Some History

It all began in 1900 when  Oskar Edvard Kause (Pelander), born April 12th, 1880, arrived to USA,  specifically the Hibbing area from his homeland of Eura Naarjiki,  Finland.  His American legacy started on April 14th, 1900 when Oskar  departed Southampton, England on board the S.S. St. Paul with the ships  final destination being the harbor at New York, New York, USA.  Oskar came to USA to  find a better life than his native Finland could offer him.  It was a  very trying and difficult time in Finland when he left and many like him had a dream to move to the USA and start a new life under political freedom,  religious freedom and democracy.  Immigration records indicate that he  came to Northern Minnesota in 1900 and settled in the Hibbing area then  moved to Balsam Township around 1904.  It is my opinion that Oskar worked in one of the Mesabi iron mines to make some capital prior to  venturing into farming.  Around 1904 Oskar filed for homestead on the  land that is now Johnson's Pinegrove Farm.  He filed his claim at the  Cass Lake, Minnesota US Government Land office that had just opened in the year of 1903.  Once the claim was filled a person had to make improvements on  the land and had to physically reside there most of the time.  After 14  months of satisfying those requirements the land could be purchased for  $1.25 an acre.  If lived on for five or more years and the requirements  satisfied, the land was granted for free.  Oskar cleared the land and  started farming here in the year of 1904.  He built a large log barn  with dove-tailed corners, a nice quaint two story log home, a concrete  25 ft high silo, log pump house, privy, tool shed, sauna by the lake, root  cellar carved into the hillside facing the lake and several remote  Finnish style hay sheds called a "lato's".   Oskar raised sheep, cattle,  milk cows, turkeys and chickens.  Homestead Land Patent #306363 was  granted to Oskar in 1912 after these improvements were done.  This was  eight (8) years after the initial filing. Oskar lived and worked here on  his farm until his death in August of 1946.  He basically worked  himself to death.  The number of very large rock piles on the property  and the openness of the land are a testimony to the tenuous labor  expended to break ground and create a farm here at the turn of the last  century.  It is known that Oskar originally worked his farm with horses.   Many horseshoes have been found on the property especially in front of  the old log barn.  In later years he used a Fordson Model F tractor along with a Model T Ford truck.  He was the first person in Balsam  Township to have a heated attached garage for which he stored his Model T  Ford truck in.  His house and barn still stand today. Oscar is buried at Lakeview Cemetery overlooking Trout Lake in Coleraine, Minnesota.