Author: Debra Charlesworth

Grad Student Writes about Finns, Labor Unrest and a Radical Heritage; Book Signing Scheduled

by John Gagnon, promotional writer

There is an old story about soft-spoken, reticent Finns.

A Swede and a Finn stand at the bar, drinks in hand.

“Cheers,” says the Swede.

“Did we come to talk or drink?” says the Finn.

Gary Kaunonen, a graduate student in the rhetoric and technical communication program, is of Finnish heritage but definitely doesn’t fit that proverbial mold. Indeed, he is effusive–in speech and writing–about a subject that is dear to his heart and mind: Finnish immigrant labor and political activity in the Keweenaw.

A native of Minnesota, Kaunonen has written a book, “Challenge Accepted: A Finnish Immigrant Response to Industrial America in Michigan’s Copper Country,” which was just published by Michigan State University Press. The book is his master’s thesis in Tech’s industrial archaeology program.

The Michigan Tech Archives will host a presentation and book signing by Kaunonen at 4 p.m., Tuesday, August 17, in the East Reading Room of the Van Pelt and Opie Library.

Kaunonen calls the book “a honed-in look” at Finnish immigrants and their living and working conditions–and often radical union activities–in the years 1904-14. The backdrop of this history, Kaunonen says, was a “lopsided distribution of prosperity” that led to “proletarian consciousness” and a “struggle for the betterment of lives.” All of it was “a powder keg” that exploded into violence on the copper range in the 1913-14 Copper Strike and the infamous Italian Hall disaster, in both of which Finns had “a huge and significant role.”

“The upstart Finnish immigrants,” he writes, “often stumbled and stammered in awkward directions, but for a time that took a back seat to working class solidarity. They seldom wavered in their bold attempt to shape their lives into what they perceived to be a more just and equal existence.”

These immigrants had marked reputations. “Finns were respected workers,” he says, “but they were also suspected agitators. They had a big impact on labor relations in this area. They resisted company dictates and mandates. They challenged the inequalities of the traditional mining and industrial society.”

His research led him to the archives at both Michigan Tech and Finlandia University, where he sought material culture–what he calls the “hard evidence” of historic circumstances. He notes, for instance, that Hancock’s leftist newspaper, Tyomies (The Worker), moved to bigger and bigger buildings and bought bigger printing presses to accommodate a burgeoning readership and a growing business. Tyomies would become a communist organ.

Kaunonen can tell the story of immigrant Finns without championing any specific cause. “I’m not casting aspersions on the mining,” he says. “But you had these huge mining companies and the vast amount of wealth and inequality they created—and then you had this little ethnic group trying to make a place for themselves. I have a soft spot in my heart for the underdog. Not that I wholly agree with everything they did, but they should certainly have a place at the table, so to speak, in telling their story.”

He went to college just to play baseball. He quit because of injuries, poked around, and worked in factories. Then the drifter became a father. “I decided I was wasting my life. I thought, well, my daughter is here, and how can I lecture her on working hard and using your gifts if I don’t do that myself. So I decided to go back to school.”

That proved to be a purposeful enterprise. He earned three bachelor’s degrees from Minnesota State University-Mankato, his IA master’s at Michigan Tech, and is now a PhD student here. Previously, he was an archivist at Finlandia. It’s been “a winding road” that has become a quest. He has now written two books on Finnish immigrants. An earlier one, “Finns in Michigan,” also was published by Michigan State University Press.

In his endeavors, Kaunonen is grateful for what he calls “a slew of good professors” in social sciences and now humanities. “They inspired me by what they did and currently do.”

As did his family.

“I write because I have an admiration for my parents and grandparents. All of them were members of the working class”—both grandfathers worked on the Minnesota iron range–“and I’m kind of honoring them and their contributions to American labor.”

Published in Tech Today.

New Theses and Dissertations Available in the Library

The Graduate School is pleased to announce new theses and dissertations from the following programs:

  • Civil Engineering
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Environmental Policy
  • Forest Ecology and Management
  • Forest Science
  • Industrial Archaeology
  • Mathematical Sciences
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics

are now available in the J.R. van Pelt and Opie Library.

Graduate School Orientation – August 25th

Michigan Tech looks forward to welcoming our new graduate students. All new degree seeking students will be invited to orientation on August 25th beginning at 8:30am in the Memorial Union Ballroom. Registration and light snacks will be available beginning at 8:00am. Lunch is included in the program, and will be followed by a Student Services Fair designed to introduce students to the services available on campus.

