St. Uhro: "Braafest Fin I effer seen"
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It would only seem natural that St. Uhro's Day, made up by a Minnesotan, would be honored in Finland, Minnesota. Note that on this totem St. Uhro is pictured with a large mouth. The rural priest was said to have a very loud voice, that allowed him to shout the grasshoppers out of Finland, thus becoming the Patron Saint of Finnish Vineyard Workers.
Reporter's note: About this time last year I read about the St. Uhro's celebration in Butte. St. Uhro's Day is celebrated each March 16 in regions of the U.S. where large numbers of descendants of Finnish immigrants still live. And it's not just coincidence that it's celebrated the day before St. Patrick's Day, which in the U.S. seems to get a lot more play than St. Uhro's. After reading about the celebration in Butte, I wrote a note on my calendar as a reminder to educate myself about St. Uhro's for a story this year.
Turns out St. Uhro's Day is the classic 'fake news' before fake news was even a popular topic. It's a made up holiday, the idea originating in the 1950's back in Virginia, Minnesota by Richard Mattson who worked at a local department store. The concept for a Finnish patron saint resulted when a co-worker kidded Mattson about "the Finns don't have a patron saint like St. Patrick."
The idea caught on in Minnesota among the Finns living on the Mesabi Iron Range. Later, the idea was adopted by descendants of Finns living on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where many Finns immigrated to work in the copper mines. Eventually the idea came to Butte, Montana, where Finnish descendants, and many others, still celebrate the day. One requirement of each year's St. Uhro and Princess Uhro, in Butte, is to survive the March 16 celebration, interspersed with heavy drinking, and still be able to march in the St. Patrick's Day parade the next day. Here's a short version of how St. Uhro connects to Butte and even Blaine County.
Finns in the U.S. and Butte, Montana
Ellen Crane, with the Butte Silver Bow Archives, shared some background about why Finns came to America and, more particularly, to Butte. Finland had to endure both Russian and Swedish overseers over a long period of time. Crane said, "From about 1890, for several years, things were very hard in Finland as grasshoppers ate the crops." Hecla Mining, which had several copper mines on the Upper Peninsula in Michigan, sent recruiters to hire Finns to come work in the copper mines. Several thousand left farms to go to Michigan as well as work in the iron mines on the Mesabi Iron Range in Minnesota.
Crane explained, "By 1900 the highest wages for hard rock miners was in Butte, at a very attractive $3.50 per day." The Finns brought their culture with them. The era the miners came to the U.S., and ultimately to Butte, defined their political and social views. Most tended toward a mild form of socialism, advocated equal pay and were active in their unions, some even leading strikes in Butte. If they had a religious affiliation, it was usually Lutheran, and back the early heyday of immigrant miners there were two Lutheran churches in the city.
The origins of St. Uhro's Day and its coming to Butte
Richard Mattson, of Finnish decent, created the idea of St. Uhro's Day. He died in 2001. After telling a colleague "The Irish aren't the only group with a patron saint," he had to come up with a name. After trying several variations, he settled on Uhro, a common Finnish name which Mattson said, "...had a more commanding sound" than some others he considered. The first mention ever of St. Uhro's day was in a Minnesota newspaper in 1956.
Later Mattson developed a history for St. Uhro who, "After showing great promise in schools was given a scholarship to a Swedish seminary," studied under humanist priests in Paris and eventually was given a parish in rural Finland. When poisonous frogs threatened the crops, the locals appealed to the young priest for help. He contrived a sluice to capture the frogs, then shipped them by boat to France, explaining why the French have such an affinity for frog legs. Mattson's original idea was to celebrate the new holiday in May, but later wrote, "everyone wanted to have a party in March as the Finnish answer to St. Patrick.
