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Finns and the Winter Quarters Mine Disaster
Finns and the Winter Quarters Mine Disaster
By CRAIG FULLER
An immigrant did I become / I Homeless now I wander; / Like an orphan I roam / Ever remembering my birth land. 1
For the elderly Finnish couple Abram (age seventy) and Kaisa (age sixty) Luoma,Tuesday, May 1,1900,promised to be another joyous day with their recently reunited family in the small coal mining camp of Winter Quarters, Utah.2 For many months, Abram and Kaisa had been separated from their adult children, who had joined thousands of other Finns immigrating to the United States in search of work. In the spring of 1900 the six Luoma brothers and two of their teenage children found steady work in the coal mines at Winter Quarters, Utah
With employment secured, the Luoma children persuaded their parents to leave Finland and join them in Utah, where Abram and Kaisa were promised that their needs in their declining years would be met. The decision to leave the homeland for the United States was a difficult one. However, a united family was important to Abram and Kaisa, and in the spring of 1900 the couple purchased two one-way tickets from Kokkola, Finland, to Scofield, Utah.3
Most of the 1,600 residents of Pleasant Valley had another reason to celebrate on May 1.Two years earlier, during the Spanish-American War, the American navy had won a stunning victory in Manila Bay in the Philippines.4 Kaisa and Abram and their large family along with other Finns in the three mining camps of Clear Creek, Scofield, and Winter Quarters were eager to join in celebrating Dewey Day with a dance and other forms of socializing following the end of the day shift at the Winter Quarters numbers 1 and 4 mines. For Abram and Kaisa this was to be their first patriotic experience in the United States
However, these pleasant expectations -were dashed when at about 10:25 a.m., shortly after the morning shift of the Pleasant Valley Coal Company had begun -work, the mining camp of Winter Quarters—located a few hundred yards from the two portals—felt a shock that was immediately followed by a noise that sounded to some like a cannon being fired or a stick of dynamite being set off. At Scofield, a mile or so away, the muffled noise -was first thought to have been someone prematurely celebrating Dewey Day. These impressions changed quickly when word came from Winter Quarters that a powerful explosion had occurred deep underground in the mine.
Within the hour, dozens of families and loved ones from Winter Quarters and Scofield gathered near the portals of the mine to await news of their relatives.Joining the vigil were dozens of Finnish families -who lived in "Finn Town," located a short distance down the canyon from the main section ofWinter Quarters Kaisa and Abram Luoma joined their countrymen to await word of their family.After waiting anxiously for most of the day while victim after victim was carried out on stretchers, Abram and Kaisa received word that five of their sons and other family members were among the dead.5 For the Luomas and the other Finnish families, the days and weeks ahead would test the intestinal fortitude, stamina, and courage best described in Finnish by the word sisu.
As many as 200 men—some sixty of them Finns—were killed in the explosion In numbers of Finns killed, this explosion would be the secondcostliest disaster in the United States,surpassed only by the explosion at the Hanna No. 1 Mine in Hanna, Wyoming, -where as many as 100 Finnish miners were killed in earlyJune 1903.6 TheWinter Quarters explosion also became the worst coal mine disaster in Utah history and the fourth-deadliest coal mine disaster in American history. It ranks fifth overall in the number of miners killed in mining accidents.7
What brought Finns to the Intermountain region and to Utah? For more than a quarter of a century, Finland, then under rule of the Russian czars, had experienced dramatic economic, political, and social changes Among these changes were the consolidation of land holdings, industrialization of its timber enterprises, expansion of its railroad network, and a growing spirit of nationalism coupled with increased cultural and political suppression by Russia Traditional work was disrupted or altered, and for many Finns immigration to the United States and to the Intermountain region was the answer to unemployment and poor economic conditions.8 By the end of the nineteenth century, the number of foreign-born Finns in the states of Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado exceeded 5,300, or about 8.5 percent of the total number of foreign-born Finns in the United States.9 The percentage of Finns in the Intermountain region remained small compared to other parts of the United States, particularly the copper and iron ore mining locations in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Montana led the region -with a Finnish-born population of 2,103, followed by Wyoming and Colorado. Utah's population stood at only 734 in 1900.10
The number of foreign-born Finns in the Beehive State reached 1,012 in 1910, less than 0.3 percent of the state's population. That same year, the total population of foreign-born Finns in the Intermountain states was 9,154. 11
