Everyone knows that Finnish people played a big role in the history of Thunder Bay.
But how much do they really know? It’s a question the Thunder Bay Finnish Canadian Historical Society wanted to answer Sunday as they held a different kind of annual general meeting. So it hosted a trivia game show.
“It’s just a fun way to see who knows what about the history, maybe learn a little bit more. Maybe it’ll spark some more ideas,” member Kathy Toivonen said.
Teams faced off answering questions in three categories from the 1800s to present day. While she doesn’t know why, Toivonen said a lot of people who aren’t Finnish are interested in their contribution to the area.
“I don’t know why. I ask people that all the time,” she said.
But one reason might be that there’s always something new to learn. Toivonen said even doing research for the trivia game brought new history to light to her and she has written books on the subject.
“I have so much more to learn,” she said.
“Thunder Bay is really like a snow globe. The old Finnish culture that first came here a hundred years ago is still alive and thriving.”
Prizes included books published by the society as well as early rural maps of the area. While not specifically Finnish, there are many incidental Finnish contributions to places like Kaministiquia.
“A lot of the settlers that came to this area in the beginning were from rural areas so they settled in rural areas,” Toivonen said.
