All those Finnish whitetails can trace their roots to that first Minnesota gift in 1934, as well as another six fawns flown over from the Iron Range in 1948.
The Truth About The Made Up American Holiday, St. Urho s Day
By Kirstie Bingham/March 16, 2021 4:04 pm EDT
If March 16th comes and goes without you realizing it s a holiday, you re not alone. But to the Finns in Minnesota, it s better known as St. Urho s Day. Created by Finnish-American Richard Mattson in 1953,
The Mesabi Tribune quotes him as saying, Winters are long and cold in Virginia, Minnesota, on the Iron Range. Gene McCavic, a co-worker at Ketola s, chided me in 1953 that the Finns did not have saints like St. Patrick. So I fabricated a story
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According to the fictional legend, St. Urho drove the grasshoppers from the vineyards of Finland, shouting, Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka, mene täältä hiiteen, (via UpSupply) which, according to St. Urho.com, loosely translates to Grasshopper, grasshopper, go to hell!