The immigration story of Matti and Kalle Tokoi, two brothers from the small agricultural village of Lohtoja, Vaasa province, and that of Matti's son Oskari, illustrates the Finnish immigration experience to the Intermountain West. The Tokoi brothers had purchased a small farm during a period of high mortgage rates and of changes in agriculture and land ownership in several provinces of Finland They were forced to mortgage their farm With low agricultural prices and slim prospects of earning money elsewhere in Finland to pay off their indebtedness, Matti and Kalle immigrated to Carbon County, Wyoming, -where they and hundreds of other Finns found plenty of work in the coal mines owned by the Union Pacific Coal Company, a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad Company Through several years of hard work and frugality, the two brothers earned enough money to return to their farm and pay off the existing mortgage. However, on the heels of the return of his father and uncle, Oskari Tokoi also immigrated to southern Wyoming, where he too -went to -work as a coal miner. Oskari later wrote of his journey to southern Wyoming: "I merely followed that tradition in which my father and uncle had preceded me."12
Employment opportunities were also plentiful in the hard rock and coal mines in Utah near the end of the nineteenth century. Among some of the earliest Finnish immigrants to Utah were Herman Berg and his Swedish born wife, Karin, and the Hilstrom family. At the time of the 1900 census, the Berg family had lived in Park City for fourteen years, and the Hilstroms had been in Utah for nine years Finns and Finnish-Swedes found employment in the silver and lead mines at Park City, Bingham Canyon, Ophir, Mercur, and Eureka. There was a sufficiently large population of Finns and Finnish-Swedes in Eureka that by 1908 they were able to acquire a large building identified on fire insurance maps as "Finn Hall." Located near the corner of Beck and Railroad streets in Eureka, Finn Hall provided a place for Finns to socialize and hold temperance meetings, and it probably served as a church aswell.13
Some of the earliest arrivals of Finnish families to Pleasant Valley in Carbon County14 were John Erickson, William and Lezzie Katka, Alexander Kivla, Samuel Nisula, Jacob and Etta Peklajohn and Susie Kokla, and Jacob and Josephine Vali and their two children. These Finnish families and at least half of the Finnish miners killed in the May 1 mining disaster had emigrated from the same western province that members of the Tokoi family had lived in. In fact, as many ashalf of all Finns who immigrated to the United States between the 1880s and World War I came from the Vaasa province.15
Other early Finnish immigrants to Pleasant Valley were Andrew and Hilma Koski. They came from the coal fields of southern Wyoming sometime between 1895,when their daughter Elizabeth was born, and 1899, the year Hilma gave birth to John, their second child. Mrs. Vilhelmina Maki, her husband, and their four children were also prior residents of Wyoming. Vilhelmina's two oldest children, Susanna and Elizabeth, were born in Wyoming, and Katrina was born in Colorado Vilhemina's last child, Johanna, was just eighteen months old in May 1900.16
The Koski, Maki, and other Finnish families settled in the two coal camps of Clear Creek and Winter Quarters, the latter being the larger of the two coal camps in Pleasant Valley. At Clear Creek, the Finns congregated in a small side canyon identified as "Finn Canyon." There the Finns built themselves "a number of dwellings," "a large hotel," and several boardinghouses.17 Finnish miner John Singo and his wife, Mary, with the help of a twenty-year-old Finnish woman, Jastina Wartela, operated a boarding house for ten single Finnish miners. Mat Koski (also spelled Kaski), age thirty-seven, was the Singos' oldest boarder, and Mat Hansen was the youngest at age seventeen Leander and Ida Pesola (or Pecila) also operated a boardinghouse in Finn Canyon for ten single Finnish miners. Still another boardinghouse bedded seven Finns, including Walter Luoma, a forty-nine-year-old miner who -was likely one of the sons of Kaisa andAbram Luoma.18
Finns also lived in a segregated section of Winter Quarters called "Finland," "Finn Town," or "upper camp." One Winter Quarters miner described Finn Town as being about "a half a mile...between the nearest Finn home and the first houses of 'white men.' Out there indeed, the Finn is a stranger in a strange land." Few "white men's cabins" were found in Finn Town, and those "whites" -who did live there did so "not from the choice of their inhabitants."19 Here, then, was an indication of ethnic segregation Finns were viewed as being non-white (or non-American), possessing a different culture and social system.
The imposed system of ethnic segregation for the Finns would change with the passage of a few short years as immigrants from other parts of the world came to Carbon County and Utah to work in the mines and smelters. For example,when Slavic and Italian miners among others struck against the Carbon County coal companies in 1903, some Finns participated in the picketing. However, other Finns refused to join the labor movement and were physically threatened by Italian strikers. 2 0 Elsewhere, Finns such as John Westerdahl joined the ranks of mine management. Eventually, Westerdahl became superintendent of the Tintic Standard Mine in Dividend, Juab County.