Later Dr. Sulo Hayumaaki, a psychology professor at a nearby college and of Finnish descent, changed the threat from frogs to grasshoppers. In his version, which eventually gained wide acceptance, St. Uhro yelled at the grasshoppers to leave the vineyards and that is how he became the Patron Saint of Finnish Vineyard Workers. St. Uhro's Day is now celebrated in many locations including: the Upper Peninsula of Michigan; Thunder Bay in Ontario; Burlington, Vermont; Hood River, Oregon and Butte.
Erv Niemi is credited as the "father of St. Uhro's Day" in Butte. He brought the holiday from his native Minnesota. Erv's father owned the Corner Bar in Butte and Erv said he was surprised with all the Finns in Butte there was no bar with a Finnish name. When he took over the family business, he renamed it the Helsinki Bar which survived until just a few years ago. He used the Helsinki Bar as headquarters for celebrating the holiday and was the site of the annual coronation of St. Uhro and Princess Uhro. Niemi is still involved with the holiday.
St. Uhro's Day and the Finns in Blaine County
It took some looking but I found two families with Finnish descent (if I missed someone, it wasn't for a lack of trying). Gary Smith, a retired principal from Chinook Schools, is a native of Minnesota. When asked if he knew about St. Uhro's Day, he said, "Actually a cousin back in Minnesota sent me a book about the Finns a couple of years ago and there's a section about St. Uhro. That's the first time I ever heard of the guy."
Lenard Drugge, who lives north of Zurich, said his grandfather and grandmother both came from Finland. They came to America so the husband could work in the copper mines. In 1918 an unmarried uncle of the grandmother died and left his homestead, near Zurich, to the grandmother and her sister. They came to Zurich to bury the uncle, having already bought a plot in the Harlem cemetery, but no one could produce a body. The grandmother decided "something didn't seem right" and decided to stay in Montana. The grandfather would ride the train back to the U.P. to work in the copper mines while grandmother stayed on the homestead and worked it.
Drugge told, "My dad's folks still spoke Finnish when he was a boy. When I was taking confirmation classes in the Lutheran church I would ask my dad questions about the catechism. He told me he couldn't help me because he learned the catechism in Finnish." When questioned about St. Uhro's Day Lenard said, "I'd never heard of it until you described it."
Gary Smith and Lenard Drugge's Finnish ancestors followed the typical pattern of many Finnish immigrants. The immigrants first came to the U.S. as miners, likely to escape hard times in Finland. Over time, they gravitated back to farming-Smith's family in Minnesota and Drugge's in Blaine County. Also, historians say, like many Scandinavians, large numbers Finns went back to Finland when times improved.
St. Uhro's Day, 2018, in Butte
The celebration of St Uhro's Day was brought to Butte by Erv Niemi, owner of the Helsinki Bar, now closed. St. Uhro always carries a pitchfork with a grasshopper impaled on it.
The 2018 St. Uhro's Day celebration in Butte will be held at the East Side Athletic Club, where it's been held the last couple of years. Gina Varelli (I know, sounds Italian but she claims she grew up with Finns in her native New York state) works at the Club and is part of the organizing committee for the St. Uhro celebration and crowning of the Saint and Princess. She said she's hoping Erv Niemi, the founding father of the day in Butte, will be attending. There will also be two performances by the Anaconda Pipe and Drum Band, with a dance to follow the coronation set for 6 pm. (get details by calling 782-7539). There's also a Facebook page with some info: go to 'St Urho's Day Butte Montana'
The Finns, in Finland, don't celebrate St. Uhro's Day
In 2014 Public Radio International did a piece on how St. Uhro's Day is celebrated in Finland. At St. Uhro's Pub (named after a former Finnish President, not the made up saint) the owner said, "In Finland we don't celebrate the day at all." He'd heard the story of St. Uhro but noted despite the fake saint's efforts, grasshoppers are still in Finland and the country still doesn't grow grapes.
The legend of St. Uhro may be 'blarney,' but it still has its mythical and fun aspects. Even if you can't make it to a celebration, remember the heroic saint on March 16.
