| DEAN CREEK In 1915 Mr. and Mrs. John Nikkari and sons Charles and Otto moved to a farm on the Dean Creek from Kaleva, Michigan. After two years, John decided to sell the farm. He placed an ad in the “Uusi Kotimaa” (New Homeland), a Finnish-language newspaper. As a result he sold the farm to Andrew and Hilma Salo and the Nikkari family moved to the new home on East Hill that they had purchased. In 1917 Mr. and Mrs. Salo and children Hilja, Waino, Aksel, Arne, Matt, Hilma and Arvo settled on the farm purchased from the Nikkaris. They came from Red Ridge, Michigan where Mr. Salo had worked at the Baltic Copper Mill. They had worried that the mill would soon close, so after studying the Nikkari ad, they decided to move to the security of farm life. A later visit to Michigan proved their fears well-founded as the mill had closed down and Red Ridge had become a ghost town. Mr. Nikkari had already built a sauna on the farm. Andrew wanted a better one so with the help of his sons, he built a log or “hirsi” sauna, much like those built by the Finns in Michigan, and before that, in Finland. This was a smoke sauna or “sisalle lampiava”. It meant that the smoke from the fireplace escaped from the hatch high on the wall instead of a chimney. It stood near a pretty brook some distance from the house. This log sauna, the exterior still intact, was still standing in 1977 though it was no longer in use. A third sauna was built in the newer style with a chimney and a stove that heats up more quickly, beside the old sauna. It was also almost free of smoke inside the building. A short distance from the sauna, beside the brook, the Salo men built a small park-like picnic area, complete with fireplace, kitchen cabin, swing and footbridge. On the hillside the name “SALO” is spelled out with growing evergreen trees and easily visible as one drives south toward the farm. Salo descendants still occupy the farm. In 1920 Robert and Hannah Leinonen and daughter Jenny of Monesson, Pennsylvania, moved to a neighboring farm now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Aber. They sold it to Mr. Sillanpaa in 1922. Two years later it was sold to John and Hilja Walker of New York City. |