Finlandia Foundation National is making efforts to preserve Hancock’s Finnish Heritage

(WLUC) - The non-profit organization Finlandia Foundation National (FFN) was created to connect Finnish communities across the country.

After Finlandia University announced that it will not open its doors again in the fall, the organization called an emergency meeting to discuss how they could get involved.

FFN President Anne-Mari Paster said they are now working with Finlandia to preserve Finnish-related cultural assets in Hancock.

“They include the archives of all the documents, the Folk school, the Finnish American reporter, the war museum, the North Wind bookstore as well as the art gallery,” said Paster.

Currently, the Finlandia Heritage Center in Hancock holds a majority of the Finnish assets. FFN said keeping this history in Hancock is an obligation.

“We are talking about Finnish American History, but it is also American history and that’s why it matters,” said Paster. “We don’t want to send this back to Finland. This belongs here.”

Paster stated that the organization is only one week into this process as it moves forward, it wants to hear more from the Hancock residents.

“We are well supported by local people in Handcock and in the area,” said Paster. “Everybody is concerned, and we are getting lots of good messages back that this is a good thing we are trying to do.”

The organization went on to say that even though it oversees many projects, this is one of its most important.

“We are doing our best to really secure this legacy for generations to come,” said Paster.

FFN plans to keep the community informed as it moves forward.

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