Two weeks ago, I headed to Fairport Harbor to start the research for SISU is in the Heart, with the support of a grant from Finlandia Foundation® National.  During my visit I hosted two "story circle" events to tell people about my project and to learn about the history of the village and why people are proud to call Fairport "home".  The first event took place at The Finnish Heritage Museum, as part of their monthly meeting (which coincided with national Apron Day!) and the second event took place  the next evening at the Fairport Harbor Senior Center, with support from Discover Fairport Harbor. Over the course of two nights, I met and talked with over 50 people from the community!

The stories and reflections shared during these event will serve as a jumping off point as I begin to write an original play inspired by Fairport Harbor and my own personal family ancestry.  The play is not intended to be a documentary, but more of a "stew" with the flavors of the village appearing throughout the script. As I listened  to the voices in the room,  Fairport (of today and of the past) swirled up around me-- colorful characters, important locations, historical dates, traditions, celebrations, tragedies, small details and momentous events that have shaped the character of this small town on Lake Erie . I was struck by the community's deep commitment to education and faith, sincere pride in their heritage and ancestry, and a strong inter-connected spirit that defines the village.  I feel grateful for the warm welcome, candor, and the hospitality that I encountered, and look forward to the task of crafting a play for this wonderful place.

For those of you who were not able to attend, I have include lots of photos below, along with examples of the questions and story prompts that came up as we talked. If you would like to contribute to the project, please share your stories by clicking the SHARE YOUR STORIES link at the top of the page of by sending an email to [email protected].  

-Park  

Questions and Prompts
-What is your ancestry?
-What is one thing we wouldn't know about you just by looking?
-Pick a corner: Are you the. . .  Youngest  / Eldest / Middle / or only child?
-Pick a corner: I would change my like for . . . Money / Love / Opportunity / Freedom
-Have you ever changed details about a family story? If so, why? 
-Why is it important for younger generations to know about their heritage?
-What is the one thing that should be included in a play about Fairport?

Pick a Corner
-Have you lived here . . . . your whole life / a few years / gone away and come back / just visiting?
-The most important thing to me is . . .  Family / Community / Faith/ Legacy
Wagon Wheels
-Tell you partner about time that you had to exhibit "sisu"
-Is there any juicy gossip in your family?
-Tell your parents about a relative that you wish you had been able to meet
Open Questions
-Have you ever had to give up on something and return home?
-Is there anything you would change about Fairport's past? 
-What do you hope for the future of Fairport? 
-What is the one thing that should be included in a play about Fairport?

SISU in the Heart  begins. . . 

This coming Sunday (May 11, 2014) is the 110th wedding anniversary of my great grandparents. They left their homes in Finland, boarded an ocean liner, and arrived in the U.S. in 1900. My great-grandmother Maria Adolphina Knuuttila, 17 at the time, left her home in Isokyrö, a small town in western Finland, and was sent to Fairport Harbor (pictured below on the left), where her mother's brother had settled 12 years earlier. My great-grandfather, Johannes Andrew Ojala, was the youngest of 14 brothers and sisters, and was convinced  he  wouldn't be given a piece of the family farm (pictured below on the right). He headed to the U.S.  in search of a new life. Beyond this rough sketch, the details are hard to fill in with any certainty, but as I uncover immigration documents, photos, newspaper articles, church records, and talk with relatives and other Finns about their stories, a more rounded and colorful story has started to emerge.

In all family storytelling there are moments when reality and fiction blur. We enhance certain details (or leave out certain key facts) in order to make ourselves, or our families, look honorable, brave,  humorous, generous,  heroic, politically correct,  gracious, or simply more likable and appealing.  I know my great grandparents immigrated in 1900, found themselves in Fairport Harbor, and were married at the Suomi Zion Church on May 11, 1904.  But what happened in those four years? When exactly did they meet ? Is there any chance they were on the same boat?  Did they fall in love at sea? Was their marriage a matter of predicament (their first child, Adolph, was born in October of 1904-- not quite nine months after their marriage)? Were photos taken of their ceremony? What kind of music played? Did their families know of their intentions, or was a postcard dropped in the mail as soon as the heavy church bells rang only to take weeks to cross the ocean and find its way to their parents? Or, had family ties been severed? 

As a genealogist, I am having some of these questions answered with the help of the duteous record keeping of The Finnish Heritage Museum, as well as immigration records made available by Ancestry.com (researcher tip: You can often gain free access to the online records on holidays). Below is the ship manifest for a boat that arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia on March 1, 1900 .  John Ojala's name appears on the top line (age 17). Below it, Matti Kuivila (age 20), listed as a friend, and then below that. . . another John Ojala (aged 25).  Maria's name is nowhere to be found on the manifest. . . 

With each discovery, new questions emerge. Who was this friend? Is he the one pictured with my great grandfather in this unmarked portrait I recently found in a box of my grandmother's belongings? Are the descendants of this man still in Ohio? Who was this second John?  Was it simply a clerical error? Is there a chance, the second "John" was his brother Kustaa traveling under his name? The age is right, but according to family Kustaa didn't visit Ohio until 1905 and THAT story is for another post entirely . . .  

As a playwright, I have choices to make about how I connect the dots in the script for SISU is in the Heart. How I tell the life story of my great grandparents will be shaped by the other family stories that I will hear over the next year in story circles and interviews with other Finnish Americans.  My great-grandparents, two people I  simply knew as "my Finnish relatives"  for so many years, are becoming more and more a part of my life. They are becoming real to me.  I am getting to know them despite the distance of more than 100 years. As I move ahead, there will be parts of their life that I choose to emphasize for the sake of telling a good tale, and elements I  ignore to make things more interesting-- that's what makes great theater! Writing their story will be 3 parts research, 2 parts guess work, and 1 part a conscious and deliberate blending of details to tell the story I feel compelling to share. I invite you along with me on this journey to dramatize their story. 

Kiitos! 

Park Cofield
May 8, 2014

Please join us next week!