The Names We Share

On July 16, 2023, I traveled 18 minutes with my husband and kids from our home to visit the Pullman National Historic Park. On this day, we drove. But we also could have taken our commuter train just a few stops up the rail line right to the park's visitor center doorstep. Our family loves visiting museums, national parks, and interesting landmarks. We love filling our National Parks Passports with new stamps. There was something deeper and more meaningful to this visit for our family. We were visiting our ancestors' home, walking in their footsteps where they lived, worked, played, learned, and worshiped. On this day, we learned a bit more about what their lives were like in the company town and how our family was a part of American history. My second great grandfather, August HELENIUS, was a tinsmith for the Pullman Palace Car Company. He lived in the company town with his wife, Naima, and their six children. August and Naima were Finnish immigrants who came to the United Sta...

Every time we take the commuter train into downtown Chicago, a few stops into our ride we will hear over the PA system "Next Stop, Pullman". When we look out the window to the east, we are looking right at the new Pullman National Monument, one of our newest National Parks. But its not really new. The buildings are old. The neighborhood has historical designations and protections. The new national park is the old Pullman factory and company buildings and the surrounding neighborhood of homes and row houses George Pullman built for his employees. The National Pullman Porter Museum is part of it as well.  In all these decades of growing up and living near the Pullman neighborhood, I never imagined it was part of my family history, part of my family's story. Through my research, I have found that around the time my 2nd great grandfather came to America, Pullman was home to a significant Scandinavian immigrant community. Also, my great-great-grandpa was a metal smith going ba...