7th Finglish trip August 2008 #14
Betsy Hannula is a long time member of the Westminster Historical Society an has shared her love of the town´s history through many activities through the years. City records go back to 1899, with the earliest reported case of a Finnish resident buying property in town. The number of Finnish residents remained fairly steady until a population explosion in the early 1920s led to a Westminster influx. According to Hannula, the population continued to grow steadily until a high-water mark was reached in the early 1950s.
At the peak, Finnish residents comprised about one-third of Westminster's population. From the 1960s on, the first generation to immigrate into town continued to die off, as the young were leaving town for other parts of the country, leading the population to continually dwindle. The Westminster Historical Society has published a book by Betsy Hannula and Barry Roy, "Vintage Views of a New England Village, A Postcard Tour of Westminster, Massachusetts."
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