Funding for encoding this finding aid was
provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the
Humanities.
Biographical Note
Eric Heikkala was born on April 24, 1916 in
Hailuoto, Finland, which is located on an island between Sweden and Finland
near Oulu in the north. His parents were Viljo Heikkala and Fanny Sipila, and
Eric was the eldest of five children. After grammar school, Eric began farming
and then became a sailor so he could earn enough money to go to school and
obtain his captain's and pilot's licenses. Eric sailed to England, Italy, North
Africa, and the United States. In 1939, Finland went to war with Russia, and
Eric was sent to northern Finland, where he was in charge of six other men.
When the shooting started, they rowed to Norway, but the Norwegian village they
arrived at was full of Russians. The Russians found them, and Eric became a
prisoner of war for four months and twenty days. By the time he was released,
Eric was so weak that he had to be carried back to Finland. He remained in the
hospital for awhile and then started working on ships again. When Pearl Harbor
was attacked, the United States bought the ship Eric was working on, and he was
told to go to America and find work. Eric stayed with an uncle in New York for
several months, during which time he met his future wife, Ida Pitkanen, in
Manhattan. Ida was originally from Muuruvesi, Finland. After his stay in New
York, Eric then went to Vancouver, WA and began doing carpentry work. Once he
was settled, he sent for Ida and got married. They had two sons, Wayne and Roy.
Both of the boys understand Finnish, and Eric is very proud of his heritage. He
has belonged to the Finnish Brotherhood and has made several trips back to
Finland.
Lineage
Full Name: Eric Heikkala.
Father: Viljo Heikkala. Mother: Fanny Siplia. Paternal Grandfather: Kustaa
Heikkala. Paternal Grandmother: Erika Pirkola. Brothers and Sisters: Anne
Heikkala, Elsa Heikkala, Inkeri Heikkala, Simo Heikkala. Spouse: Ida M.
Pitkanen. Children: Roy Heikkala, Wayne Heikkala.
Content Description
This interview was conducted with Eric Heikkala on August 27, 1981 in
Vancouver, Washington. It contains information on family background, being a
prisoner of war, coming to America, marriage and family, and Finnish heritage.
The interview also includes a photograph of Eric at the time of the
interview.
Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Access :
The oral history collection is open to all users.
Restrictions on Use :
There are no restrictions on use.
Administrative Information
Custodial History :
The Oral History collection
project was started during an experimental course on Scandinavian Women in the
Pacific Northwest. Students in the course were encouraged to interview women
and learn about their experiences as immigrants to the United States. The
project was continued and expanded with support from the president's office and
by grants from the L.J. Skaggs and Mary C. Skaggs Foundation, from the Joel E.
Ferris Foundation and the Norwegian Emigration Fund of the Royal Norwegian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The project was directed by Dr. Janet E.
Rasmussen. The collection was transferred to the Archives and Special
Collections Department.
Acquisition Information :
Related Materials :
To search and view Pacific
Lutheran University's digitized images, visit our
Digital Assets
Website
Processing Note :
The interview was conducted by
Donna Mallonee 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. The recording quality is good
The
collection was transcribed by Mary Sue Gee, Julie Peterson and Becky Husby.
Bibliography :
Rasmussen, Janet Elaine. New Land
New Lives: Scandinavian immigrants to the Pacific NorthwestTacoma, WashingtonUniversity of Washington
Press1993
Additional Reference Guides :
Detailed Description of the Collection
The partial interview transcription
highlights important aspects of the interview. Numbers 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.
Cassette
85, side 1
007: ERIC SAKARI
HEIKKALA
Born April 24, 1916 in Hailuoto,
Finland. Hailuoto is on an island between Sweden and Finland near Oulu in the
north.
85, side 1
037: PARENTS
Viljo and Fanny. Father was a farmer and
fisherman.
85, side 1
054: BROTHERS AND
SISTERS
One brother and three sisters.
Eric is the eldest. Anne, Elsa, Inkeri, and Simo.
85, side 1
073: GRANDPARENTS
Kustaa Heikkala and Erika Heikkala. He was a farmer
and a sailor. Sailed to America and all over the world. This was before Eric
was born. He could speak English and taught Eric.
85, side 1
111: FAMILY NAME
You got your name from the place you lived. If you
moved, you'd take that name with you. His great grandparents had no children.
They took in a boy who they were godparents for. The boy came from a large
family. The boy's name was Heikkinen but he took the name Heikkala when he
moved in with them.
85, side 1
148:
The island Hailuoto is: Small island, about 30 miles long
and 15 miles wide. There used to be a lot of people on the island - about 2300
when he left. Now about 900. People fished and farmed. A lot of pilots left
from the island. You could go to school and get your captains license and then
your pilots license.
85, side 1
174: SCHOOL
Went to school on Hailuoto. Finland had just gained
independence. At that time, you still had to pay for high school. He started
farming first and then became a sailor so he could earn money and go to
school.
85, side
1
199:
SAILING
First went to England, Italy, and
North Africa. Sailed between Finland and the U.S. when the war broke out.
English started war and then it came to Finland. They sailed to South America
and North America. In 1937, He'd served his compulsory 440 days in the Finnish
Army. Then he came to America. Went back to Finland in 1939 when war broke
out.
