July 11, 1902

“Days of Creation” in Sointula (Continued from last issue)
Locating the Town and Site Layout Plan
Organizing Labour
Other Issues
The Closing Celebration
Inspecting the Island

We were unanimous about where to start building our town. It will be on the Home Cape (Kotiniemi), on the eastern shore of Home Bay (Kotilahti), starting from almost the end of the bay and extending near the end of the cape. From the end of the cape, however, a sufficient area of land will be separated for a park. In the same way in the middle of town, in the surroundings of the Welsh cabin, where the cape curves, two strips will be left to run across the whole town. The lower one will be a market place along the shore and the upper one a park. Altogether 10-15 fathoms of beach will be left to the company in order to make a straight promenade. The main streets will run lengthwise with the cape. It was determined that their width would be 10 fathoms, 7 fathoms for the cross streets. The blocks need to be square-shaped and from each one of them an adequate area is to be retained for the company.

There was a debate on the size of the lots. 1, ½, and ¼ acre lots were proposed. In the end a considerable majority supported the ½ acre lots. The most appropriate shape of the lot was considered to be a rectangle, the width 2/3 of the length. The board of directors decided the final measurements of the lots would be 120 ft long and 80 ft wide (somewhat smaller than ½ acre). It was also prescribed that the lots cannot be divided into smaller parts. With the consent of the board of directors more than one family can, however, settle on the same lot.

On behalf of the questions made it was also decided that outside the town areas bigger than the now decided lots would not be given to be held privately. Beaches can be held privately on condition that the company can get them back into their possession whenever needed, without compensation .

In the discussions it was, however, referred to areas in the surroundings of Malcolm Island that the company would like to get their hands on. For those planning on doing more private farming even larger areas could be conveyed for a certain amount of time from these areas.

It was decided that the sawmill be located in the same place where the Welsh were to build theirs.

Th. Tanner was against this decision wanting to locate the sawmill in a cape closer to the bayhead, where the company forge now stands.

The first common buildings were decided to be built up on the bank farther into the bay from the sawmill but within a half-a-mile’s distance from the present Sointula in the direction of the peak of the cape.

The dock’s place will naturally be near to the sawmill, but decisions have not yet been made on the specific location. One suggestion was that it be built on the deepest shore, in a small bay near the peak of the cape.

Organizing Labour

The organizing of labour gave us a lot to think about. The intention was to establish an efficient supervision of work but at the same time keeping in mind that everyone should feel as independent and as responsible for their work as possible.

That is why a certain “labour-organizer” was named to represent the board of directors in any issues concerning work. This important task was given to Aug. Oberg and A. Ruis was named as his assistant. The different work groups shall choose a supervisor from among themselves.

Together with the labour-organizer they shall appoint people their work, following carefully the principles of the division of labour. The supervisor in each work group is in charge of the company property, the machines, boats, tools, clothes etc. He shall inform the company when new supplies are needed and keep track of the workdays of its group members.

Complaints about the supervisors should be made to the labour-organizers, and should this not help, to the board of directors. If the working group is dissatisfied with its supervisor they can choose a new one, but during work the orders of the supervisor need to be followed without complaints.

The length of the work day was ordered to be 8 hours, for the time being for all work. This will not include the time spent on getting to the work place and back home. This decision was made after a long debate, where the 9-hour work day that we have had up to now was strongly supported. It did, however, lose the vote.

The women organized their labour in a meeting of their own.

Other issues

The right to sign documents in the name of the company when a decision of the board of directors is not considered necessary or can be postponed was granted to the president, house manager, treasurer, secretary and warehouse keeper, to each one in their own field.

Since the printing press and the newspaper cannot be moved to the island before we get a fully-equipped post office, the secretary is forced to live in Nanaimo taking care of them. He was for the time being granted the right to accept membership applications whenever the cases were clear, but if not, he should submit the applications to the consideration of the board of directors, attaching to it a statement of his own. While in Nanaimo, the secretary will also take care of the company’s funds.

The founding of the post office was left to the house manager. He will also be named the lawful postmaster and he will be in charge of the funds with the company as his guarantor. We are also planning on getting a customs house on the island. The founding of the school is also under discussion.

For establishing a nursing home it was decided that the company would buy the beds and other necessary equipment from Dr. Beckman and his institution in Astoria, Oreg. In addition to that it was decided that if it was in the interest of the company, it would buy privately owned machines, boats, fishing and hunting equipment etc. mainly against share payments.

The Closing Celebration

In the closing celebration a number of high-spirited, jubilant speeches were held, poems were recited and it was sung. Only some details have stayed in my mind.

Kurikka held his typical high-flown speech with incredible plans for the future. McKela hoped that the internal development of our idea would keep up with its external development.

In a delightful way Dr. Beckman described the “mill of the world” that had thrown each one of us to Sointula. At the same time he gave a proposal for the KK-flag: on a blue background a white island, in the shape of Malcolm Island and on the island a golden kantele [a traditional Finnish harp]. The suggestion was greeted with large acceptance.

Inspecting the Island

Some visitors were very eager to see the island between the meetings. They admired its splendid forests, where our loggers have said to have found the best cedars they have ever seen. All in all the lush vegetation made a big impression. Some berry stems are up to one or two fathoms high.

