Funding for encoding this finding aid was
provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the
Humanities.
Biographical Note
Hanna Sippala was born on December 15, 1897
in Kello, Finland, which is located in northern Finland, near Oulu. Her parents
were Juho Jaakko Hekkala and Kristina Teppo Hekkala, and Hanna had a
half-brother and half-sister from her father's first marriage as well as a
brother and sister from her parents' marriage. When Hanna finished school, she
got "America fever" and convinced her parents to let her go. Hanna traveled to
New York and found a housekeeping job with a minister's family. She was paid
$10 a month at first but then got a $2 raise every month, as her English
improved. Hanna's sister came to America thirteen months after Hanna, and Hanna
found another housekeeping job, giving her previous job to her sister. In 1919,
Hanna and her sister moved to Astoria, OR, where Hanna's sister's boyfriend
lived. In Astoria, Hanna found more housekeeping jobs and met her husband, who
was also from Finland. Hanna's husband was a logger but began working as a
longshoreman when their daughter, Violet, was born in 1922. From 1929-1931,
Hanna and her husband managed boardinghouses, and Hanna also worked in the
canneries for twenty years, starting in 1939. Hanna belongs to the Finnish
Brotherhood and has made one trip back to Finland. She remains in contact with
her relatives there but would never want to move back to Finland herself.
Lineage
Full Name: Hanna Kristiina Sippala. Maiden
Name: Hanna Kristiina Hekkala. Father: Juho Jaakko Hekkala. Mother: Kristiina
Teppo Hekkala. Paternal Grandfather: Janne Hekkala. Paternal Grandmother: Hilma
Maria Hekkala. Maternal Grandfather: Jaakko Heikki Hekkala. Maternal
Grandmother: Helmi Helena Kari. Brothers and Sisters: Helme Hekkala, Heikki
Hekkala, half-brother and sister: Jan Hekkala, Hilma Hekkala. Spouse: (?)
Sippala. Children: Violet Paulson.
Content Description
This interview was conducted with Hanna Sippala on August 28, 1981 in
Astoria, Oregon. It provides information on family background, emigration,
employment, marriage and family, and Finnish heritage. The interview also
includes a photograph of Hanna's homeplace in Finland. The interview was
conducted in English.
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
87, side 1
012: HANNA KRISTIINA
SIPPALA
Born in Kello, Finland on
December 15, 1897. Kello is in northern Finland, near Oulu.
87, side 1
044: PARENTS
Father - Juho Jaakko Hekkala. Mother - Kristiina
Teppo Hekkala. Father was a farmer. Fished on the ice in the winter. They moved
to Raahe when she was 9 years old. About 100 miles from Kello.
87, side 1
118: BROTHERS AND
SISTERS
a brother and a sister from
father's first marriage. She has a brother and sister from father's second
marriage.
87, side 1
134: HALF-BROTHER AND SISTER
FROM FIRST MARRIAGE
Jan and Hilma
87, side 1
144: BROTHER AND SISTER FROM
SECOND MARRIAGE
Helme and Heikki.
87, side 1
153: CHILDHOOD
Tells about when her youngest brother was born. Hanna
had been the youngest before. She shows a picture of the house.
87, side 1
194: GRANDPARENTS
Never knew her grandparents. Hanna's maternal
grandparents died when her mother was very young.
87, side 1
216: FAMILY NAME
Her dad wanted to take the Petiole name as his
brothers did, but when they moved from Kello to Raahe, he took the name
Hekkala, which was the name of the farm in Kello.
87, side 1
253: SCHOOL
When Hanna was through with school, some of her teachers
wanted her to go to teacher's college. Father said no. He needed help on the
farm.
87, side 1
280:
After Hanna was through with school she got "America fever."
Parents didn't want her to go. Hanna said to them, "I lay down on bed and you
can feed me here if you don't let me go to America." Her father said, "We don't
want to feed grown people there. Let her go." Her mother said she'd let her die
before she'd let her go to America. Parents gave her money to go and come
back.
87, side 1
328:
Hanna helped pay the fare of some other Finnish girls who
didn't have money. They were separated at Ellis Island. Didn't see them
again.