Mary Korpi, whose husband was likely John Korpi, a victim of the explosion, operated the largest of the Finnish boardinghouses in Winter Quarters, housing eighteen boarders.21 Mary had hired Helena Ogin, a Finnish girl who was about nineteen years old and single, to help with the laundry, prepare the meals, and care for the Finnish boarders. Korpi's youngest boarder was Voluntine Lakso, twenty-one; the oldest -was John Harris, age forty-four. Fred Lehto and his wife Hannah also boarded a few Finnish miners, and Oscary (Oscari) Camp and his wife Anna boarded three Finnish men. A number of the single Finnish miners lived in several boardinghouses in Finn Town
Of the three coal camps in Pleasant Valley, Scofield had the fewest Finnish residents, less than a handful. Among them was Andrew Koski, who with his partner Johnson (perhaps James Johnson, born in Denmark) had just completed a two-story stone and -wood building The second floor -was Koski's and Johnson's residence, and the ground floor housed a jewelry store and "Russian baths"—better known as the Finnish sauna. 22
Geographer Eugene Van Cleef noted in 1918 that in the United States the Finnish sauna was a distinct "sign of the Finn."23 It is still perhaps the oldest cultural element of the Finnish people, providing a place -where several important ritualistic or near-sacred functions in Finnish culture occur. In addition to being a room or small building where one cleansed the body, the dry heat sauna was thought also to help purge the soul. The sauna was a place of contemplation, and a visit to the sauna when ill often aided in overcoming the illness An old Finnish proverb states: "If a sauna and brandy cannot help the man, death is near at hand."24
As important as these activities were to the Finns, perhaps the most important, at least in rural Finland, was the use of the sauna as a birthing room. It provided a warm clean place where women could give birth to their babies. Most likely, Mary Singo delivered her baby son in Koski's newly constructed public sauna, and if so she would have probably been the first of many Finnish women to do so Eighty years later, all that remained of Koski's "Russian baths" was a collapsed stone building; no sign of it remains today. At present, only one or two private Finnish saunas are in use in Pleasant Valley. By the spring of 1900, when Mary Singo was giving birth, the Pleasant Valley Coal Company was operating "full blast" with two shifts of 800 miners mining on average 2,000 tons a day. The Finnish miners and all others "were getting all the work they could do" in the two day shifts and were hard-pressed to fill all of the company's contracts.21 Adding to the heavy demands on its labor force, the Pleasant Valley Coal Company was awarded another substantial coal contract—to supply the United States Navy with 600 tons of coal per day. Ironically, the contract was to begin on May 1,1900.26
Even as the miners were working at a frenetic pace to fill the company's coal contracts, the company undertook the task of making improvements in the Pike's Peak area of the mine There the company wanted to straighten out the tunnel by removing a section of the wall. James Jenkins and T F Eynon had been hired for the job but -were replaced by Isaac Maki and an unidentified co-worker Before being replaced, Jenkins and Eynon had stockpiled in the construction area as many as 171 sticks of Hercules No. 2 giant powder (dynamite).When Maki and the other Finn took over the project, they carried in and stored an additional 450 sticks of giant powder, thus creating a sizeable magazine of explosives.
Several of the more experienced miners became concerned over the amount of explosives the Finns were storing. Other miners were alarmed that the Finns seemed to lack experience in using explosives in coal mining. William Coulthard, a former coal mine inspector from Colorado, -was asked by Utah coal mine inspector Gomer Thomas about the coal dust in the mine and the Finns' handling of explosives. Coulthard stated that the mine was safe, at least when it came to the management of the coal dust After the explosion, however, he said, "My opinion is different now from what it was before; I never thought there -was any danger in dust previous to this [the explosion]."He then added: "The Finlanders were very careless; they would fire from three to four shots one after another I have seen, after they have fired alarge shot, ablaze shoot across the face "27
Another miner, when asked about the explosion and the feelings of the miners toward the Finnish miners, said, "Everyone was very bitter towards the Finns." They were particularly angry at the way Finns handled explosives. "They are said to have been in the habit of putting in blasts of giant powder at the bottom or near the floor which had the effect of cutting up the dust and ultimately causing the explosion."28 Just two months earlier, a hurried blown-shot in one of the mines had resulted in a small explosion; fortunately there were no reported fatalities or injuries.29 The existing record of mining activities does not reveal who was to blame for this hurried shot.