85, side 1
247: WINTER WAR: 1939
Finland went to war with Russia. Eric
was sent to the northern most part of Finland. He was in charge of six other
men. They stayed there for 2-3 months, watching for Russians. The Russians had
thousands of men. They had a boat and it was about 5 kilometers to the place
they had to report to. The morning they started shooting, Eric had to burn all
of the books with secret codes.
85, side 1
284:
Their boat had already left. They found another little boat
and tried to row to Norway, which wasn't very far. Heavy winds made it
difficult to get in. They tried for two nights. Went to a Norwegian village.
They were hungry. Village was full of Russians. The Russians saw them. There
was nobody else around. They went back to their old boat, which was upside down
and slept underneath it. The Russians
85, side 1
300:
found them. The Russians took them to Murmansk for 2-3 weeks
and then to Petrozavodsk for about a month. Then they took them somewhere else.
He was held prisoner for 4 months and 20 days. He got Typhus while at the camp.
When they let the prisoners go after the Winter War.
85, side 1
322:
Eric was so weak that he had to be carried back to Finland.
There were 600-700 prisoners in the camp and about 5,000-6,000 Russian
soldiers. The next war started one year later. They weren't treated very well
at the camp. They didn't get much to eat. Their camp in Petrozavodsk was an old
naval station. The other camp was in an old Catholic monastery in Tradsovich
(?). Before they were moved to that camp, about 5,000 Polish officers who had
been there were shot.
85, side 1
370: LAND LOST
Although Finland had to give up quite a bit of land,
still it was amazing that the Finns could hold off the Russians. The Finns were
really outnumbered. Mannerheim was the leader of the Finns. The Germans came to
help fight Russia in WWII. Then the Finns had to fight the Germans to get them
out. The Germans burned and destroyed northern Finland as they left. Eric was
in the hospital for a while after the war. Then he started working on ships
again. They worked out of Petsamo, Finland's only ice-free port in the
North.
85, side 1
415:
After England started the war, they couldn't work at Petsamo
(The Russians took it).
85, side 1
416:
They rented the ship, North McCormick American Line (sp),
registered a Panama flag, and sailed to North and South America.
85, side 1
426: STAYING IN
AMERICA
When the Japanese attacked Pearl
Harbor, the U.S. needed ships. They bought the ship Eric was on. They told him
to go work in America. He had to check in once a month. He was still considered
an alien.
85, side 1
453: FINDING WORK
He stayed with an uncle in New York for 2-3 months.
He met his wife in Manhattan. He met a lot of Finnish people there. Then he
went to the West. Worked for carpenters in Vancouver, WA.
85, side 1
467:
None of the other members of his family have come to the
U.S. They still live in Hailuoto, Oulu, and Rovaniemi. He has gone back to
Finland several times to visit.
85, side 1
488:
Eric had neutral feelings when the ship was sold and he was
told to find work in the U.S. He just wanted to save money and go to school. He
never got to be a pilot on a ship but he has his own boat.
85, side 1
500: LEARNING
ENGLISH
Didn't speak much when he came.
Could read a little. He took a bus from New York to the West coast in 1942. Got
to Portland, Ore. on the last day of February. When he was in Chicago, the bus
didn't come at the time it was scheduled. He went to the information desk to
find out when the next bus would come. Nobody could speak Finnish, so they
acted out what was going on. This is how he
85, side 1
537:
communicated. He learned English by taking a few classes,
working, and listening to baseball games on the radio.
85, side 1
554 :
Eric and his wife-to-be wrote to each other. She was still in
New York. She came to Vancouver, WA and they got married. They have two boys
both were born and grew up in Vancouver. Wayne - born in 1946, went to the
Wash. St. Univ. Roy - born in 1949, went to Portland State. Has his
masters.
85, side 1
579: CHURCH
They went to the nearest church. There weren't any Finnish
people there other that themselves. When the boys were young, they joined a
church in Portland that had a Finnish minister. They still belong to that
church.
85, side
1
599: FINNISH
ORGANIZATIONS
They belonged to the
Finnish Brotherhood or "Veljesseuratu." They don't go very often now.
85, side 1
613: TRIPS BACK TO
FINLAND
Things have gotten a lot better.
They have lots of relatives there. Write and telephone each other. Parents
still living in Hailuoto. Mother 86 and father 87 years old.
85, side 1
633: FINNISH TRADITIONS
CELEBRATED IN AMERICA
They carry on the
same traditions as Americans.
85, side 1
637: IMPORTANCE OF BEING
FINNISH
Eric is proud of his heritage.
Heikkala is hard to pronounce but it's good for business. His sons help him
with his construction business now. Wayne worked for a bank for five years and
Roy has worked for the City of Portland.
85, side 1
665: FINNISH LANGUAGE IN THE
HOME
He and his wife speak Finnish around
the house. The boys understand it. Roy went to Finland a year ago and got along
pretty well.
85, side 1
676: HE SPEAKS THE FINNISH
LANGUAGE:
Don't judge a person's
intelligence by his looks.
85, side 1
698:
Circumstances brought Eric here to the U.S. He can't really
say whether he'd have come here otherwise, but he's happy here.
Subjects
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the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials
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