6th Finglish trip December 2007 #1
Alice (nee Levänen) and Walter Ek (1921-2014) are of the Old Apostolic Lutheran faith. They received as a gift a wall-hanging with the embroidered names of their children and grandchildren. Because of their large families, the Apostolic Lutherans are the only growing Finnish communities in the United States. They are in close contact with fellow congregations in Finland. One of Alice and Walter Ek’s daughters is married to a Finn and lives in Lahti, Finland.
The Ek family has lived at the Battle Ground farm for the past 60 years. They kept cows until 1957, when Walter Ek began to grow forest. Thirty-seven years ago, he built a house for his family using lumber from his own forest. The work required 64 tree trunks.
Walter Ek’s father came from Finland in 1902 to escape being called up into the Russian army. His mother is from Norway, where her family fled in the 19th century because of famine in Finland. Mrs. Ek laughs and says she is a ‘Savo Finn of the west’.
Next Carl & Martha Kulla Brush Prairie Washington USA