WCN History

West Coast News History

This is the history of the The Länsirannikon Uutiset / West Coast News, as detailed in the Vancouver Finlandia Club’s History Book – Reflections of Club Activities during the past 35 years: 1971 – 2006

Memories from the Newsroom

I recall the time when Vancouver Finlandia Club did not yet have its own newspaper, but important news was distributed to members by bulletins. The practise of sending bulletins was started by Ray Rinta, Eila Itkonen and Sinikka Hamalainen (Muhjala), and later continued by Tuula Uusitalo and Eva Jussilainen. The technique was simple: the text was written on a piece of wax and copied onto paper by using a hand-crank operated roller-printer. When the text started getting faint, one added more ink. The main person in the crank-operation was Aira Sokkanen. When the cranking was done and the pages were ready to be stapled together, we all were somewhat splashed with ink, as the roller­printer was old and may have leaked a bit. Eila Rinkinen and Aino Karhuniemi with their helpers were always at hand to help with compiling the pages to get ready for mailing. Eila Rinkinen with her gang looked after the mail-out. 

Later on, the Board of Vancouver Finlandia Club decided to purchase a new typewriter for the bulletin makers. Aira Sokkanen, Eila Itkonen and Suoma Kurhinen were elected to look after this task. So the typewriter was purchased, and it came with little bottles of different colour inks. Now we were able to add some colour to the pages. Especially the front pages were now much showier with the use of colour. The design of the front page, and some inside pages as well was done by, among others, Ben Rusi and Anna-Liisa Vahasalo. 

Tiedotteet was discontinued in early 1975, and Ray Rinta started a news magazine, called “Vancouver Finlandia Club tiedottaa. The treasurer was Sheila Noronen and Eila Rinkinen was still in charge of mailing it out. 

Later on, when Matti and Taimi Rautiainen started producing the Lansirannikon Uutiset/West Coast News newspaper, the mailing lists were still printed with the old system of typing them on wax. This method meant that we would type using an old typewriter with no colour ribbon in it, onto a sheet of wax. As the letters were typed, the wax would break and form a ‘hole’ in the shape of the letter that allowed the ink to go through and form that letter shape onto the mailing labels. How­ever, the wax got easily stuck to the type, and we had to clean the letter from the wax often, using old toothbrushes. Despite the fact that I was responsible for producing these mailing labels for a while, I cannot recall whether the roller-printer used to print the mailing labels was electronic or hand-operated, but probably electronic. I do recall vividly, though, that this roller-printer leaked ink just like the previous one. When all labels were printed, we were left with a long ribbon of address labels that needed to be cut with scissors and organized by postal codes. 

There have been many stages in the operation of Vancouver Finlandia Club, from primitive to technical, not just in the production of the newspaper, but in every other aspect as well. ~Eila Itkonen (translation)

West Coast News and the Rautianens’ Era 

This article was written, based on stories and mem­ories as told by Taimi Rautiainen when interviewed by Eila Itkonen (translation) 

Taimi Rautiainen and her now deceased husband were the first editors of the Vancouver Finlandia Club newsletter, “Lansirannikon Uutiset” (The West Coast News). 

When did the first issue of the “West Coast News” appear? 

The first issue of this newspaper was issued in October of 1975. 

When you and Matti started publishing this pa­per, did you have any assistance from experienced newspaper editors, or were you on your own when it came to the publication of this newspaper? 

Before we started our work on the “West Coast News”, Ray Rinta was the editor of the Vancouver Finlandia Club newspaper “Vancouver Finlandia Club Tiedottaa” (Vancouver Finlandia Club News). This newspaper was printed in the form of a maga­zine, but it soon became too expensive for the VFC to produce, so the newsletter was discontinued. At the VFC general meeting, held in September of 1975, it was decided that the newsletter was to be continued, but in a newspaper format, and Matti and I were chosen as the editors of the new paper. The name chosen for the newspaper was 

“Lansirannikon Uutiset, West Coast News”. Im­mediately after the meeting we called Ray Rinta, and from him we learned a lot about the publishing of newspapers. We also contacted a specialist in this field, Pekka Karlen, and he was able to give us a lot of useful information, based on his extensive experience in the field. 

Later on, we had a visit from the editor of the paper “Aamulehti”, published in Tampere, Fin­land, who came with his son, and then the editor of “Joensuun Sanomat”, arrived from Joensuu, Finland, also with his son. Both of these editors ended up staying with us for a whole week (but on different dates). We received additional useful information from them regarding the publication of newspapers. We are very grateful for the help and assistance we received from all these people. The newspaper was printed at the “Surrey Center Pub. Ltd.”

