Recent Work Weekends

Fall Work Weekend October 5th - 7th, 2007

The 2007 Fall Work Weekend ended with many jobs completed and several others started or at least planned for the Spring. Friday night supper had 6 dining and 5 staying the night. Saturday morning arrived with 7 more joining the crew for the day for a total of 12 staying overnight. The food was as good as ever and we had plenty of time to visit during the meals. The sauna was fired both nights and it was truly enjoyed by all. Conversation went well into the late evening and if a topic was not covered it probably wasn't worth talking about.
A project that started small and grew until completion was the old wooden sauna steps. Several steps on the approach to the sauna were replaced and permanent pavers were put in place in front of the sauna and toward the lake. The walk up and down to the sauna should be easier, especially at night. The bonfire area was cleaned and a decision was made to start over next Spring from the path to the seating. New fencing was cut from the woods and stacked for the future work. Most of the benches are too far gone to be saved and the fence is falling down faster than it can be repaired. This will take a large effort next year. The sauna woodshed is full and no wood was left uncut or unsplit. Several trees were taken down around the cabins and the wood was left for firepit burning. A new rope was placed on the main flagpole and it blended with the pole very nicely. A group walked all of the cabins and a list was put together for future work. Spring will be here before you know it. A tip - would you like to make winter go faster? Take out a 90 day loan! Talk to later.

Spring Work Weekend 2007

Jobs that were done: painted the deck railing on Jyringin Talo, total yard cleanup, washed cabin windows, cut more sauna and camp fire wood, velvet oiled the Jyringin Talo stairs, dusted lights and rafters, trimmed brush near the fence, worked in the library, tilled the herb garden, spot stained all cabins, trimmed all trails, repaired the bonfire area, cleaned the beach area, cleaned inside the sauna, took down wind fall trees on the nature trail, weeded flower gardens, cleaned the top of cabinets, vacuumed the downstairs floors and completed the ramp to the dance hall. Twenty people helped with the work that was completed on the weekend. There was of course time to take coffee breaks, enjoy good food, and on Saturday evening, use the sauna, listen and dance to music.

Work Weekends History

Work-Weekends (talkoot) at Salolampi have been held twice a year since the shipment of logs for the first cabin arrived from Finland. You could say the talkoot began when 3 log cabins from Finland were assembled between October 1993 and August 1994. It was decided that a weekend in Spring and another in Fall would be a good time to clean up, fix up, and add to the usability of the village. Mike Anuta and Leo Nevala were the first Work-Weekend directors. Along with the camaraderie and good food, even evening entertainment is provided. Frequent coffee breaks and the Saturday night sauna are also available. Mike would say "Beds, hot showers, the sauna, food, fresh air, camaraderie, and work will be at Salolampi in plentiful supply". Workers are asked to bring their own sleeping bags, pillows, and towels.
The directors make sure needed materials are available, recruit workers, and supervise the work that is done. Besides the continuing cleaning projects, yard-work, painting, and staining, a number of larger projects have been completed during the work-weekends. Permanent plantings of Birch, evergreens, bushes, as well as flowers have been done. Master carpenter Brian Kallioinen has headed carpentry projects such as handicapped ramps for the cabins, bookshelves for the library, chests for weaving materials, night-stands, unique railings for the cabins, or siding on the patio wall below Jyringin Talo. He designed and built handsome birch cabinets for storage of Finnish dishes, glassware and other supplies.
Lauri once mentioned that he would like a new woodshed that was constructed in the old fashioned manner. Workers were surprised at quantity of materials and how long such a project would take. Logs were first cut and peeled on one work-weekend. Corner holes were dug and cement was poured in the holes. On the next work-weekend, notches in logs were made and the walls began to go up. The pseudo-authentic design called for the sidewalls to slowly slant outwards as the walls got higher. The walls were only about half the full height when the logs that had been prepared ran out. More logs were ready for the next work-week-end. Ron Johnson, a chainsaw expert, was available to split some logs in half to create trusses. Plywood sheets were used on the roof and half the roof was shingled before time ran out on that Work-Weekend. The project was finally completed on the next Work-Weekend. There are still some varying opinions among the workers on whether the ends of the shed need to be closed in or not.
Ron Johnson also used his talents to split a number of large logs that were then used as benches at the campfire (nuotio). More half logs provide resting places along the path from the sauna to the rest of the village.
The Finnish ambassador, during a visit to Salolampi, commented that the flagpole by Jyringin Talo would not be proper in Finland because it was not higher than the highest building on the grounds. Oiva Ylönen took that as a personal challenge to get a proper flagpole. He calculated how tall a tree it would take and then cut down a tree on his own property. He peeled it and then painted it white. Jack Rajala loaned him a trailer to haul the pole about 100 miles to Salolampi. It was quite a proud moment for the volunteers to put up a "proper" flagpole with a Finnish flag in the right proportion to the pole.