Below-ground in the mines as well as above the ground, the Finns were for the most part segregated from the other miners. At the time of the disaster, Finns worked in what was identified as the "Finnish" level, which some miners considered to be filled with much more coal dust than were other areas of the mine. "Did you ever hear anyone complain about it [the mine] being dusty or dangerous?" mine inspector Thomas asked miner William R. Davis days after the explosion. "No, I never heard anyone [complain]. I heard several say about the Finnish level that she was pretty dusty."30
The two explosions occurred in quick succession at about 10:25 a.m. W. C. Wilson, a miner with twenty-six years of experience and one of the survivors of the disaster, was at work in the No. 1Mine when he noticed "a low rumbling noise heard in the distance, followed by a sort of wave that can hardly be described but this is known to all who have been in explosions, and I have been in several. I said to my partner that if gas was known to exist in the mine I should say that an explosion had occurred. I advised that -we flee to the mouth of the tunnel, and with me came six men working in that section."31
Jack Wilson, a lad not much older than fourteen, had just entered one of the portals with three horses. Horsepower was used to move coal cars in and out of the mines, and it was Wilson's job as a driver to move the coal cars about. The violent force of air from the explosion threw him "across the gulch at least 150 yards among the small trees and underbrush," where he was miraculously found alive a short time later His three horses were not so fortunate Two of them were found dead a few yards just inside the mine. The third horse was blown fifty yards from the portal of the mine. It, too, was found dead.32
Within minutes following the explosion, mine superintendent Thomas J Parmley set about to organize rescue teams. Mine rescue teams also hurried from Castle Gate to aid in the efforts. The work of locating the dead went slowly Even though the rescue teams were equipped with breathing apparatuses, the deadly after-damp, or carbon monoxide, prohibited long stays in the mine. Fresh rescue teams rotated in to retrieve the dead and possibly rescue the living. By the end of the day it was apparent that there were few survivors besides those who had reached the portals on their own Rescue teams had recovered 165 bodies
Enmity toward the Finns grew particularly venomous among some members of the rescue teams." If there was a way to get out the Americans and let the Finns go, they would stay there ten years before we could touch them," one said.33 The hostility increased when one of the rescue teams found the badly "burned and seared" body of Isaac Maki near the Pike's Peak area of the mine, the area where the large cache of explosives had been stored. For some of the angry miners, the recovery of Maki and the condition in which he was found was the needed proof that the Finns' carelessness and inexperience had caused the explosion.
It became apparent that nearly every family and all of the Finns in the three coal camps had experienced a loss. Mary Ann Aho was more fortunate than many other Finnish women in that by a stroke of good luck her husband Mat was saved from the explosion However, she lost five brothers and four nephews in the disaster. The newly settled Abram and Kaisa Luoma lost a total of eight family members; only one of their adult male children survived.34
Temporary morgues and charnel houses were located at the Winter Quarters LDS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) church, the public school, and several boarding houses. Here, grieving relatives and others were asked to perform the grim task of identifying the dead Name tags were placed on the toes of the victims, and the dead were then removed to individual cabins or boardinghouses. Families and friends held wakes over the bodies until the mass funeral, which was held at the Scofield cemetery on Saturday, or until the bodies could be shipped by rail to the miners' hometowns for interment
Alone and -without a member of their own clergy, the Pleasant Valley Finnish community urgently sent word to Rock Springs for a Finnish speaking Lutheran minister to come and conduct graveside services for their dead countrymen. Rock Springs, with its larger population of foreign-born Finns, served as the cultural and social center for most of the Finnish communities of northern Utah at the turn of the twentieth century. One of the earliest and strongest Finnish Lutheran congregations in the region was the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran National Church in Rock Springs. It was from this congregation that Reverend A. Granholm "would have caught a westbound Union Pacific train for Ogden, -where he could transfer to the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad line to complete his journey to Scofield to conduct the graveside services.35
Other clergy came from Salt Lake City to participate at the mass funeral—the largest funeral in the state's history—and to comfort grieving families. Representing the LDS church were Heber J. Grant, Seymour B. Young, Reed Smoot, and George Teasdale. Rev. Scott came from St. Paul's Episcopal church. Also present from Salt Lake City during the week following the explosion were Rev. George Bailey of the Westminster Presbyterian church, Rev. A. H. Henry of the First Methodist Episcopal church, and Rev. Edward G. Fowler of the American Association of Sunday School Union. The only congregation actually within Pleasant Valley at the time was the LDS church, headed by Bishop Thomas J. Parmley, the mine superintendent. In addition to these religious ministers ,representatives from the Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias came to Scofield.36
Most of the Finnish graves, dug side by side in several long trenches, were located near the west entrance to the cemetery Volunteers from Utah Valley and railroad construction crews from the area had dug the graves in the rocky hillside The arrival of the dead Finnish miners was part of a steady cortege of makeshift hearses carrying pine coffins adorned with flowers provided by the schoolchildren of the Salt LakeValley As the eight coffins of the Luoma family were unloaded, Kaisa Luoma, speaking quietly through another Finn, asked that her family be buried side by side in the same row Her simple request was granted
Before the funeral service for the Finnish miners, Rev. Granholm spoke through an interpreter to express appreciation to all those assembled for the kindness extended to his fellow countrymen. "Say for me that we appreciate the efforts made for our people This calamity has shocked the whole world and my countrymen have suffered terribly. Sixty-one of them are in their coffins awaiting burial, and the colony here has been nearly wiped out."37
The services were simple. To the families Rev. Granholm provided in Finnish a brief but comforting message: "Look to God. He is your only help." He then proceeded down the several rows of coffins, stopping at each to offer a short prayer He was followed by the grieving women, some holding their babies, and other mourners from the Finnish community. Some of the Finnish children became restless and gathered on nearby piles of dirt to find a momentary place of refuge from the funeral services.38
The sorrowful task of burying the dead continued on Sunday, when seven additional miners were laid to rest. Those buried were Finns Erick Kleima, Alex Heikkia, and Maknus Niemi; brothers J. N. and W. O. Powell; William Paugh (Pugh); and George Wilson.39 The burial of these miners and one or two others later resulted in some confusion regarding the total number of miners killed. On the day of the mass funeral a Salt Lake Herald reporter claimed that at least "six bodies yet remain in the mine" and that Thomas Padfield, Edwin Street, and John Pitman were three of the six bodies yet to be recovered.40 Perhaps the Herald's three unrecovered bodies were the same three that the Deseret News reported as missing.