How did the paper do financially?

Since the financial position of the VFC was weak, Matti and I had to finance the printing and mail-out of this paper from money in our own pockets, for the first three weeks. Later on, we recouped the money from the Club. However, we still continued to pay for the films and pictures, and other small newspaper expenses, from our own pockets. When I mentioned to Tairni that she was using too much of her own money for the newspaper, she said: “It is good to give to a good cause”. 

How was this paper mailed out, and to whom? 

The paper was mailed to all members of the VFC and to all subscribers. However, at that time subscribers were far and few. Matti and I worked on the mail-out together, and we also got help from members of other clubs and sub-organisations. Every month I brought the printed newspapers to the Main Post Office in Vancouver to be mailed out. 

Did the newspaper bring in any money? 

As I mentioned before, the newspaper had a few subscribers and from them we received some funds. We also tried, Matti and I, to find some advertisers, but there were not too many of them either. The accounting part was always done by myself. Later on Tiina Kohonen-McCombie accepted the position as our accountant. 

For how long did you and Matti produce this news­paper? 

We produced the paper for eight and a half years at first. Then Mervi Paivarinne took over the newspaper publishing for a short while. When Mervi moved away from this location, Matti and I were asked to resume the newspaper publication, and so we worked as editors for this newspaper for an­other three years. We published the newspaper for 11 ½ years, altogether. 

Do you, Taimi, have any interesting memories to tell us from your time as newspaper editors?

Oh, I have a lot of memories. For example, when the newspapers were mailed out to our members for the first time, a copy was mailed back to us with corrections in red ink. Then we received another copy corrected in green ink. These copies were returned to us by a person/persons unknown. Matti and I laughed it off and continued the publi­cation of the newspaper. We found that the publication of a newspaper, even when very stressful, was also rewarding. For instance, we got to meet and know many interesting people.

Thank you Taimi for this very pleasant opportunity to discuss your memories of past experiences with you, and thank you also for the immense amount of work both you and Matti put in for the benefit of the “West Coast News” and the Vancouver Finlandia Club. Interviewer: Eila ltkonen, (translation)

Marja-Liisa Hassinen Remembers 

Niinpa niin! (Oh, well … so it goes!) “There’s a time to come and a time to go!” 

Where should I start, was the question this ‘ex/ newspaper scribe’ asked herself? It is Saturday morning, about 6 a.m., and outside winter in the air first time this fall, -2 deg C. With the good old coffee mug in hand one can reminisce about times gone by, and talk and write about them. 

Six years is a long time; when I started working with Taimi and Matti Rautiainen they were busying themselves with the Christmas issue of the 1988 newspaper. I was all ears, listening to their talk about page margins, various colours, how black it had to be, what kind of glue, discussions about photographs, page numbers, etc. Their 12-year long stint as newspaper editors has brought them many interesting, happy, and sad incidents, and an incredible amount of experience, which they happily shared with me, often laughing and shaking their heads. 

Oh well, after that, my trusty old typewriter and a large, orange-coloured box moved into a corner in my kitchen, and then I wondered ‘hmmm … what actually happened here?’

Well, and so it slowly began. The was a lot typing to do – the typewriter keys were clicking noisily, and in the wee morning hours there was a knock from the other side of the wall. My next-door neighbour was indicating that it was time for this woman to go to bed. Then came the 1990’s, and the new decade brought improvements to the newspaper, an Apple computer (do you remember that teensy- weensy computer screen?) and a laser printer. The work changed, print was beautiful and any errors could be easily corrected, borders were even, text could be stored in the computer, etc. That same year we discovered a new printer, “College Printing”, on Terminal Street, where the prices were a bit cheaper, and I could take the material for the next paper with me to the printers on my way to work. 

