Chapter 12

It snows in Minnesota ... not as badly as Finland but still ... Finland's southern most border is farther north than 60 degrees N.

Minnesota's northern most border is 49 degrees N ... except for that little stickup.

The northern border of Finland is past the Arctic Circle ... a third of the country is past the AC. So ... although it winters in Minnesota ... it's not as bad as Finland.

In Minnesota, ice fishing is a pastime, iceboat racing is another pleasure.

In Minnesota, the Truancy laws provide for a member of the local police to be selected as the Truant officer.

Rather than be a burden on our cousins we lived in a Motor Lodge cabin. A touristy sort of thing. Nearly every town on or closely associated with a lake had one ... motoring had become a thing.

The truant officer came knocking.

"You have two children?" he asked, holding up his badge.

"Yes," Wendy said. "We home school them."

This is 1929, the Stock Market took a hit and Minnesota is the land of the Little Red One Room School. It is never more than three miles ... uphill both ways ... through three feet of snow ... away from a little red schoolhouse. The teacher lives in one of two places; in the back of the school ... or next-door to the school in the Teacherage. (That's like a Parsonage but for a teacher not a preacher.) The little red schoolhouse is supported by the land-lease and taxes.

The land-lease? A Federally designated section (640 acres) of land called the school section is leased to the high bidder and that lease payment is used to support the school.

We all know what taxes are.

They're the thing that lets one know that the land one owns isn't owned.

Since there is a school within three miles, Minnesota doesn't have home schools.

"Your kids will be in school Monday or you go to jail," the truant officer said.

"We're just visiting," I said.

"Monday ... or you are out of town," he said. "I'll be checking Monday."

"But," we both started.

"You've been here two weeks ... visitors and fish go bad after three days. See you Monday."

So ... we rented a furnished house, stocked up on groceries and firewood. We caused our own little increase in the Gross National Product.

So ... you ask why we didn't move on?

The October storm that mauled Chicago?

It went through Hibbing first.

Don't even think about driving ... think cross-country skis for the family. Think frosty noses and purple fingers. Think ice hockey and sledding, snowmen and snowballs, and cuddling by the fire ... for six months. Think north of Duluth ... think of the three barbed wire fences between Hibbing and the North Pole.

Yeah ... that's us.

Residents.

Monday, the wife and I gussied up and took the kids to school. In the city ... ha ha ha ... there's an Elementary School closer than three miles and we rented the house on the right side of town. Six blocks to school, shopping and firewood.

Wendy wore a long calf length dress, snow boots woolen underwear and a heavy coat and a hat ... I wore my Finnish Air Force Dress Blacks including the heavy leather coat ... I looked like an officer in the Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, the Italian "Black Shirts." The children dressed like their nieces and nephews ... bundled up and carrying bag lunches.

The secretary looked to be about 90 and her helper couldn't have been 16.

The pin she wore said, Assistant to the School Secretary.

"May I help you?"

"The Valmaats to see the head of this fine educational facility."

Rather than consider the obvious ... we were here to enroll the kids ... and start the paperwork ... the Assistant to the School Secretary asked, "What about?"

Wendy said, "We seem to be amiss in out civic duties. We're from Finland visiting and are snowed in. Our children have been home schooled while we were traveling. We are given to understand that Minnesota doesn't allow home schooling."