Then as well as now, the total number of dead remained uncertain Earlier in the week, checkers who were assigned to count the bodies as they were being removed from the two portals tallied 247 bodies. Later, undertaker S.D. Evans reported to company officials that he had used 232 coffins.41 On the other hand, state coal mine inspector Thomas recorded 197 miners killed.42
Among those who were troubled that not all of the miners had been recovered were the surviving Finns. Folio-wing the mass burial, the Finnish community met to assess their losses and concluded that "six at least of their people are missing." One missing Finn -was found on May 9 -when a recovery team searching for unaccounted-for miners found the body of Nicholas Walkama. The recovery of Walkama perhaps reinforced the opinion of the Finns and others that additional miners still lay entombed in the Winter Quarters mines. The last Finn to be recovered, Walkama was buried on May 10.43
After the dead had been laid to rest, questions about who was to blame and questions about the cause of the explosion persisted Besides blaming the Finns, many miners were of the opinion that the coal company, in failing to prevent the Finns from storing too many explosives in the mine, was at fault Still others blamed the company for failing to adequately dampen the highly volatile coal dust And some pointed at the coal mine inspector, who had not conducted a complete inspection of the mine in the weeks before the explosion
Official testimonies and reports filed after the explosion seem to have exonerated the Finns The coroner's inquest determined that two explosions had occurred in rapid succession and that most of the miners died of asphyxiation from the deadly after-damp However, the three-person coroner's inquest "was unable to determine who caused the first explosion or what had ignited it In its findings, the three-person panel concluded that "no blame or intimation of blame [is] attached to anyone."44
Concerning the second explosion, the ignition of the dry and highly volatile coal dust, the state coal mine inspector placed partial onus on the coal company. In his report, Thomas indicated that there -was no mine regulation or law that required the company to keep the coal dust damp and thus safe. However,
Dick Sprague, a respected chemist in the state, was asked to make an independent study concerning the coal dust.After analyzing samples of the coal dust from the Winter Quarters mines, Sprague concluded that an accidental spark set off the initial explosion and that the excessive amount of coal dust in the mine magnified the explosion, resulting in a high loss of life. He explained,
Some of the veteran miners held the same opinion. The loss of life would not have been as high if the company had taken the necessary steps to keep the coal dust damp. "One thing would have prevented this explosion—sprinkling, "stated one miner. "If the mines had been thoroughly wet down every week, no ordinary disturbance could have lifted the dust into the air—there could not have been an explosion."47
The Pleasant Valley Coal Company, acting on these reports, set about to resolve the coal dust problem As work was begun to repair the damaged tunnels, the company installed at considerable expense a much-needed sprinkling system "The cost to the company to make this improvement and to operate the sprinkling system will be heavy, but expense is not being considered," reported the Deseret News.4S
The state inspector's report and the coroner's findings did not resolve the animosity that continued to be directed at the Finns, however A number of coal miners refused to return to work if the Pleasant Valley Coal Company employed Finns In a petition they urged the company not to hire the Finns and to "dismiss all Finns from its employ[ment]."49 The company responded and refused to rehire Finnish miners, at least for awhile. 50
Soon after the explosion, a local relief committee was organized to provide comfort and to assist the grieving families One of the relief workers, a Winter Quarters schoolteacher named Miss Bent, recalled hearing the pitiful wailings of many of her young students as she walked the narrow road of the coal camp "Oh, sister, let's pray for poor papa," was a common refrain Among the other angels of mercy were Mrs William White and Elizabeth Silverwood from Salt Lake City During their short stay they provided compassionate service to many children who -were "suffering for the lack of attention." The mothers, "too much burdened with grief," -were unable to provide proper care for their own children.51
Unfortunately, the bitterness felt toward the Finnish miners was also directed at their families. O. G. Kimball, head of the Scofield relief committee, was suspicious that undeserving Finns were taking relief that rightfully belonged to the fatherless and widows. A canvass of "Finland the poorest section of the camp" was taken "to prevent the possibility of undeservers taking the provisions out of the mouths of the needy. Such attempts may be expected, in view of the conduct of certain Finns heretofore. In all cases the Finns asked for something in the list, but few of them were in actual immediate want."52
