Sometimes life has a way of imposing an unusual cruel irony on some of us. We try to figure it out the best we can, but life does not let us, leaving us wondering why things sometimes happen. Sometimes there is no answer and we are left wondering why. I think we are destined to look within ourselves to search for the answer. Was this God’s doing, was this karma, or perhaps just an unfortunate accident under no one’s control? Sometimes the answer is within our own beliefs we harbor within our hearts. Perhaps if something happens to a bad […]

Following are a few stories, one which takes us back to my 9th paternal great grandfather Per Danielsson Hästbacka, who was murdered in 1653 in Kronoby, Finland. The other is about Homestead Marks, a mark folks made on an official document instead of a signature when the person could not write. My 7th grandfather, Jakob Granö’s mark is among the marks shown. Following are a few stories, one which takes us back to my 9th paternal great grandfather Per Danielsson Hästbacka, who was murdered in 1653 in Kronoby, Finland. The other is about Homestead Marks, a mark folks made on […]

I remember Aunt Mia Jansson very well. They lived just two houses up the hill from us. The corner house was a two story white house, and next up the hill on the right was Mia faster’s house. To the right of the white house on the corner was uncle Lennart’s house (Paul Granholm’s dad). I remember her as “Mia Faster.” Faster, in Swedish, is short for father’s sister. Mia’s birth name was Maria Johanna Granholm. She was born on the 25th of April 1891, and died on the 1st of July 1969, at the age of 78. She was […]

I take in a deep breath of the cool crisp air, and it feels as though I am sipping on the world’s finest champagne. It fills my lungs and I can feel the bubbles go all the way down. I move my foot and put it down, and hear the crunch of the new fallen snow being compressed under my shoe. What a beautiful sound. The sound then disappears in the cold thin air, yet lingers within me for a while… I take in a deep breath of the cool crisp air, and it feels as though I am sipping […]

Other than my grandfather and my grandmother on my mother’s side who died when I was only 2 ½ years old, I knew only my mother’s immediate family. My great grandfather Jakob died in 1939, as did Maja-Lisa, his wife. Many times, years ago, if one spouse died, the other followed closely after. My grandfather and my grandmother lived in a yellow, two-story house. In June of 2000, when Judy and I traveled to Finland to visit my mother, we went to see my grandfather’s old house. It was still standing, and it was still yellow. I’m sure it had […]

Travel backwards in time and enter the mind of my grandfather, Karl Johan Granholm, 102 years ago, to 1908 when he wrote “My Thoughts and Reflections,” and immerse yourself in his thoughts, reflections, and hopes. It is amazing how his thoughts, a reflection of life in his time, reflect our own times and lives. May we all strive for an understanding of life he so eloquently expressed 102 years ago… (Pictured is my brother Karl Johan Granholm, grandson of our grandfather Karl Johan Granholm)   I sit today, a Sunday, contemplating my half finished new dwelling which will contain a […]

What do we know about Finland? Do we know the names of the places our relatives came from? What is the country like? Finland is where our roots are. You may not have been born there, but your heritage was born deep in the roots of Finland, and beyond. Embrace your heritage, as you add to the tapestry of all our roots…   Finland, to some people it is just a place on the map. It is a country in northern Europe, part of Scandinavia, somewhere way up north where it is cold all the time. Mention Gamlakarleby (Kokkola in […]