In the Middle of No Where – The Hanka Homestead

Over the weekend we decided to go on a hunt for a u-pick strawberry farm. We knew of out Chassell way, but we couldn’t remember exactly where they were. So we went on a road trip. We did find Niemela’s Strawberry farm, but they were closed. Going further down the road lead us to a sign that said to turn right to go to the Hanka Homestead.

We’ve heard of this little museum, but have never been there before. We decided to check it out.

I don’t remember how many turns we took, but with each one we seemed to venture more into the middle of no where. The final road to the Hanka Homestead was a little bumpy and we were starting to think we took a wrong turn. Finally we saw the clearing and a few buildings and signs. We made it!

There are a few buildings in front, and then some more past a wooden gate. There was a truck up near the other buildings, so we continued on. We were greeted by an older couple and the man said, “Let’s go on a tour.” Right away I was pleased – his Finnish accent was strong. Having a tour of a Finnish homestead by someone with a Finnish heritage made the tour even more authentic. He even threw in some Finnish words as he spoke, but quickly gave the English translation.

It sure was pretty out there in the middle of no where.

It’s hard to image living in a remote area, building all of these buildings by yourself, then creating a self-sufficient farm. It is quite a feat, and it is nice that this farm has been preserved for all to see. I also can’t help but think of how neat it would be to try to recreate that life and try to live like that today.

(In the pic, the two buildings in the back are the sauna and the blacksmith building. The one in the front is where they made butter, but I can’t remember what the building was called.)

Random Posts

• A Path to Beauty
• Enjoying the PastyFest 2009 Parade
• Mother Nature’s Artwork
• Welcome to Copper Country Scrapbook
• Coming out of Hibernation…