenson Mine by Hibbing, where I was a carpenter’s helper and received the lowest wage of $1.60 for a 12-hour day; out of that one had to pay for food and lodging. There was such a shortage of rooms that boardinghouse beds were used in two shifts. The vermin were a great problem, and it was impossible to get rid of lice. The odor from the barrel-shaped stove also came into the sleeping quarters, and laundry lines were everywhere. Later I worked in an open pit mine by Hibbing and shoveled ore into a high dump car. That was pretty heavy work for a sixteen-year-old,and dangerous,too.A rock could easily hit one on the head. I always had the idea of a work people’s hall in my heart because I had a socialistic upbringing in Finland.Since there were temperance halls in almosteverytown ,wetriedtotakethemovertofurtherthecauseof working 94  PeoPle oF minnesota people.The first time was at the Stevenson Mine,but the mining company intervened and drove us out. Then I went along the Mesabi Range, drifting from place to place before settling down inAurora.When we Socialists tried to hold our meetings in the temperance hall the company asked the court to proclaim that no labor proceedings could occur there. After arriving in Nashwauk in 1906 I attended a Socialist meeting where I got the feeling that its members had a more far-reaching line of thought.Everyone agreed with my recommendation that we collect funds to build a small Socialist hall.Some thought we should merely put planks on top of beer kegs to serve as a stage,but I said we’ll build a proper one for plays and speeches. I’d never been an actor but in that group one had to try.By 1910 the hall was too small,and some of the newer arrivals were aspiring actors who wanted to continue pursuing this avocation. I drew up the plans and once we got the hall enlarged 250 people could be crammed into it. Hall activities occurred every evening. Committee meetings that planned out the week’s programs took place on Mondays, while other committees ordered plays and produced them. We were so economical that only two scripts were ordered; the others were copied by hand. Play rehearsals were on Tuesday, dances on Wednesday, more play rehearsals on Thursday, debates on Friday, another dance on Saturday, and play performances on Sunday. Since no one could afford to purchase books, we established a library,which also was used by the debaters who needed information to defend their viewpoints. My future wife’s parents had been Laestadian Lutherans. When we started going together our ideological debates were quite fervent; but she was progressive minded,and quickly became an enthusiastic participant in hall activities,including teaching Finnish to the children.I’ve come to the conclusion that in Nashwauk hall activities had a much greater influence than churches did. When the 1907 Mesabi strike began some of us went to the LaRue Mine; but the superintendent appeared with a long rifle and said:“If you step on company land I’ll shoot.”A few days later we were in the Finnish hall...