However, mine production superintendent W. G. Sharp ignored the suspicions of Kimball and others and assigned a "committee of Samaritans" to continue to look after the needs of the Finnish families. The "Good Samaritans" found their work difficult among some of the Finnish families, however. Few of the women understood much English—or they knew none at all. Others were too proud to accept the assistance offered to them. Still other Finns were indifferent to or suspicious of the relief committee's efforts, and they too refused the comfort that was offered. One relief worker recalled finding a number of Finnish children "unkempt and dirty" with little or no attention given to them by their grieving mothers. Three Finnish children were left entirely without parents, older siblings, or other relatives to care for them. Bishop Lawrence Scanlan of the Vicariate of Utah and Eastern Nevada offered these children a home at St. Ann's Orphanage in Salt Lake City.53
A number of Finnish women quietly demonstrated the cultural trait of sisu. Ida Koski -was one such woman A newlywed of about a year with a month-old baby, Ida buried her husband, five of her uncles, and four of her cousins at the Scofield cemetery Despite the loss of so many family members and despite the hostility directed at Finns generally, Ida was among several Finns who remained in Winter Quarters following the disaster.54
Mary Kleimola (also spelled Kelomela and Klemola) was another Finnish woman who displayed extraordinary strength. A fifty-five-year-old widow of three years, she along with her teenage daughter Algo and her four adult sons had immigrated to Pleasant Valley, where her sons found plenty of work. The three oldest sons—Antti, Leander, and Vesteri—were buried in the Scofield cemetery with the dozens of other Finns on the Saturday folio-wing the disaster. The youngest, Albert, escaped death. Despite the difficulties, Mary seems to have carried on her duties as mother and breadwinner in traditional Finnish fashion, without any outward complaints.55
The Winter Quarters Mine explosion, which took the lives of at least 200 miners, was a tragic loss for the community and the state. For the elderly Luomas and the small Finnish community in Pleasant Valley, the Winter Quarters disaster was horrific Their loss "was extremely large—as many as sixty Finns died Further, the strong feelings manifested against the Finnish community sometimes withered even the distinct Finnish trait of personal and community fortitude.
Some Finns left the area and state following the tragedy Among those who were shattered with the loss of so many of their family were Abram and Kaisa Luoma. After much sacrifice, Abram and Kaisa along with their only surviving son ,Leander, and daughter, Kaisa Matilda, decided to return to the land of their birth.56 Still other Finns ignored the anger, chose to stay, and eventually found work in the coal mines of Carbon County or in hard rock mines elsewhere in the state.
During the next few years, the Finnish population grew in Carbon County and in the state as a whole For example, the family of Matti and Aina Maenpaa Rauhala emigrated from Finland and settled in Carbon County in 1907. By 1910 there were enough Lutheran Finns in Pleasant Valley to establish their own congregation with their own pastor. They organized their own temperance society to combat the excessive consumption of alcohol and even built a sizeable hall -where they could gather for social and community activities. Still other Finnish miners participated with their fellow miners in the Carbon County coal strike of 1903—1904.57
NOTES
Craig Fuller is a historian at the Utah State Historical Society The author wishes to thank Philip F Notarianni and Timo Riipa for their assistance in the preparation of this paper Except for those supplied by the author, the photographs are from USHS collections; most if not all of the photos of the explosion's aftermath are by George Edward Anderson
1 Quoted in William Hoglund, Finnish Immigrants in America, 1880—1920 (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1960), 34.
2 The original family name of Isoluoma was shortened to Luoma in many written records In several instances, it was also misspelled.
3 At the time, the cost of two one-way tickets from Kokkola to Scofield was $164. See Migration Institute, www.migrationinstitute.fi/migration/ml (May 28, 1999).
4 The Salt Lake Tribune editorialized on May 1, 1900, that Dewey's victory "should be a holiday [and] it should be kept as one of the nation's sacred days."
5 Deseret News, May 5, 1900 On the day of the funeral at Scofield, the Deseret News reported sixty-one Finns killed and three unidentified or missing.