The crew at the West Coast News has been a wonderful lot throughout all these years; they were true friends, in good times as in bad. Eila Rinkinen, in charge of the mail-out, tells us that when the newspapers arrived from the printers, they was sorted, stamps and address labels were slapped on, the papers going abroad were tied together, and all addresses on the address list were checked for any changes, after which the newspapers were taken to the post office, seniors’ centres, and to other possible distribution spots. Then the hot sauna that Aate had heated felt absolutely wonderful after all that printing ink. And there was my ‘right hand’ Auvo Martikainen who took care of all monthly business matters. I would never have been able to manage editing the newspaper for that long without him. After the Hall burnt down, the newspaper moved into a new ‘office address’ at a bus stop at Main Street and 5th Avenue. Rain or shine, Auvo brought me the mail to the newspaper two to three times a week while I was waiting for a bus on my way to work before seven a.m. He always smiled, insisting that this way he got his morning walk done at the same time. Leena Kohonen, Marita Kareinen, and Hannele Talkio were in charge of bookkeeping. Money was used sparingly as the VFC Hall loans were large. So the paper existed mainly on advertising, subscriptions, and donations. A couple of times a year the paper printed a ‘penny saving issue’ that had only eight pages. The assistants and foreign reporters supported the paper faithfully; I had many pleasant moments with Kaisa-muori and Arvo Kinnunen. It was together with Arja Sokkanen in her home where I put together the first issue of the newspaper after the hall burnt down. We both had tears in our eyes. 

Some of my best memories are from the time when the VFC Board decided to build an office for the “newspaper scribe” on the lower level of the Club. Well, there came a wonderful surprise at a board meeting at the end of October 1993, when I was asked to cut the ribbon, with a glass of champagne in my hand, to a new newsroom with good light­ing and good work tables. It was cosy, and best of all: when I closed the door behind me that night, I could leave everything where it was and continue later. Toivo Monkkonen and Auvo Martikainen helped with the move-in at the beginning of No­vember and the Christmas issue of the paper was completed in the new office. Eila Rinkinen called me in the early morning hours of December 13th, telling me that “the hall is on fire” – that was almost too horrendous to grasp at first when we were watching the struggles of the firemen with tears in our eyes. Well, after that the newspaper editorial work eventually moved back into my kitchen, and the second issue of 1994 was completed there. 

I always loved editing the paper. During the quiet hours of the night I was putting it together, and just before the paper went into print there were still some ‘Johnny-come-late’ stories that just had to be added. And that was quite alright, since this voluntary work, or work in general, had become more and more difficult, with the increasing demands from our regular employment where we earn our ‘daily bread’, what with ‘decreasing staff and increasing work hours’; then add to that the long hours of travel, and one can see how thinly one’s energy is stretched! After considering the matter, I decided that the December 1994 issue of the paper would be my last one, and I would only assist with the January-February paper, if I could get some­body to take over my work at the newspaper. 

Of course we found somebody: a cheerful Ritva Mourato, who hailed from northern Karelia of Finland and was fluent in Finnish and English. She asked a little surprised “How did I get myself into this?” and then moved the newspaper production first into a comer in her bedroom, and later on into a closet she built for that purpose. The January­February paper was a double issue, so that gave her a good start. She brought with her a million new ideas and she also got a new IBM computer, a printer, a fax machine with a phone, so it was a wonderful beginning. 

That is what all volunteer work needs: “new blood”, so I wish: All the Best, Happiness and 

a Success to the new editor and the staff. Many thanks also to all the Finnish speaking or Finnish minded readers of the newspaper, the assistants, the newspaper staff and the VFC Board. 

With a mixture of sadness and happiness, greetings from an “ex-scribe”, Marja-Liisa Hassinen, (translation)

Ritva Mourato as a Newswoman

At the end of the year 1994 the president of Van­couver Finlandia Club, Ritva Ahonen, phoned me, asking whether I would like working as the editor of the Finlandia Club newspaper “Lansirannikon Uutiset” (West Coast News).

The editor of the newspaper at that time, Marja­Liisa Hassinen, had informed the Club by letter to the semi-annual General Meeting that the Decem­ber 1994 issue of the paper would be the last one she edited.

I had been a member of the Finlandia Club for years. Even though I did not take any part in the production of the paper, it had become very dear to me and I always looked forward to reading it.

The phone call was a total surprise to me – the idea was so unbelievable at first that I started to laugh out loud. I was wondering why they had asked me, who had not even seen how the paper was produced, to become its new editor. Still, I left the thought on the ‘back-burner’ of my mind and promised to come to the next Finlandia Club Board meeting.

When the matter of the newspaper came up for discussion, I did not really know from what angle to tackle the question. I promised to work on the January 1995 issue. The Finlandia Club made sure that I had all necessary equipment, and in the 1995 Annual General Meeting I was officially elected editor of the newspaper. 

At first there were, of course, some changes to be made: the bank, post office box, and all matters connected with the newspaper were transferred from Vancouver to Coquitlam. 