Even the blueberry stems are like little trees. The forest was full of berries. There were two kinds of berries that were ready for picking. The others were yellow like the cloudberries in Finland, others dark brown, like our arctic bramble. The taste was similar as well. They grew in the above mentioned tall bushes. The “nuisance-bush” [salal] from last winter turned out to be a berry bush as well. It is also the most important kind for us, because we have heard its berries can be preserved the longest. Besides, sheep can live on its juicy, ever-green leaves all year round. We actually have the “nuisance-bush” to thank for that the island is now in our possession. Without it, it is likely that Indians would have inhabited it. The same bush kept the state surveyor from getting anywhere farther from the shore. This forced him to report that the island soil was sandy.

This kept the white farmers away.

Those who went all the way to see the farming in the bog area admired it and said that it was promising. I did not get to see it, because if there wasn’t a general meeting going on, the board of directors would be sitting or there would be other hot debates that I had to take part in.

Besides the others have threatened to cover me in clay if I ever come to the bog, to finally make me see that there is more clay on the island than I suspected after my inspections last winter. The thing is that the soil of the whole island seems to be clay-based black earth. But that will do no harm to me nor the others. And anyhow, the nature looked much livelier now than it did in the winter. After fighting the wind and rain we had to spend the night in the wet forest or at the most in the run-down Welsh hut, where we could hardly get our clothes dry the whole time we stayed there. So, as you see, our world didn’t look too rosy back then. The berry stems were a mere nuisance and clay looked like sand.

Summer has also brought the song-birds. Every morning I awoke to their chirping whereas in the winter I thought there were none here. I saw  remarkably many of those pretty little hummingbirds, the smallest birds in the world that fly as fast as arrows. This is the only coast in the world where the animals of the equator and polar region – the hummingbird and whale- meet.

I had read this in books before but I didn’t believe Malcolm Island would have so many hummingbirds. Whales I saw already during the winter.

Until the last minute we waited in vain for photographer A. Jarvinen, Virginia, Minn. to arrive toour celebration with his camera and talent. We then bought a small camera of our own and took pictures with it on our way to Malcolm Island and on the island. When a photographer later began developing the actual photographs from the plates it turned out that the ones taken on the boat had been ruined. They had been exposed to light and the pictures had disappeared. The photographs taken on the island, however, turned out quite nice. They are now on sale for a low price, as you have seen in the advertising section of our paper.

The beautiful landscapes on the island deserve good pictures. It will not be until Jarvinen arrives that we can offer them. Tem and offered to take their own boat to Malcolm Island. It was a rainy autumn and the funds of the company were low. But the enthusiasm of the mentioned comrades eliminated all doubts. Other brothers were immediately asked to join and so Henrikson, Kytömaa and Rossi went along.

Our beginning wasn’t a grand one. We must, however, honour the brothers, who left to clear the first bit of wilderness in those conditions. Had they not gone through with it then, the first steps would have only been taken this spring. The work of the first expedition didn’t bring any remarkable results, but could we have demanded much?

Since then, we have made progress step by step. Our labour forces and our financial resources have grown ever since. We have now come to the point where it is no longer the fault of a few individuals, if we let our cause fail.

The KK now has 127 members, from which 20 have not within the time limit fulfilled the conditions demanded by the board of directors, and who must therefore be considered as uncertain. Some of these have actually resigned their membership, but have again applied, so that most of these 20 are likely to eventually meet each other in Sointula. In addition there have been some applications, which the board of directors has not yet decided on. Lately the number of applicants has been rising noticeably together with other progress we’ve made. Since the company’s funds have only partly been accounted for on Malcolm Island although the fund has been in Nanaimo, the board of directors cannot give exact figures of the company’s transactions in the middle of the fiscal year. The main thing is that the financial situation is very advantageous, and we haven’t been forced to make any such commitments, which we wouldn’t be able to pay on time with full certainty.

Before the 15th of this month shares had been bought for $3 313,60 in cash and for $150,00 with shares of the Aika-paper. What has been paid with labour has not yet been counted. There is $114,45 received as donations, from which $108,95 is in the piano fund and $4,00 in the immigrant help fund. $300,00 has been collected as advancement for building houses, there is $3,00 in other income. To arrange its debts, the Aika Publishing Company has been granted a $200,00 loan. The expenses have been as follows: founding expenses, travel etc. $380,30, machinery, boats and equipment, tools, kitchen utensils and other gear $1 388,90, clothes and shoes $410,90, food stuffs $1 019,40, wages $250,00, printing $100,00, medicines $3,50, rent $3,50, altogether $3 556,50, so that the company now has $174,55 in cash and $150,00 in the shares of the Aika-paper. From the machines and tools there is a credit of $600,00, and $400,00 from food and clothing supplies. Including the earlier mentioned advance payment the company has a debt of $1300,00 – not including the wages of the fullmembers.

As you see, we couldn’t have made a better or faster start without large sums of private capital or loans.

When the board of directors now hands over its power and shifts its responsibilities to the general assembly of all present KK members, it sees as its duty to once more remind every member of the great truth, which should never be forgotten, when big decisions for the company are made:

Nothing human can be built without co-operation and no co-operation is possible without order. There can be no order without leadership.

So if you wish to maintain what we already have, choose those amongst you, to whom you can entrust the leadership of your cause, but when you have chosen them, trust them as much or even more than you trust yourselves.

A nation that can permanently govern itself through trustees chosen from its own ranks, is able to rule the whole world.

Sointula, B.C. June 20th 1902

MATTI KURIKKA,
President,

AUSTIN McKELA,
Secretary

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