    
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Administrative
Information
Scope and Content Note
Biographical Information
Lineage
Selected Search Terms
Partial Interview Transcript
|
Information
Resources
Robert A. L. Mortvedt Library
Pacific
Lutheran University
Tacoma, WASHINGTON 98447
Phone: (253) 535-7586 E-mail: archives@plu.edu
New Land
New Lives Oral History Collection
Lempi Suaminen Forman
A Guide to Her Oral History Interview |
|
Administrative
Information
Creator:
Forman, Lempi Suaminen
Collection Nr: t020
File Content:
|
|
2 file folders
0 photographs
1 sound cassette
1 compact disc
|
|
|
Processing Information:
|
|
The
interview was conducted using a cassette recorder. A research
copy was also prepared from the original. To further preserve
the content of the interview, it is now being transferred
to compact disc. We deliberately did not transcribe the
entire interview because we want the researchers to listen
to the interviewee's own voice. The transcription index
highlights important aspects of the interview and the
tape counter numbers noted on the Partial Interview
Transcription are meant as approximate finding guides
and refer to the location of a subject on the cassette/CD.
Interviewed
by Donna Mallonee
Transcribed by Mary Sue Gee, Julie Peterson and Becky
Husby
Encoded by Kerstin Ringdahl & Amity Smetzler
Recording Quality: Good
|
Restrictions:
|
|
The
collection is available for research.
|
|
Preferred Citation:
|
|
[Collection
Number, Collection Title]
New Land New Lives Oral History Collection
Scandinavian Immigrant Experience Collection
Robert A.L. Mortvedt Library
Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, WA 98447
|
Go
to top |
This
interview was conducted with Lempi Forman in Portland, OR. It
contains information on her family background, life in Finland
during World War II, emigration, and return trips to Finland.
The interview was conducted in English.
|
|
Lempi
Forman was born on a small island close to Turku in southwest
Finland. Her father was a farmer/fisherman, and there were five
girls and five boys in the family. Growing up, Lempi experienced
many hard times due to World War II. Money was scarce, and she
says people did not know what to do or how to run their country
once the war ended. In the fall of 1948, Lempi moved to Stockholm,
where she stayed for half a year, and then immigrated to New
York in May 1949. She stayed in New York for five weeks and
worked in a tailor shop. On July 4, 1949, she went to Portland,
OR, where she had two cousins. Lempi met her husband on an ocean
ship where she later worked and had one son, David. Every time
she visits Finland, she returns to her home place, but would
never want to live there again.
Go to top |
|
|
Full Name: |
Lempi Suaminen Forman
|
|
Maiden Name: |
Lempi Suaminen
|
|
Father: |
Frans Suaminen
|
|
Mother: |
Wilma Aleksandra...........?
|
|
Paternal Grandfather: |
Johe? Petersson
|
|
Maternal Grandfather: |
Gustav Adolf ...........?
|
|
Brothers and Sisters: |
There were 10 children altogether, five boys and five girls.
Frans Erki? Suaminen
Marte Maria Wilhelmina Suaminen
Kaski? Suaminen
Willia Emelia? Suaminen
Margret? Suaminen
Arne Suaminen
Adolf Suaminen
Ila Suaminen
|
|
Spouse: |
? Forman
|
|
Children: |
David Forman
|
Go to top |
This collection is indexed under the following headings
|
|
Personal Names |
|
Forman, Lempi
Suaminen, Frans
Aleksandra, Wilma
Adolf, Gustaf
Petersson, John
Suaminen, Frans Erki
Suaminen, Marte Maria Wilhelmina
Suaminen, Kaski
Suaminen, Willia Emelia
Suaminen, Margret
Suaminen, Arne
Suaminen, Adolf
Suaminen, Ila
Forman, ? (husband)
Forman, David
|
|
Family Names |
|
Forman family
Suaminen family
Petersson family
|
|
Geographical Names |
|
Turku, Finland
Portland, Oregon
|
|
Subjects |
|
Family -- Finland
Emigration and immigration -- Finland
World War -- 1939-1945
Finland -- Social conditions -- 1945-
Christmas -- Finland
Finland -- Economic conditions
Winter War -- Finland -- 1939-1940
|
|
Occupations |
|
Family farm -- Finland
Tailor shop -- Clerks
|
|
Genre/Form |
|
Oral history
|
|
Institution |
|
Pacific Lutheran University. Scandinavian Immigrant Experience
Collection
|
Go
to top |
The
partial interview transcription highlights important aspects
of the interview. Numbers on the left may be used as guides
to important subjects. Two numbers separated by a slash indicate
that the first number is for cassette and the second for CD.
005/01 FAMILY BACKGROUND: Her full name in Finland was Lempi
……..? Suaminen. Her parents were Wilma Helie? Aleksandra ……?,
and her father was Frans…………..? Suaminen.
018 There were five girls and five boys in the family. Frans
Erki?, Marte Maria Wilhelmina, Lempi (Marte and Lempi were twins),
Kaski?….? (a boy), another boy, Willia? Emilie?, Margret?…….?,
Arne, Adolf, and Ila?.
