West Hill Area-Washburn Road

WEST HILL AREA

About a year after the Pelto family was established on West Hill, Nick and Elvira Wendela and children, Hugo, Esther and Bertha, came from Michigan to one of the farms they found advertised by Pelto in their newspaper. After a few years they moved back to Michigan. The farm was sold to John and Amanda Lemponen. In 1946 Arvo and Sylvia Routine bought the property.

In 1913 John and Alma Heikkila of Gardner, Massachusetts, answered an advertisement of Pelto’s that appeared in their newspaper. As a result, they moved with their children, John, Askel (Red), William, Elena, and Eva, to this farm on West Hill. Mr. Heikkila had owned a grocery store and house in Gardner. He knew little about farming. The family missed the friends and conveniences of a larger town, so after two years they moved to Syracuse. About fourteen years later, Mr. and Mrs. Heikkila and their youngest child, Eva, returned to Spencer and settled in a house in the village. Their daughter and son-in-law, Eva and Charles Waris, became the next owners of the house.

In 1914 Mr. and Mrs. Kusti (Gus) Toivonen and daughter Esther, moved to a farm on West Hill. They also came from Gardner, Massachusetts, where Kusti had been occupied as a handicraft worker for the Thayer Baby Carriage Company. He had also worked as a glass cutter. In 1918 the family moved from West Hill to a larger farm on the Crumtown Road, on the corner of the Lang Road. Eventually this became the property of Al Votto.

Two neighboring farms were purchased by Finnish families in 1916. Samuel and Maria Lehtio with sons William and Martin, came from Copper Cliff, Ontario, Canada, where Samuel had worked as a cobbler. They lived on the farm until 1928 when a fire destroyed the house. The family moved to the village where they had bought a house on Park Street. This was later sold to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Olichney.

John and Hilja Lahde Wallding and children, Carl and Sophia, came from Michigan where they had a homestead farm on Drummond Island in Lake Huron. They moved to the farm previously owned by John Heikkila. Three children, William, Elma and Helen were born after the move to West Hill. William and his wife Georgia were the next owners of the farm.

A short time later, Andrew and Siina Lahde Salo (Mrs. Wallding’s sister) settled on a farm on the Burhight Road. They came from Saratoga Springs, New York, where they had owned a dairy farm. After age and ill health made farming operations difficult to maintain, the farm was sold to Donald and Marjorie Toyryla. They continued to operate the property as a dairy farm.

WASHBURN ROAD

In October 1915, Matt (Matti) and Matilda Joupilla and children Lempi, Sigrid, Fred, Lillian and Bertha moved to a farm on the Washburn Road. They came from Copper Cliff, Ontario, Canada, where Matt had worked as a carpenter. He worked at this trade in the village when farm work permitted and at the shipyards in Newport News during World War I. A daughter, Julia, was born in Spencer. Her mother died during the influenza epidemic not long afterward. In 1920 the family moved to Sewall, New Jersey.

Karl and Elizabeth Lahde bought the Jouppila farm and moved here with their infant daughter Helen.

In 1917 Mr. and Mrs. Matt Maki came from Canada and bought a neighboring farm. A daughter, Bertha, was born here. Bertha was still very small when her stout father died suddenly of a heart attack while working in a cornfield with young Carl Wallding. His widow sold the farm and moved to Sudbury, Canada with their daughter.

Mr. and Mrs. Lindruus bought the Maki farm and lived there a few years with their son Paavo. Julius was interested in wrestling and participated in the matches held at the Spencer picnic at that time. After they sold the farm they moved to Russia.

The farm was sold to Eino and Hilma Ylinen who moved there with their little daughter Helkki from New York City.

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