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The Roinila Family - Always on the move?

The history of the Roinila family begins with distinct roots in Karjala and Satakunta with little movement or migration. The eventual establishment of the Roinila household in Helsinki was the beginnings of a lifetime of migrations. Olavi Roinila of Tampere (b.1929) and Impi Vesalainen of Nastola (b.1940 during the WWII Karelian evacuation from Viipuri) began their lives together in Helsinki in 1959.

While singing with the National Choir of Finland on a tour of North America in 1965, Olavi fell in love with southern California and applied for emigration through the American consulate in Finland. Struck by "America Fever", and with poor success for any migrant seeking entry to the United States at the time, he was encouraged to migrate to Australia in order to get to the US through the "kitchen door". In 1967, with Australian government funding, the Roinila family with children Mika (b.1961) and Tomi (b.1963) moved to Australia. Flying over the 6-days war in Israel, making a forced landing in Bombay due to engine trouble, and stops in Singapore, Darwin and Melbourne, the family began a nearly three year experience "Down Under" in Wagga Wagga, Brisbane and Sydney.

The youngest of three boys, Ricky was born in Sydney in 1968. Always involved in music, both in Finland and abroad, among some of the highlights during our stay in Australia were the formation of Finnish Lutheran Church Choirs in Brisbane and Sydney. Through many trials and tribulations, the family eventually returned to Finland in 1970, only to move repeatedly within Finland over the next four years. While living near Kurikka in 1972-73, Olavi founded the Kurikan Nuoret Laulajat who may still exist?

In 1974, a second attempt at emigration was sought - this time to Canada or back to Australia. Within a short three-month period, visa papers were in order and the family emigrated to Winnipeg, Canada. Experiencing cold winters (-40oC), and having knowledge of some Canadian locations from the 1965 tour of America with the National Choir of Finland, Olavi decided to lead the family to Vancouver. Additional moves followed, always seeming to focus on moves and returns to locations such as Thunder Bay, Vancouver and Winnipeg. As with many other families and migrants, there is often a tendency to return to your roots. Such was the case with Olavi and Impi, who returned to Finland permanently in 1986.

While the parents currently reside in Tampere, the three children have married and established their own lives across North America. Ricky and wife Sharla reside in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. While the parents never were able to migrate to the United States, the remaining sons have established their lives in the United States. Tomi, with wife Cheryl and sons Matti and Jari reside near Grand Forks, North Dakota. Mika married an American, and lives with Grace and their four children Ari, Marita, Sinikka and Laura near historic Kingston, New York. If migration is an inherited trait amongst descendents, then Mika may have the "bug" which has led him to move across Canada and the United States much more compared to the younger brothers.

Reasons for the many moves always vary from one individual to another, but the most common thread with all has been the economic improvement through changes in jobs. In this sense, the Roinila family continues the historic trends established by thousands of others who have migrated, re-migrated and returned to their roots.