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Son of a glass blower, Mattias Alfred Vallo was born in 1881 in Simo, Finland. Hilma Henriika Kehusmaa was born in 1878 in Simo. Hilma moved to America in 1903. Mattias or “Matt” arrived at Ellis Island from Kaakamo, Finland on July 3, 1909, via Liverpool on the Lucania. He went to Michigan to work in the Tamarack Mills mining copper. The mining company sponsored him. They married in Hubbell, Michigan. They continued to live in Hubbell where Matt worked in a copper stamp mill. They had 5 children, all born in Tamarack Mills (a suburb of Hubbell in Houghton County, U.P.). The family moved to Ontonagon County in 1921, buying their property from the Huttula’s (relative of Hilma’s). The farm was located on 126 acres near Woodspur, 3 miles south of Ontonagon on US 45. They raised dairy cows, beef cattle, chickens, geese and had 2 work horses. They grew hay, oats, and garden fruits and vegetables. They built a large house, a cow barn, several hay barns, chicken coops, and 2 saunas. The children spent their days on the farm playing in the haybarn and raising mousing cats. They also trained two farm dogs, collies: Peaches and Troubles. As well as pet dogs: Dominique, and Pierre, both toy poodles.
Hilma enjoyed the work of a farm wife: canning, baking, cooking, knitting, and raising children. She provided 5 meals a day for the work crew. She loved growing flowers and vegetables. She was hard working, easy going, and a good neighbor. She spoke only Finnish.
Matt was a good businessman and a successful farmer and father. He never spanked his children. At meal times, he would tell jokes and recite words of wisdom. He had no time for hobbies, but read Finnish papers. He spoke broken English in order to sell milk to the local creamery and eggs to the grocery. He made a trip back to Finland in 1937 to settle family real estate, which he had inherited in Simo. The house in Simo, Finland, is now a church social hall.
Alfred Matias (born 1906) was a farmer in Ontonagon County and spent a few years working in a Ford auto factory in Detroit. He took over the family dairy farm, until his death in 1968 from congestive heart failure. Alfred never married.
Theodore (Ted) was born in 1908 and he became a depot agent for the Milwaukee/St. Paul Railroad Company in Ontonagon. He then served in the medical corps of the army Air Force for 4 years in WWII (1941-45). He married Martha Pierson on a furlough during the war. They had 2 girls, Carol Ann, and Patsy Sue. After the war, moved to Iron Mountain and continued being a depot agent. He died 199_ .
Helen Sylvia, born 1909, attended Northern Michigan University normal school and became a school teacher at Laird Township elementary school in Alston, Michigan. She taught kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade in one room. She married Eino Keranen in 1932 and had 3 children: Melvin Roger, James Edmund, and Donald Paul. She received her bachelor’s degree in 196_ from Northern Michigan. She continued to work on her master’s degree part time. She died in 1973 from asthma.
Paul William, born 1911, worked as a bridge builder for the Milwaukee railroad. He served in the Army for 5 years, spending 4 years on the Burma Road and was wounded, receiving a purple heart. He was nominated for a citation for bravery for being a platoon leader (Murel marauders) , where he lead his platoon through a rice patty, underwater, breathing through cane tubes during the night. He refused the nomination, which he told them to “stick it up their ass.” After the war, he returned to the railroad and part time at the Wallo farm, where he retired to raise beef cattle. He died in 1987 of heart failure.
Esther Lois, born 1913 worked on the Wallo farm until she married Paul Lahti. She lived in Ontonagon, Hancock, and Clauson. She worked in the Clauson Schools as head cook/baker. Their children are: Gerald Paul, Lois Johanna, Kenneth Victor, and Sharon.
In 1935, Dr. Jacob Mustonen, a dis
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