Elaine Louise Reed Johnston is second-generation Finnish, her grandmother having passed through Ellis Island in 1899, nine years old and alone. Mary Leppanen (Nanny Reed to Elaine) was part of the Finnish migration to the West, fleeing either Russification or starvation after working the exhausted fields of the large estates owned by Swedish and Finnish noblemen. Nearly half a million arrived in the United States between 1900-1924. While most settled in the northern reaches of Michigan and Minnesota, others came to Maine, in Oxford County, and in the area between Waldoboro and Rockland. Here, all things Finnish can be found at the Finnish Heritage House in South Thomaston with offerings of classes in language, music and culture, plus a store with Finnish bread and goods. Elaine and Ralph live in Dutch Neck now. For decades, she taught English and remedial reading, a career she credits guidance counselor Mr. Zucchi for, because he found her a spot at the last minute at Washington State Teachers College in Machias. And off she went. Then, 21 years ago, she retired to join her husband Ralph at Bear Hill Hardware.
Nanny Reed never spoke English well. And we didn’t talk any Finnish. In fact, we didn’t talk much about Finland at all when I was growing up. Grandpa Reed didn’t want it.
But at Christmastime, we would visit Aunt Siri’s farm in Friendship, and they had one of those saunas out back. Aunt Siri would bake Finnish bread with all the loaves lined up for the neighbors. They called it ‘nisu,’ and my father always loved it. We all still love it.
We grew up in North Waldoboro in a two-part house. We lived in one side and my mother’s parents, they were Walters, lived on the other side. Grandpa Walter was German. And Nanny Walter was French. I was very close to her. When they moved to Washington, I would walk almost every day to her house. Nanny Walter had made me a raccoon hat out of mink and I used to wear it all the time. Everybody on the road knew who I was. Then, I’d walk back at night because they didn’t have an extra bedroom.
We were three boys and three girls. I don’t know why but we moved to a different small house up the road. And with all of us kids, it was tough in that little house. One day, our neighbor Captain Thomas said to Daddy, “John, I’ve got this big house. And you’ve got this little house. Why don’t we swap?”
So, they did! They made the paperwork out, and we picked up our stuff and moved it across the road to the big house, and they picked up theirs and moved it to the little house. You just wouldn’t do that today.
After he passed away, we watched over his wife. Sometimes she would come over during a thundershower and sleep on the couch. Or somebody would go over and stay with her. We cared for her.
I was always a tomboy. When I was little, we played in the woods all day long. We built forts and Indian hideouts. We would meet in the morning, and we’d decide who was going to play the cowboys and who was going to play the Indians. Mum didn’t worry about us. She knew we were in the woods somewhere. You made your own fun back then.
But later, I raised the devil. In senior year, I was only sixteen, so I couldn’t date that young. But I did. We used to sneak out and do things like go to the dump and shoot rats. That was a big thing, ask anyone in town that grew up here. And you’d see other people doing it, too. I used to go to parties in gravel pits where everybody would turn their radio up on the same station and we’d dance. Gravel pits were great because they were out of the way and nobody knew what you were doing. I’d unlocked the door for my brother so he could come in late, and he’d unlock it for me.
When I was working at Moody’s on the second shift, another waitress and I would go skinny dipping after closing. We’d go down to Damariscotta Lake and take off our uniforms. That was fun but we had to stop when a couple of guys found out about it.
I was a rebel. I used to have an MGB. I had a lot of sports cars. Once, I raced in a Powder Puff Derby on a dare. I remember my sister Donna coming up and asking, “What are you doing?”
I said, “I’m going to be racing.”
She said, “Well, you can’t do that.”
I said, “Yeah, I can.
“You’re not 21.”
I said, “So?”
She said, “I’m going to call Mum.”
“Call her. Mum’s not going to be coming down here to stop me from getting in that car and going around that racetrack.” I got in this guy’s car and went around the track. I think I crashed it a couple of times, but I came in third.
I have always stood up for the things I wanted and believed in. I stood up to bullies. At Miller School, when the boys trespassed into the girls’ area, this other girl and I, we’d wrestle them. I’ve stood up to lots of people since.
When I saw the pictures of all the elderly ladies trying to get into Poland or some other country, I thought, “This is wrong. These people do not deserve this.” This flag is for them. And for Finland — because what happened in Ukraine could happen to Finland. It’s right next to Russia. We hang the Ukrainian flag for these reasons.
And that’s the way I grew up. You stand up for what you believe.
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