6 The Deseret News, July 1, 1903, reported: "About 100 [of the 234 dead miners in Hanna] were Finlanders." Like many early accounts of disasters, the total number reported killed by the newspapers was higher than the later, official count. The official number killed in the Hanna No. 1 Mine was 169. See
H B Humphrey, "Historical Summary of Coal Mine Explosions in the United States, 1810-1958," Bureau of Mines Bulletin 586 (1960), 22
7 Humphrey, "Historical Summary," 17, 22-23 The exact number of dead will likely never be known Days after the explosion and when most of the dead had been buried, the Salt Lake Tribune on May 6 suggested that as many as 250 miners had been killed
8 Poor economic conditions and high unemployment were not unique to Finns For examples of other immigrants trying to escape economic turmoil and other disruptive conditions, see Philip F Notarianni, "Italianita in Utah," and Joseph Stipanovich, "Falcons in Flight: The Yugoslavs," in Helen Z Papanikolas, ed., The Peoples of Utah (Salt Lake City: Utah State Historical Society, 1976)
9 For a study of Finns in Red Lodge, Montana, see Arlene Harris, "The Red Lodge Finns," in Shirley Zupan and Harry J Owens, eds., Red Lodge: Saga of a Western Area (Carbon County, MT: Carbon County Historical Society, 1979), 179-87
10 Matti E Kaups, "The Finns in the Copper and Iron Ore Mines of the Western Great Lakes Region, 1864—1905: Some Preliminary Observations," in Michael G Kami, Matti E Kaups, and Douglas J Ollila, Jr., eds., The Finnish Experience in the Western Great Lakes Region: New Perspectives (Turku, Finland: Institute for Migration, 1975), 55;http://www.migrationinstitute.fi/migration (May 28, 1999)
11 The highest number of foreign-born Finns was recorded in 1920, when the census revealed 149,824 first-generation Finns living in the United States This peak number came on the heels of war in Europe and the Finnish struggle for independence from the Soviet Union
12 Oskari Tokoi, Sisu "Even through a Stone Wall": The Autobiography of Oskari Tokoi (New York: Robert Speller & Sons, 1957), 35 Unlike his father and uncle, Oskari immigrated to southern Wyoming because of personal problems Like his uncle and father, he too eventually returned to Finland, where he later served briefly as president of the Finnish national assembly
13 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, Eureka, Utah, 1908; copy at the Utah State Historical Society, Salt Lake City (USHS). Finnish-Swedes were Finns who mainly spoke Swedish, had Swedish ancestors, and lived primarily on the west coast of Finland
14 By the end of the nineteenth century, the PleasantValley Coal Company was one of the leading producers of coal in the state In 1899, for example, PleasantValley Coal production exceeded 466,000 short tons; Salt Lake Herald, December 31, 1899
15Timo Orta, "Finnish Emigration Prior to 1893: Economic, Demographic and Social Backgrounds," and A.William Hoglund,"No Land for Finns: Critics and Reformers View the Rural Exodus from Finland to America between the 1880s and World War I," in Kami et al., eds., The Finnish Experience in the Western Great Lakes Region; Henry Samuel Heimonen, "Finnish Rural Culture in South Ostrobothnia (Finland) and the Lake Superior Region (US)" (Ph.D diss., University of Minnesota, 1941), 5, cited m Cotton Mather and Matti Kaups, "The Finnish Sauna: A Cultural Index to Settlement," Association of American Geographic Annals 53 (1953): 499 I wish to thank Dr John Lefgren for providing me with some immigration data on the Finns who died atWinter Quarters.Through his own research while at the University of Helsinki, Dr Lefgren found in the Siirtolainen (May-August 1900), a Finnish immigrant newspaper published in the United States, a partial list of Finnish victims of the Winter Quarters mine disaster and their home villages
16 United States Manuscript Census, 1900; microfilm copy at USHS.There were several Makis killed in the explosion, and it is likely that one of them wasVilhemina's husband.
17 Salt Lake Herald, December 31, 1899
18 These three Finnish boardinghouses continued to board single Finnish miners after the Winter Quarters disaster. See Utah Fuel Records, MS 154, Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.
