Hibbing's Co-op Club women's chorus. Front row: Edla Linjanen, Myra
Mahla, Edith Koivisto, director, Lily Stevens, Sylvia Sundwall. Back row:
Sofia Joki, Minnie Muuttonen, Maria Somppi, Amanda Wuopio, Milja (Huik
kala) Koski, Selma Panula, Hilja Viiliäinen.

movement was losing strength, the club sponsored program evenings and dissemination of information about the cooperative movement, distributed literature, sponsored courses and summer programs for youth, and added color to the life of the Hibbing Finns, for even in the 1950s its membership was still close to 100. For years it had an outstanding auxiliary, a choral group which frequently performed on radio. The cooperative, indeed, used the radio to advantage, and WMFG in Hibbing was among the first stations in Minnesota to broadcast in Finnish.

During Finland's Winter War, the Cooperative Club adopted a Finnish war orphan and paid for her support until 1953, when she came of age. Other funds have been used to support the cooperative publications and to help maintain the Perch Lake Cooperative Park and the annual children's summer camp programs held there. Hibbing is represented on the park's board of directors by Fred Salmi and Joe Juvonen.

Business and Professional People: Although the Finnishlanguage press has played a role in many communities, Hibbing's only contribution was a weekly humor magazine, Velosuu, edited and published circa 1904 by Moses Hahl. Businessmen, however, were more in evidence. For example, in 1913 Andrew Simi started a hardware store which he handed over to his son in 1936. Another hardware store was owned by Matti J. Miettunen. Brothers Carl, John and Oliver Bispala specialized in the installation of heating systems (and Oliver also served as president of the Hibbing chapter of Odd Fellows.) A plumbing business is

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