EMBARRASS- “We are not a living history museum,” said Farmstead Artisan volunteer Jeannine Bjornrud, “but we are connecting people to our history in the most spontaneous ways.”

Bjornrud, along with a group of other volunteers, spoke at the Sisu Heritage Inc. annual meeting last Sunday. While Bjornrud joked that her group was the third choice for meeting speaker this year, their talk was a lively reminder of the importance of preserving local history along with strengthening community ties.

The Embarrass Nelimark Homestead has been restored thanks to many years of work by Sisu Heritage. It operated as the Sisu Tori for many years but closed over ten years ago due to financial shortfalls.

Its absence was noticed, and a group of volunteers, calling themselves the Farmstead Artisans, hatched a plan to keep the tradition of Embarrass hospitality alive.

Bjornrud, along with fellow artisan member Verna Sutton, had visited a small business located in Twig, outside of Duluth.

“It was a quaint little homestead with chickens running around,” said Bjornrud. “They served food and sold gifts. We thought, wouldn’t it nice to have something of this flavor in Embarrass.”

The two were also looking for places for area craftspeople, including a friend who was a potter, to sell their wares. The idea of reopening the Nelimark was born.

A group of dedicated volunteers, most of them crafters and bakers ,came together. The volunteers have managed the day-to-day operations at the Nelimark Homestead Museum for the last ten years. The property itself is owned by Embarrass Township and overseen by Sisu Heritage. The Nelimark is open Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays during the summer, and also hosts two holiday weekend events in November and December.

The property features the restored house, a sauna that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and various farm outbuildings and antique farm equipment and tools. The house hosts travelling history exhibits, as well as displays of historic artifacts from the area.

Our mission was to recreate the hospitality that the Nelimark was known for, said Bjornrud.

“People often stopped by for coffee at the Nelimark house and Mrs. Nelimark always had freshly-baked home-baked goods for her guests.”

“Making friends was more important than making money,” said Ron Sutton, describing the philosophy of the volunteers.

What evolved was a unique combination of craft store, coffee spot, and local history museum.

Over coffee and homemade treats community members gather, both regulars and visitors.

And then what happens is often magic.

“You get old-timers like Edgar Petrell giving oral history of the area firsthand,” Bjornrud said.

A few years ago, an older woman came in and loudly asked “Who do I know here’ Wihin minutes she was visiting with her old classmate Bill Lamppa and reminiscing with Edgar.

Another time a contractor who was restoring an old home in Embarrass stopped by for coffee. As he talked about his project, two of the artisan volunteers realized the house he was restoring had been built by their father.

It is these connections, that the volunteers see happening every week, that keep them happy to donate their time.

“The main reason we do this is to preserve this history,” said Bjornrud.

Verna Sutton said that once a family’s children are grown, they often lose an important connection to their community. The Nelimark is restoring those connections.

“I am really thankful for this,” she said. “It’s our gathering place.”

Dorothy Bruno, the youngest of the Nelimark children born at the homestead, comes to visit at least once every summer. Now nearing 100, she still insists on navigating up the steep stairway to see their old bedrooms. And every time, she has new stories to tell, the volunteers said. Other family members also make the trip back to Embarrass, to visit the house.

Glen Salo, a regular visitor, said the Nelimark is full of surprises.

“You never know who you are going to meet here,” he said. “This is real people and real conversation, face to face.” Salo noted this was an important community service, especially for those who tend to be loners.

“This is a good place for hermits to come out to,” Salo said.

Ron Sutton said one of the most popular phrases heard is “50 years ago, I knew…”

The Nelimark has also become a place dedicated to preserving the Finnish language. Once a week in the summer, Gary Rantala hosts a Finnish language time on Thursday afternoons when Finnish speakers and those who want to learn gather in conversation.

The Nelimark also features handmade crafts in the spirit of the area, Scandinavian gifts and books, and fresh-baked goods including local Finnish specialties like pulla.

“We make things to sell that are in the spirit of this place,” said Verna Sutton. Crafters noted that the money made on the crafts they sell is often just enough to cover their costs.

The Nelimark has become a tourist destination as well as a community gathering spot.

“We meet people from all over the world,” said Ron Sutton. Every summer the Nelimark hosts visitors from Finland, as well as those who just want to visit “The Cold Spot” that they’ve seen on the news.

Andy and Beth Urban, from Eagles Nest, could not attend the meeting but sent a note.

“We always feel welcomed here,” they said. “We’ve made friends and shared our love of bluebirds.” The couple gave a talk on bluebirds at the Nelimark last summer.

Insuring that this community gathering spot is maintained in the future is on the minds of the current group of volunteers, who are mostly on the older side of 60.

The group talked about ideas for increasing the visibility of the Nelimark, as well as networking with other area communities in promotion efforts. More volunteers are needed, they said, to help organize and catalog items that have been donated, as well as to help out in the shop.

“I have a vision that we will begin to see more and more donations,” said Ron Sutton. “We need to be able to keep them organized.”

The need to recruit a younger batch of volunteers is also a concern.

“We need to keep our history alive,” Bjornrud said.

Volunteers also noted that the time donated by the township, for mowing and other maintenance, as well as other volunteers who help with the actual maintenance of the old building is vital.

“We’d be stuck without these volunteers,” Becky (Kallio) Coy said.

Paul Knuti noted that the Mesabi Trail section planned to be built in Embarrass goes right through the Nelimark site, and this will bring more visitors to the area.

Knuti said a few years ago some teachers put together a tour in Embarrass, which included his farm, the Nelimark, and other places of interest.

“I was amazed at how excited the kids got,” he said.

Jack LaMar asked that residents become more active at Embarrass Town Board meetings, to let board members understand the importance of the Nelimark to the community, and to thank the township for its current support.

“This is an important asset,” LaMar said.

Sisu Heritage annual report

Sisu Heritage hosts two community events each year. This year National Sauna Day will be on Saturday, June 8 at the Nelimark and will feature live music with Bill Maxwell and Cowboy Angel Blue. Community Night Out at the Seitaniemi Housebarn will be on Sunday, Sept. 8.

Sisu is looking for more portable saunas to bring to Sauna Day!

Sisu took over ownership of the Embarrass Finnish Apostolic Lutheran Church last year and will host a concert on Sunday, June 2 featuring Whirled Muse, a folk trio with Eli Bissonett.

Sisu Heritage has 139 total members, and of these 22 are lifetime members.

“This makes a great birthday present,” said board member Mickey White.

Sisu approved their 2019 budget of $29,420. The organization has no grant money scheduled for projects this year and they did not receive a $10,000 grant they had applied for last year for the housebarn. The group did receive an IRRRB grant last year to help fund the purchase of a new furnace for the Nelimark, and has applied for grant funding for a security system. The next phase in the housebarn project will most likely include a grant to do a study of the future uses of the building, as well as a market study.

Three existing board members, Ron Sutton, Cindy Scherer, and Carol Knuti were reelected to the board. Rena Hartman, who is the executive director of the Mesabi Symphony Orchestra and a grantwriter, was elected to fill the spot previously held by Gary Rantala, who is now a town board member.