This picture possibly features Anna Surakka Huru (1885-1950). The image is a detail of a blurred group image |
Bertha Huru Jurvakainen 1918-1993 |
Five children were born to the Huru family. The oldest of them was Hubert (March 16, 1917 in Calumet, Michigan - August 1, 1975 in Longview, Washington), nicknamed Hoobie (who-be). Was Hubert, who never married, possibly from Johan Alfred’s first marriage? Johan Alfred and Anna get married not until on October 5, 1917. Hubert was followed by the daughter of Bertha (September 25, 1918 in Calumet Michigan - November 9, 1993 in Longview, Washington), who became the mother of a large family. According to the memoir, Bertha had nine children, four daughters and five sons, and 52 grandchildren. It was not until the family that moved to Astoria that a son named Edward was born on October 24, 1919, who died at a very young age, or 45, on January 11, 1965 in Interlachen, Oregon. Edward was also married and had three children, according to the memoir. In 1921, the Huru family rejoiced at the birth of daughter named helen. I have very little information about her life stages. In 1950, she is mentioned to be Mrs. Clayton Crow, who lives in Portland, Oregon. In 1975, she was known as Mrs. Helen Reynolds, who lived in Long Beach, California. The youngest child in the family was Hilda, born January 9, 1925. Hilda lived for a long time in Southern California and Phoenix, Arizona. For the last 25 years of his life, he lived again along the Columbia River in the town of Longview. On April 16, 1971, Hilda married Thor Jacob Johnson (1912-1997), who moved as a young boy from Sweden to the United States with her parents. The marriage was childless. Hilda Huru Johson died on October 25, 2007 in Longview, Washington.
Hilda Huru Johnson 1925-2007 |
The 1940 census records show that John Alfred worked as a stevedoring worker. His annual earnings were $ 2,163 ($ 41,557 in current money). Children, living at home, were Edward, a 20-year-old truck driver, and Hilda, a 15-year-old schoolgirl. Next door along the same street (Columbia Avenue) lived the family’s 21-year-old daughter Bertha, who was married to carpenter Arne Jurvakainen. The whole area seems to be strongly inhabited by the Finnish population. The families of Mäki, Silver, Blomqvist, Niemi, Huhtala and Reinikka, as well as the lonely Hilja Sorvari and Jacob Merilä, lived next door. There was even one family with German father living in the middle of the Finns, but he had managed to marry a Finnish girl Eve. Is Finnish, as a native language, probably also echoed in that family? Thus, as a former educator, my attention was drawn to the fact that the Elsie daughter of the Silver family, who worked as a teacher at a local school, earned only $ 1,260 a year. Were the teachers already clearly underpaid at the time?
Memorial to Anna Surakka Huru (1885-1950) |
The series continues with the story of Anna’s sister Maria.