051 Mother's father was Gustaf Adolf and father's father was
Johe? Petersson. Her father changed the name Petersson to Suaminen
because he didn't like Swedish last names. Sweden was in control
of Finland for over 300 years. When Finland became independent
of the Swedish crown, many people changed their names.
84 EMIGRATION: She came alone on July 4, 1949 to Portland, Oregon.
"I just like to run away from home…" She had two cousins here
that she'd never met. But they sent her a ticket and invited
her to come. "I wasn't too sure. I thought if I liked it I would
stay; if I don't like it or learn the language, I can always
come back." It was exciting to come to a new country.
113/02 TRIP: She went from Turku in the fall of 1948 to Stockholm
where she stayed half a year. Then she took a ship from Göteburg,
Sweden to New York in May 1949. She stayed in New York for five
weeks. She had no problems with the language. Her profession
was tailoring, and she says her boss, "he likes me very much
because I can't talk-I just worked." As soon as she learned
English, she asked her boss for a raise and the he "didn't like
her anymore."
142 SETTLING IN AND WORK: She was happy to be here; there were
so many things to see and so much food to eat. Finland was very
poor after the war. When she was young, times were poor. Finland
had many poor people, a few very rich, and no middle class.
She happened to be in the poor class on a small island close
to Turku. She went to school on the island and when young, she
understood both Swedish and Finnish.
180 The first time she saw a doctor was when she was 16, 17
and went out to work. Illness were treated at home by her mother
who used natural herbs. Father went to a hospital for an ear
operation when Lempi was eight years old. He was a farmer/fisherman;
mother helped with the fishing.
200/03 CHRISTMAS: Presents were opened in the evening, but otherwise
it was similar to American traditions. The children got a small
box of raisins each. The year Father was in the hospital they
had no money; then there were no raisins at Christmas. But Lempi's
mother promised she get them as soon as possible. In June, the
children received the Christmas raisins; Lempi ate one raisin
a week. If mother cried because of the hard times, Lempi "always
gave her one raisin to make her feel better."
243 Special food at Christmas was lutfisk and …..? There might
be ham but no beef. The church was a Lutheran state church.
There were other small religious groups that didn't pay state
taxes because they didn't belong to the state church.
265/04 RETURN TRIPS TO FINLAND: She has returned to her home
place every time she visited Finland. "It's nice to see, but
I never want to live there. It's so far away and you can't go
there without a boat." When she was young, they moved from one
island to another as father searched for more work. She was
three when they left her grandpa's house where she was born.
She has two sisters here besides cousins. Most of her relatives
live in Turku, but one brother lives on an island.
290 Finland was the only country after WWII to pay her war debts;
even though times were hard, payments were made in full. Lempi
is very proud of Finland for that. During the "Winter War" of
1939-1940, the weather was unusually cold. When the family went
fishing, they wore white pillow cases or sheets as camouflage
over their regular clothes, so the Russians couldn't see them.
Lempi and her brother went fishing one time and forgot "the
white clothes that looked like snow" and they were spotted by
the Russians. The Russians shot at them, but the kids took refuge
on a small island until the soldiers left. Afterwards, they
picked up the bullets, one of which Lempi kept as a souvenir
330 The war ended in March and Finland lost land. People weren't
happy because they didn't know how to run the country. "We didn't
know what to do. We didn't have to do anything; we just lived
from day to day. When the war ended, we had to think…" During
the war, she was like a traffic police officer; she helped people
get n shelters during bombing raids. "But then when the war
ended we did not know what to do. We absolutely were lost. It
was so strange, because the war was for six years." Five brothers
fought in the war, one came home early to serve as a fireman.
Mother was happy to get her sons back. But the others didn't
know what to do besides smoking and drinking.
362 Her cousins sent clothes, shoes, and food during the war.
373/05 Mother worked hard when the family was young. The father
was sickly and she cared for him, the house, and the kids besides
trying to fish and work outside sometimes. He was in the hospital
more than once. He had an accident working on the highway. Mother
managed but suffered a lot. She had a good time after the war
when she was older and had grandchildren.
396 TRADITION: Lempi's son is not satisfied with a box of raisins
for Christmas, so that changed. She has kept up with the foods
like rice pudding and lutfisk at Christmas. She serves the rice
with a sweet fruit soup over it. She cooks the rice with a stick
of cinnamon in it, and whoever gets the cinnamon stick has luck
for the whole year.
Lempi still speaks Finnish with her sisters and her son, David.
He knows both Finnish and Norwegian because his dad spoke Norwegian
with him. She met her husband on an ocean ship where she worked.
She's been to Puerto Rico and South America. "He didn't know
any English; I didn't know any Norwegian. So we had two dictionaries
to work on it."
435 Lempi recites a Finnish children's evening prayer which
she used when she was little.
Track 6: Information that Lempi told Donna Mallonee right when
she was leaving, concerning Lempi's dialect and relationship
between Swedes and the Finns.
Go to top
|
Maintained
by archives@plu.edu
© 2002-2003 Pacific Lutheran University
|