Leslie Wiik and Steve Aho died in that car accident in the summer of 67. My brother drowned in the Souhegan on June 3, 1967. Thus my uncle Oliver Niemi lost 3 nephews in one summer. Having faith and belonging to a group, church or otherwise, can help one get through these these down times. I appreciate being educated about the Lutheran denominations since I was raised Catholic, an agreement my father had to make (he was areligious) if he was to be married in a Catholic church. Strangely, neither one of my parents attended church. I don't belong to any church.
I am a Yankee New Englander who was born in Fitchburg, raised in New Ipswich and as an adult have lived for many years on Cape Ann, all the while surrounded by Finns. I never really understood the separateness until I read about the Laestadian Movement. As a youth I worked summers for S&A Construction, side by side with Finnish men and boys, sometimes picking up phrases in Finnish. "Kahvi Aika", Coffee Time. Some were harsh and judgmental, as when Leslie Wiik and his cousin died in an auto accident in 1967 and men on the job site bitterly predicted their damnation. Others ministered to me, sharing their faith gently. I respected them for that.
This is an interesting chapter in this publication. I purposely don't read this in advance so I can study it with the rest of the subscribers. The comments are the best part of this enterprise. Thank you.
Correction: Thomas Aho was with Leslie Wiik, not Steve.
I recall the day the sad phone call came to our house about Tommy Aho and Leslie Wiik. The tree they hit still bares the scars of their accident.
Leslie Wiik and Steve Aho died in that car accident in the summer of 67. My brother drowned in the Souhegan on June 3, 1967. Thus my uncle Oliver Niemi lost 3 nephews in one summer. Having faith and belonging to a group, church or otherwise, can help one get through these these down times. I appreciate being educated about the Lutheran denominations since I was raised Catholic, an agreement my father had to make (he was areligious) if he was to be married in a Catholic church. Strangely, neither one of my parents attended church. I don't belong to any church.
I am a Yankee New Englander who was born in Fitchburg, raised in New Ipswich and as an adult have lived for many years on Cape Ann, all the while surrounded by Finns. I never really understood the separateness until I read about the Laestadian Movement. As a youth I worked summers for S&A Construction, side by side with Finnish men and boys, sometimes picking up phrases in Finnish. "Kahvi Aika", Coffee Time. Some were harsh and judgmental, as when Leslie Wiik and his cousin died in an auto accident in 1967 and men on the job site bitterly predicted their damnation. Others ministered to me, sharing their faith gently. I respected them for that.
This is an interesting chapter in this publication. I purposely don't read this in advance so I can study it with the rest of the subscribers. The comments are the best part of this enterprise. Thank you.
Growing up we couldn't play card games because my Dad was raised to believe the devil was in the cards.