11th Finglish trip August 2011 #28 The Esko Volunteer Fire Department was founded in 1949 by a very dedicated bunch of local men who knew very little about forming and operating a fire department.  However, they all had the desire and knowledge to protect lives and property of thier neighbors from the perils of fire. Jeff Juntunen has worked 36 years as chief of the Esko Volunteer Fire Department. Most of the Esko residents are descendants of Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish im

8th Finglish trip June 2009 #37 Eric Bergland makes handcrafted Finnish Puukko knives. He lives with his wife in Blue River, Oregon. His father Oscar Bergland was a gunsmith. As a young boy Eric helped in his father's workshop by arranging tools in their own places and at the same time learning how to use them. At age 15 he made his first Puukko. After retiring from an archeologist's work, he started making Puukko knives. Eric is partly Sámi on his father's side. Eric says ab

6th Finglish trip December 2007 #4 John Kallunki, a third generation fisherman on the Columbia River, mainly catches salmon and smelt. His Finnish roots are in Kuusamo and Sievi. His grandfather Arvid with his three brothers and a sister came from Finland to Canada in the early 1900s. Arvid moved from Canada to the USA, first to Michigan and then to Oregon. In its 1,200 mile course to the ocean, the Columbia River flows through four mountain ranges and drains more water to th