March 2010Dear Friends of the Kaleva Historical Society,You may notice that our dues letter is a little early this year. That's because the annual meetinghas been rescheduled for April 10 at 10:00 am. You are all invited to this meeting where thedirectors and officers will be elected for 2010-11. We would be very happy to see our loyalmembers at this meeting to hear your suggestions, constructive criticism, or willingness tovolunteer in some way to help the Bottle House/Kaleva Historical Society in the coming year.We have many volunteers who staff the Bottle House and Depot throughout the summer/fallhours. If this is something you would like to do please call and let us know on the answeringmachine at 231.362.2080. We are also seeking volunteers to help with our first annual fundraiser. We plan to hold a raffle with the theme: “Adopt a Bottle” beginning on Memorial Dayand continuing through the Christmas Open House. We need folks to sell tickets at the summer festivals, and of course we hope our membership will purchase tickets as well. They will beavailable for $5 each and in addition to adopting a bottle, persons will have the chance of winning some nice prizes.We held a “No Bake” Bake Sale in February and were successful in encouraging our local bakersto donate $$ instead of baking goodies to sell. These fund raisers are part of an effort to continuemaintaining the buildings and programs that the Historical Society is in charge of. For examplewe have started a preservation fund which will help restore the exterior of both the Bottle Houseand the Depot. In addition, we purchase flowers and plant the barrels in the downtown area,which local businesses water throughout the summer. We call this effort community beautification, and it also involves caring for the Walkway gardens, Eagle gardens and Asiala park gardens.The summer concert series at the Log Cabin Outdoor Theater is put on by a committee thatlinesup the entertainers, and sponsors and takes care of details involved in the concerts in August.The Depot is the site of several special events this year. Kaleva Norman Dickson 4

graders will be visiting in May; the NWM Railroad Club usually brings a bus load of folks in April. Openhours are Saturdays from noon to 4:00 starting on Memorial Day weekend; we need volunteersto staff these times as well. We have scheduled two special activities at the Depot in August andSeptember. All of these dates and times are included on the events card in this mailing. TheBottle House is open Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4:00 pm, Memorial Day through Labor Day and on Saturdays in September and October.

We are very happy with the number of visitors we see each season at the Bottle House. There areusually fifty or more each weekend, and we continue to hear how great the museum looks andwhat great exhibits we have. This summer we plan to showcase a display about the Co-operativemovement in Kaleva, a concept which the Finnish immigrants introduced and which theCreamery, the Co-op store and other businesses perfected. The Makinen Tackle Collectioncontinues to be a favorite of visitors, and is an example of the entrepreneurial spirit of the 2

generation Finns.We operate solely on donations and dues from our membership. We thank you again for responding to our request to fund the projects which the Histocial Society supports. The board of directors are: Cynthia Asiala, president; Jim Draze, vice president; Beverly Johnson, treasurer;Laura (Rengo) Dorn, secretary and trustees Doreen (Makinen) Yonkman, Alice Edwards andDennis Risser. We would like to expand the board and need your help in finding folks willing toserve. Please let us know if you have any persons in mind that can join us as we endeavor tokeep Kaleva and its history alive and preserved for future generations! Thank you!