I soon found out that the newspaper could be printed cheaper at ‘Horizon Publications’ in Vancouver. The other big change was connected with the production of the address labels, which had previously been sent out for printing, at a cost. I decided that these definitely had to be printed in house. And so to work! I sat at the computer for hours compiling addresses, and thus the first newspaper appeared with address labels, which we had printed ourselves. 

From month to month, the work became more interesting, even though I sometimes ended up working into early morning hours in order to get the paper ready for the printers in time. As the years went by, I had the opportunity to meet visitors from Finland, Sweden and, of course, Canada. 

With the progress in technology, the Club news­paper also got its own website. Again there was something new to learn. This improved the pub­lishing of the newspaper, and the Vancouver Fin­landia Club became known all over the world. 

I edited the newspaper for approximately eight years, when illness suddenly forced me to leave my editorial position and tum over the reins to Eila ltkonen, who became the new editor. 

Members on the editorial team, when I worked as the editor of the newspaper: 

• Katja Yip, in charge books 
• Lassi Hirvonen, Eila Keski-Hynnila, Pekka Eronen, in charge of mailing 
• Esa Layva, technical advisor 

Remembering all of the above people with gratitude, Ritva Mourato (translation)

Eila Itkonen, Editor 

In October 2002 I got a phone call from Ritva Mourato, who was the editor of the Vancouver Finlandia Club newspaper West Coast News. 

She told me that she would have to go to the hospital in two hours, and the paper should already be at the printers, but she did not have the energy or time to finish it. I told her that if I can get hold of the paper, I’ll finish the job and take it to the printers. I had never edited a newspaper before, but I had contributed material to the paper in columns that could be pasted on as is. That is why Ritva chose to call me. Later on she reported the change to the Finlandia Club Board and recommended that I would be chosen to continue as editor, which was approved. At the Annual General Meeting on February 23rd in 2003 I was elected editor together with Ritva. I did not want to accept that nomination alone, because I wanted Ritva’s name also to appear in the paper. She had worked had on the paper and I was hoping that she would take the editor’s job back when she got well. This is how I became editor of the West Coast News. Ritva worked on the paper with me and took care of part of the business, mainly the mailing list, address labels and subscriptions. She also sent some articles into the paper. Many advertisers still called her from old habit, asking how things were going. Katja Yip still took care of the books and Pekka Eronen of mailing.

In the spring of 2003 the printer, Horizon Publications notified us that all newspapers had to be submitted using a certain computer program. Ritva and I discussed the matter. After the first hesitance we decided that if other editors could do it, so could we. I talked to Esa Layva about it and he promised to train us. The Finlandia Club Board had no objections. I had been preparing the paper using the old cut and paste method for exactly a year, and after the October 2003 issue was finished, paper, scissors and glue had done their duty, and replaced by a new Page Maker computer program. Esa Layva as an expert had purchased all relevant programs and accessories.

When the October paper was done and I took it to the printers, I told them that the November issue would be submitted on disc. So I had to commit myself fully to the project under Esa’s patient guidance. In the beginning Esa came to my place to help, but then l tried to do things by myself if I could. I have to admit that many times I felt that I was against a wall, but then I experimented to figure out how to proceed and if that did not help, I called Esa, and so we moved on. 

The 23rd of October in 2003 was a historical day at the West Coast News newsroom, because that is the day I took the paper to the printers on disc for the first time, two days before our printing schedule. It was exciting to find out if everything works of it we would have to make corrections. The use of a computer program for editing was new for Esa as well, but he has so much experience on computers that he can solve the most tricky problems and programs. 

The first newspaper was printed without problems. Esa and I had succeeded. 

Eila Itkonen (translation)

Ron Ericson Steps Forward 

Ron Ericson, new editor in 2004, wrote: 

Together we have succeeded in the past and to­gether we will succeed in the future. A big thank you goes to Ritva Mourato, who gave me the opportunity to write for the paper about the history and happenings of West Coast Finns. I am grateful for the articles and advertisements that I have received and for the help of many people with my computer challenges. I also thank the people who have declined to help. During my long career, I’ve already learned that that’s life! The publica­tion of a newspaper is the cooperative project of many people and the sum of many hours of work. Together we can put out a newspaper which truly represents West Coast Finns to the whole world. In addition to local news stories, we will continue to publish news from Finland and the regular columnists will continue to entertain our readers. I am inviting young writers – any writers – to file articles, in English if you like, about anyone or anything interesting – just remember, it must have ‘a Finnish connection’ and be ‘in line with our journalistic values’.

Ron Ericson (translation)