THEIR TOP PRIORITIES - Kathryn Niemela
New Ipswich Historical Society
FINNS: An Oral History of Finnish-Americans in New Hampshire’s Monadnock Region
Excerpted from FINNS: An Oral History... by Patricia Kangas Ktistes, 1997, all rights reserved.
Kathryn Niemela
There was a certain night of the week that was sauna night, Friday or Saturday or maybe both. But it was family night, so everybody had to come over and we took turns gender-wise. ‘Course, they started the sauna stove about eight in the morning. That night, they had coffee and all sorts of food. All the entertainment was done in the kitchen around this big round table. For the kids, Nana always gave us, and we hated this, Fig Newtons. It’s only been recently that I’ve eaten them because of that. We could have some of the cakes; like I remember this coffee cake with swirly frosting on top and it was sticky. And nisu, of course. A lot of the kids would drink coffee with a ton of cream and sugar.
The men always went to sauna first; that was just how it was. I don’t know the reason and I didn’t even question it. Maybe because the women were preparing the food. My dad and his brothers would go in. And of course, they’d be drunk. And a couple of relatives and all these other Korpis, so I guess they all fit. I’d say they stayed in an hour. There was a brook and they’d jump in after.
For the men, it was critical that the sauna was hot. And who knows what they were talking about in there? Afterward, they’d take a shower and come back, red-faced, clean, healthier. Definitely in a better mood, and they almost seemed sober.
For me it was really scary to go in because it was loud and steamy and the stove scared me. I remember that terrifying moment; my initiation at age six. I sat in a little pink, plastic bucket on the floor. Cold water was in there and I had a washcloth and put it on my face because I couldn’t stand the heat, even on the floor, which was cement with wooden slats over it. I was as far away as I could get from that stove. Me, my mother, my sister, Nana, and my Niemela aunts and cousins. It was a bonding experience. You brought your pajamas with you; long flannel nightgowns and a coat, boots, hat, and gloves.
Later I learned that you pile everything off and go in and claim your spot on the seats and get washcloths and just sit in there for awhile. We would sit on the top shelf for a couple of minutes. The fun part was throwing water on the stove; we’d always fight to be able to do that with these scoops, on the rocks.
We cousins did not want to go in there with my grandmother because we didn’t want to see her without clothes. Her chest hung down way past her stomach and there were huge rolls. We’d giggle and say, “We’re never going to look like that!” She definitely was the hardiest one about taking the heat and we did follow her lead. When she hit herself with the twigs, we did it, too.
Later, the whole sauna event moved to my uncle’s house on Frost Pond. The sauna was not even fifty feet from the water. Our cabin was not even a mile away, so we’d walk. We’d go swimming after. It was the most wonderful experience I have ever had. We’d go in and out of the sauna a bunch of times. The boys would be up in the house watching TV when the girls were in the sauna.
We had to make sure the boys weren’t watching when we streaked across. We had weeded out the old folks from our group, too. The water was so clear and pristine, we’d just float there and look at the stars for a long time and then wash our hair. And my hair has never been softer. I felt clean and happy. And we walked home in the dark with flashlights, my brothers and sisters, in our pajamas.
Sounds like the Niemelas had more fun on sauna night than the Niemis.