Raivaaja
| Type | Weekly newspaper (since 1991) |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Raivaaja Publishing Company |
| Founded | 1905 by Taavi Tainio |
| Language | English, Finnish |
| Ceased publication | 2009 |
| Headquarters | 164 Elm St. Fitchburg, Massachusetts |
| ISSN | 1059-4779 |
| OCLC number | 13677702 |
| Website | raivaaja |
Raivaaja (English: The Pioneer) was an English- and Finnish-language newspaper published from 1905 to 2009 in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, by Raivaaja Publishing Company.[1] It was last edited by Marita Cauthen since 1984.[2] Today the not-for-profit Raivaaja Foundation still runs a website and an online bookstore.
History
Raivaaja newspaper and the Raivaaja Publishing Company, originally called Suomalainen Sosialistinen Kustannusliike (Finnish Socialist Publishing Company),[3] were founded in January 1905[1] by Finnish newspaperman and socialist Taavi Tainio, who stayed in the United States for two years in 1904–1906. Raivaaja was first associated with the Finnish Socialist Federation and since September 1940 with the Finnish American League for Democracy.[4] In the mid and late 60s a linotype machine was still in use. The plates were taken to Gardner, Mass. for printing. Two editions per week were published at that time. In its early years, Raivaaja was a radical newspaper loyal to the Socialist Party of America. It was the newspaper of the Finnish Socialist Federation's eastern district. The other papers were Työmies in the middle district, and Toveri in the west.[5] During the World War I the War Department agents searched Raivaaja's officies because of its radical and anti-war ideas.[6] In the early 1920s Raivaaja moved to a moderate social democratic position during the factional war of the Finnish Socialist Federation. The paper peaked with a circulation of 10,000 in 1927 before a long downward slide. The list of editors include major names of Finnish American labor movement such as Moses Hahl, Santeri Nuorteva, Aku Päiviö, Frans Josef Syrjälä and Oskari Tokoi.[5]
Since October 1991 the paper was published weekly.[1] In its last years, Raivaaja was a non-political newspaper of the Finnish-American community.[6] In the early 2000s the paper had a circulation of 2,000[7] but Raivaaja was finally ceased in April 2009[8] due to the increase of the postage rates.[9]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 About Raivaaja = Pioneer. (Fitchburg, Mass.) 1905-current Library of Congress. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
- ↑ Marita Cauthen Finnish Expatriate Parliament. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
- ↑ Kostiainen, Auvo: "Features of Finnish-American Publishing" University of Turku. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
- ↑ Raivaaja Publishing Company (Fitchburg, Massachusetts), Papers University of Minnesota. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Auvo Kostiainen, "Finns," in Hoerder with Harzig (eds.), The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s, vol. 1, p. 226.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Voogd, Jan: "Maynard, Massachusetts: A House in the Village", p. 45. The History Press, 2007.
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