87, side 1
352:
Brought only a suitcase of clothes with her. A girl friend
in Jersey City, N.J. met Hanna at Ellis Island.
87, side 1
361: FEELINGS ABOUT LEAVING
FINLAND
Happy when she left. She wanted
to go. After she got here, she almost went back.
87, side 1
376:
Stayed with her brother in Kello, Finland for 3 days while
waiting for her passport. Traveled by train to Kristiania (Oslo), Norway. Hanna
left her home in Raahe on July 25, 1916 and arrived on Ellis Island on August
25, 1916. Waited three days in Kristiania (Oslo) for the boat.
87, side 1
398:
The boat trip took two weeks. There was war in Europe then.
The US wasn't in the war yet. Mines were in the water, so the boat had to move
carefully. All of the Finnish girls were in the same room. They tried to have
fun.
87, side 1
426:
Worked as a maid and lived with a family when she first got
here. People liked to have Finnish girls work for them because they worked
hard. First worked for a minister's family. Hanna's sister came 13 months
later. Hanna worked at another place and her sister worked...
87, side 1
481:
Hanna liked New York. She went to Astoria in 1919 because
her sister's boyfriend was there. He wanted Hanna's sister to come to Astoria,
Oregon but she didn't want to go alone so Hanna went too.
87, side 1
496: TRIP TO
ASTORIA
Another girl came with them. They
stayed with a family for a week. Then put ads in the paper to work for families
as maids.
87, side 1
533: LANGUAGE
DIFFICULTIES
Didn't speak English when
she came to America. Had to learn English at her first job. In Astoria, she got
$45 a month. Before she got married, she got a housecleaning job across the
Columbia River in McGowan, Washington which paid $50 a month.
87, side 1
555: MEETING SPOUSE
Met her husband when she first came to Astoria with
her sister. Some Finnish boys heard that some Finnish girls were coming to
Astoria so they came to visit. Hanna's husband's birthplace was close to Raahe.
Finland. They were married in 1921.
87, side 1
570:
They have one daughter. She grew up in Astoria.
87, side 1
574: HUSBAND'S
WORK
First worked in a logging camp. When
daughter was born, he started longshoring. He wanted to stay home. When he
worked in logging camps, he could only come home on Sundays. He worked as a
faller in the logging camps. They used long saws, one man on each end.
87, side 1
599:
Liked Astoria when she first came, but thought it was small
after being in New York.
87, side 1
611:
Became an American citizen.
87, side 1
613:
Learned English from working. Didn't take classes.
87, side 1
618:
Always lived in Astoria after they were married. In 1929,
they rented two boardinghouses in Uppertown and managed them for 2 years.
Bought their own house in 1931. Built the house Hanna lives in now in 1941.
They managed Henrikson boardinghouse from 1929-1931.
87, side 1
654:
Started working in canneries in 1939. Filleted fish for 20
years. Salmon, tuna, etc.
87, side 1
668:
Belonged to the Finnish Brotherhood.
87, side 1
673:
One trip back to Finland. Some things are the same. It seems
so small. Nice to visit. Wouldn't want to live there. Still keeps in touch with
relatives.
87, side 1
692:
Finnish heritage has been important.
87, side 1
712: HOLIDAYS
Christmas as a child in Finland - Had to guess who
presents were from. Midsummer - Juhannus - was a big holiday. Bon fire and
dancing.
87, side 1
748: NEW YEARS EVE
Melt tin. Put it in water. The shape of the tin would
predict what the New Year would bring.
87, side 1
761: FINNISH FOOD
Laxlåda, a salmon and potato casserole. Rice
pudding.
87, side 1
774:
Reads in Finnish.
87, side 1
793: DESCRIBES HER CHILDHOOD
HOME
Painted red, 3 rooms. They had a
sauna. They had 8 cows. Sold milk to families.
87, side 1
826:
Hanna is glad she came to America.
87, side 1
834:
Three grandchildren. Two great-grandchildren.
Subjects
This collection is indexed under
the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials
about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these
headings.