19 Salt Lake Herald, May 9, 1900
20 Utah Fuel Records, MS 154, Special Collections, BrighamYoung University
21 The 1900 federal census shows Korpi spelled Korp.The Scofield sexton's record lists aJohn J[a]vikorpi, and the Siirolainen and Pohjolainen list aJohn Korpi among the dead Finnish miners Mary Korpi continued to live in Winter Quarters for several years after the disaster; see United States Manuscript Census, 1900 and 1910
22 Salt Lake Herald, April 12, 1900 The "Russian baths" were probably so-named because Finland was part of the Russian empire until December 6, 1917, when the Finnish parliament issued a public declaration of independence
23 Eugene Van Cleef, "The Finn in America," Geographical Review 6 (1918): 210, quoted in Mather and Kaups,"The Finnish Sauna," 497
24 Mather and Kaups,"The Finnish Sauna," 498
25 Salt LakeTribune, May 7, 1900; Deseret News, May 2, 1900
26 Salt LakeTribune, May 2, 1900.
27 Report of State Coal Mine Inspectorfor 1900, 77-78, copy at USHS. Coulthard lost a son in the explosion.
28 Salt Lake Herald, May 5, 1900
29 H. B. Humphrey,"Historical Summary," 5.
30 Report of State Coal Mine Inspector for 1900, 19
31 Salt Lake Tribune, May 2, 1900
32 Salt Lake Herald, May 2, 1900.
33 Ibid., May 6, 1900.
34 Ibid., May 9, 1900.
35 For a discussion of the early activities of the Finnish Lutheran Church in Rock Springs, see Kirkollinen Kalenteri Vuodelle, 1905 (Ecclesiastical Calendar for 1905) and V Rautanen, Amerikan Suomalainen Kirkko (American Finnish Church) (Hancock, MI: Suomalias-Luteerilainen Kustannusliike, 1911), 255-57.
There were two Finnish Lutheran churches in the United States: the Finnish Lutheran Church (Suomi Synod), which "regarded itself as the proper benefactor of all Finnish immigrants in America," and the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran National Church, a more "democratic, lay-centered" institution See Douglas J Ollila,Jr., "The Work People's College: Immigrant Education for Adjustment and Solidarity," in For the Common Good: Finnish Immigrants and the Radical Response to Industrial America, ed. Michael G Kami and Douglas J Ollila,Jr (Superior,WLTyomies Society, 1997), 90
36 Salt Lake Herald, May 5, 1900; Deseret News, May 5, 1900; Salt Lake Tribune, May 5, 1900
37 Deseret News, May 5, 1900 The Deseret News also reported that there were three unidentified Finns who were "supposed to be missing."
38 Ibid
39 Salt Lake Herald, May 7, 1900
40 Ibid., May 5, 1900.
41 Salt Lake Herald, May 5, 1900
42 "Accidents Cat'd [unreadable]," dated May 1, 1900, "Coal Mine Inspector Report," microfilm copy of holograph, Series 19605,Box 1, 126-27, Utah State Archives, Salt Lake City A much closer examination of all available contemporary lists and sources is needed to determine more accurately the number of miners killed. For example, resident J. W Dilley does not include on his list of victims the two Finns Erick Kleima and Maknus Niemi in his History of the Scofield Mine Disaster (Provo: Skelton Publishing, 1900) The Scofield Cemetery record, which has several pages missing, does not include Erick Kleima but does list M Niemi and A Heikkila.The Salt Lake Herald, Deseret News, and Salt Lake Tribune provide various lists On May 3, 1900, the Salt Lake Tribune reported 217 bodies recovered A day later, the newspaper reported that 223 had been recovered, and on the day of the mass funeral, it reported that 385 men and boys had been underground at the time of the explosion and, as an unnamed miner stated, "Not more than eighty-five escaped." On May 8, 1900, the Deseret News indicated that the total number of victims was 246 All of these numbers are much higher than the numbers of casualties—generally around 200—given in official sources.
43 Salt Lake Herald, May 10, 1900.
44 Ibid., May 7, 1900
45 Ibid., May 4,1900
46 Ibid.,May 13, 1900.
47 Deseret News, May 12, 1900
48 Ibid., May 18,1900
49 Salt Lake Herald, May 13, 1900
50 Deseret News, May 18, 1900
51 Ibid., May 13,1900
52 Ibid., May 8,1900.
53 Ibid., May 6 and 9,1900
54 In addition to Ida Koski, Mary Luoma, a family member of Kaisa and Abram Luoma, and Mary Korpi remained in Winter Quarters All of these women paid taxes in 1901 to the Carbon County assessor See Assessment Roll of Carbon County, 1901, Microfilm A-l 006, USHS
55 See United States Manuscript Census, 1900; microfilm copy at USHS
56 R George Silvola to author, May 7, 2000, in possession of author
57 V Rautanen, Amerikan Suomalainen Kirkko, 263;Allan Kent Powell, The Next Time We Strike: Labor in Utah's Coal Fields, 1900—1933 (Logan: Utah State University Press, 1985), 66—67 Longtime Finnish resident of Clear Creek Lilly Erkkila Woolsey remembers that at one end of Finn Hall was a large curtain with a hand-painted scene of Helsinki, Finland; conversation with author August 10, 1999.
