By Heidi Barberg
COKATO, Minn. — Happy July 4th! Wow! America is celebrating 250 years of independence. That seems old, then again, we are a young nation. Think about our great-grandparent’s countries and the age of the countries they came from. Some have had freedom for many more years. We have been very fortunate as a country and may it be true for many more years to come.
Our Memorial Day celebration went off nicely even with the weather being cold. Many people had winter jackets on while a few wore shorts. I guess it depends on one’s personal tolerance of cold. Jesse Carlson gave a very personal and professional speech. The best part is he still lives in the area and drives down the same roads that he drove down as a youth.
July 1976, fifty years ago the savu sauna was moved to Temperance Corner. Mark Wuollet did a great job in sharing his experience of being six years old when the sauna was moved from his parents’ farm in 1976. The sauna had been at that site for about 105 years. The sauna was across the road at Isaac Barba’s (Barberg) home. Barberg had sold his half to Selvala. Some of you might know the story on how Cokato Township wanted the sauna moved as families were taking a sauna and people using the new road could see them. There were no dressing rooms, so of course they had no place to change but outside, and the clothes were placed on the front of the stones in the sauna.
Mr. Selvala sued the township and won. He was paid $70 to take it down and move it across the road. The Selvalas added a dressing room when the sauna was moved across the road. There it sat and was used by the Selvalas, a Johnson family, then the ownership of the farm was Florence and Lesie Solmonson who made it into a shed.
When the Wuollets bought the farm they had plans to use the space for something else. Dick and Marianne thought it had great historical value when talking to Vernon Barberg, he accepted the sauna for the historical society. He was able to get the Litchfield National Guard to dismantle the shed and sauna, then moved the sauna to Temperance Corner. What a day of hard labor getting the sauna up on the truck.
At the corner the site was already decided and everything was set to drop down on the site. A large group of people were there to watch and help. Once it was set, work had to be done. New shingles had to be added, the front door redone. John and Daniel Barberg were in charge of that. It was starting to look like a sauna again.
Over the years the sauna has been taken care of. In 2009 it was decided that the logs at the base of the sauna had to be replaced. After a fundraiser the group hired Edmunds Log Restorations out of Wisconsin to replace the worn logs. The replacement logs were donated by Ernie Lantto, some from the Strolberg farm and they bought the other logs. The inside was updated and new rock was put under the benches. Now the upkeep has to be re-staining and sealing the logs every three years. That is done by our members. New rock was added again this year because of settling under the benches.
The sauna is 158 years old and is not in use but in its day, I bet there were lots of stories told on sauna night.
There is a list of things that need to be done on three corners. The back steps to the hall were scraped and stained by Jan Jarl and Margaret Pokornowski. Every volunteer’s time is appreciated. Our members have many talents and are useful in the many jobs that need to be done at some time during the year.
Other things going on in Cokato include the Toy display at the Cokato Museum, a free summer lunch program for students, plans for the Corn Carnival, town baseball, the city swimming pool is open, and the children’s summer library program is going on.
The biggest event will be the tour for FinnFest here in Cokato. The schedule is to see what Cokato has to offer, including the Cokato Museum, Sauna Supply, tour to the Finnish churches, the cemetery and then Temperance Corner. There will be a pasty lunch, tour of the buildings and off to Annandale for a tour of the Finnish Apostolic Tin Church. It’ll be a full day and tour patrons will be back to Minneapolis in time for the opening ceremony. This will take place September 17, 2026. The information should be on the FinnFest FB and website.
In personal news, my husband and I were awarded the Sauna Bucket from the Finnish American Culture Association group in Minneapolis. The award was given “for the dedication of our lives for serving the Finnish-American community by preserving the history and celebrating the Finnish American heritage and culture of early Finnish pioneers. Their commitment benefited not only the community but as well as out of state and internationally, mostly Finland.”
The sauna bucket award is a traveling award that began in 1980 in recognition of those who contributed to the Finnish community in Minnesota. As July starts don’t forget to check on the FinnFest site and check all the things that will be happening in Minneapolis in September. For more, check the CFAHS web site cokato-finnamhs.org or find us on Facebook.