Registration for orientation is now closed.  Students may register onsite and will be accommodated as space permits.

In addition to the orientation session sponsored by the Graduate School, students may also be required to attend sessions sponsored by:

Questions about Graduate School orientation may be directed to Debra Charlesworth or Carol Wingerson.

Alumna Presents on the Common Loon

Alumna Keren Tischler, who graduated in 2004 with a master’s degree in forest ecology, will present, “The Common Loon,” from 6:30-7:30 p.m., Monday, Aug. 16, at the Portage Lake District Library.

Few wildlife species enjoy as much admiration as the common loon, yet much of their behavior remains a mystery. In this family-friendly presentation, Tischler will share images and stories to demonstrate what careful observation has taught us about loons: Where do loons migrate? What do those haunting calls mean? Why are loons a good indicator of the health of our lakes?

Tischler has been involved in loon research for over 15 years, first through the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute while a student at Northland College. She works for Common Coast Research and Conservation, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to loon studies in Michigan.

Library programs are free and everyone is welcome. For more information, contact the library at 482-4570 or visit www.pldl.org .

Published in Tech Today.

How to rotate landscape pages in a pdf file

For your thesis or dissertation, you must either present all pages in portrait orientation, or list all of the landscape pages on the Degree completion form.  If you have many landscape pages, it may be easier to rotate the pages in the pdf than list all of the pages one by one.

This tip requires Adobe Acrobat, and applies to either a single sided or double sided document.

New theses and dissertations in Library

The Graduate School is pleased to announce new theses and dissertations from the following programs:

  • Applied Ecology
  • Applied Natural Resource Economics
  • Biological Sciences
  • Chemistry
  • Civil Engineering
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Forest Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology
  • Geology
  • Mineral Economics
  • Rhetoric and Technical Communication

are now available in the J.R. van Pelt and Opie Library.

Alumni Race to the Altar

Karl Walczak and Margot Hutchins after completing the Canal Run.  Photo courtesy of the Daily Mining Gazette.
Karl Walczak and Margot Hutchins after completing the Canal Run. Photo courtesy of the Daily Mining Gazette.

Karl Walczak and Margot Hutchins recently participated in the 35th annual Canal Run – and got married on the same day.  The Canal Run holds a special place in their hearts, as they also announced their engagement at the same event one year ago.

The Graduate School wishes Karl and Margot the best as they begin their married life together.

Read more about Karl and Margot in the Daily Mining Gazette.

Summer 2010 Finishing Fellowships Awarded

The Graduate School is proud to announce the following students are recipients of a one-time Summer 2010 Finishing Fellowship:

  • Atakan Altinkaynak, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
  • Rachel M Bradford, Biomedical Engineering
  • Archana Pandey, Engineering Physics
  • Edwar Romero-Ramirez, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
  • Eric M Winder, Biological Sciences

The fellowships are made possible by the Graduate School.

Application procedures for the Graduate School fellowship programs and photographs of recent recipients can be found online.  Nominations are currently open for Finishing Fellowships for fall semester.  Nominations are due no later than 4pm on July 29, 2010.

New theses and dissertations in Library

The Graduate School is pleased to announce the following theses and dissertations are now available in the J.R. van Pelt and Opie Library:

Haiying He
Doctor of Philosophy in Physics
Advisor: Ravindra Pandey
Dissertation title: Electron Transport in Molecular Systems

Fei Lin
Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Advisor: Mohan D Rao
Dissertation title: Vibro-Acoustical Analysis and Design of a Multiple-Layer Constrained Viscoelastic Damping Structure

Christopher Nelson
Master of Science in Industrial Archaeology
Advisor: Larry D Lankton
Thesis title: The C.R. Patterson and Sons Company of Greenfield, Ohio: Survival and Adaptation of a Back-Owned Company in the Vehicle Building Industry, 1865-1939

Brandon Rouse
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Jeffrey Donald Naber
Thesis title: Part Load Combustion Characterization of Ethanol-Gasoline Fuel Blends in a Single Cylinder Spark Ignition Direct Injection Variable Cam Timing Variable Compression Ratio Engine

Karl Walczak
Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Advisor: Craig R Friedrich
Dissertation title: Immobilizing Bacteriorhodopsin on a Single Electron Transistor