The Tom Sukanen Story
By Leith Knight
Intro
He
Walked All The Way
Feared
a Great Flood
Keel
Separate Section
Made
of Mild Steel
Never
Reached Before
Mullin
Acquired Parts
Intro
Surely one of the strangest tales in all
of Western Canada must be that which is told
about the Finnish
homesteader, Tom Sukanen, whose steel-clad,
oceanbound steamboat “DONTIANEN” now rests at
the Pioneer Village and Museum eight miles south
of Moose Jaw.
Tom
Sukanen was born Tomi Jaanus Alankola Sept.
23, 1888, in Koronkyla, thought
to be a tiny
settlement in the Province of Vaasa in Western
Finland.
On
coming to Canada he had changed his name to
Tamiaanus Sukanen which was perhaps easier
for most people to pronounce. In Saskatchewan,
Tamiaanus became
Damianus
and this name appears on his homestead entry and other records. But, to
his neighbors and acquaintances he was simply
Tom Sukanen and by this name history
knows him.
It is obvious that Tom Sukanen had spent
his boy-hood and youth not far from the
sea and among ships for by the time he
was 20 he had acquired
considerable
knowledge of boatbuilding and marine lore.
Around
the turn of the century, economic conditions
then existing in Finland prompted
a mass exodus of Finns to North America.
About 360,000
immigrants,
the majority of whom were from Vaasa and Oula provinces with a reputation
for hard
work, arrived in the United States and settled in Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota,
and Wisconsin. Tom Sukanen settled in Minnesota where he eventually
married and fathered a son and two daughters.
Finland’s history and geography have molded ethnical qualities that have
remained constant for generations. The great forests, vast wildernesses, small,
scattered settlements and tiny holdings have bred a self-sufficient, fiercely
independent and stubborn people who rely on their own strength and inventiveness.
These are the traits that the sandy-haired, blue-eyed young Finn brought to the
New World.
He Walked All The Way
In 1911, Tom Sukanen left his home in Minnesota and, walking every step on
the way, arrived in the Macrorie district of Saskatchewan, near where the
Gardiner Dam would be constructed many years later.
On
Oct. 23 of that year he filed entry for a homestead
comprising the northeast
quarter of section 14, township 26, range
9, west of the third meridian, about
seven miles west of Macrorie. It was good rolling land and apparently Tom
did well on his homestead.
There
were other Finnish settlers in the district,
like Vic Markkula who farmed on the neighboring
section, and the Wests whose pastureland on
the
banks of
the South Saskatchewan was to be the scene of Tom Sukanen’s last tragic
labors.
A brother, Svante Sukanen filled entry for
his homestead in May, 1912, and located
on a quarter section seven miles south
of Tom’s land.
Tom Sukanen was a man of extraordinary strength.
Some say that in the prime he could easily
match the strength of three men. He was
a skilled
carpenter,
blacksmith, metal worker and mechanic; he designed and made his own
tools, implements and household items.
During his first year on the homestead, he
built a threshing machine which was reported
to have worked remarkably well. Then
he turned out
a machine
for puffing wheat which was soon followed by a fantastic assortment
of objects including a sewing machine,
periscope and a violin.
There
is a story of how he redesigned his old ca
so it could be conveniently cranked
from the inside. The pliers which used
for pulling his own
teeth survive, but not eh pair of steel false teeth which he also
made.
In
the early 1920’s Tom Sukanen began to talk about building a steamboat
and sailing home to Finland by way of the South Saskatchewan River, Hudson’s
Bay, Greenland and Iceland. Neighbors were amused by the idea, but none took
him seriously. Surely if he wanted to go home he could travel the conventional
way. He had received patent for his homestead in May, 1916, and had been moderately
successful; his savings were reputed to be around $9,000.
Feared a Great Flood
One local legend claims that Tom built his ship because he feared a great flood
would inundate the plains and maybe with the delightfully wry humor of a
Finn he told just such a tale.
More likely, Tom, who was now approaching
40, reasoned that with his knowledge
of boatbuilding and the principles of
steam locomotion, he could have a seaworthy
ship completed for the day when he would quit the farm and retire to Finland.
His wife and family had never joined him in this country, so he had nothing
to lose and life-long whim to satisfy.
One day, probably around 1929, shipments
of steel, metal cable and like-supplies
from Eastern factories began to arrive at the Macrorie railroad station.
A neighbor, William Sentner, helped him to haul the materials home. Slowly
it
dawned upon the district that Tom Sukanen had been perfectly serious about
his dream to return to Finland in his homemade steamboat.
It was planned that the ship would be built
in sections – keel and hull – so
it would be easier to haul to a launching site on the Saskatchewan River 17
miles away. Its design has been likened to an 1843 cargo freighter of the Scandanavian
type which could be converted from sail to steam.
“Say what you want,” a neighbor reminisced, “Tom sure gave
the girl nice lines.”
Construction of the hull likely came first.
This was 43 feet in length, 13 feet at
its greatest width, and 10 feet from
keel to deck.
The ribs were first covered with lapped planking
which was tarred and caulked. Then the
second layer of plank was added but not
lapped.
Over this was
placed the outer covering of sheet steel approximately one – sixteenth inch
thick.
Tom Sukanen had cut each sheet to size and
had crimped the edges so that one piece
fitted securely into another. A large
hole as
left in
the deck
so that
the boiler could be later lowered into position.
Keel Separate Section
The keel of the boat was fashioned as a separate section and was approximately
30 feet in length and nine feet high. It was double-planked, tarred, then
covered with sheets of galvanized iron which were laced together by unbroken
steel wire. This was designed to give the metal some measure of flexibility
when submerged.
The keel was then “painted” with horse blood, still discernible
until a few years ago, which was suppose to provide resistance to salt water.
It is thought that the keel section would be flooded to give the boat a draft
a stability.
It is still not clear just how Tom Sukanen
proposed to fast the keel to the hull
section although it has been suggested
that one section fitted into
the other double boiler style.
The superstructure consisted of two eight-foot
high cabins which have vanished over
the years, and four-foot high railings.
One cabin was to be the wheel-house
while the other would provide living quarters and would house the navigational
instruments, chronometer, cupboards and bunks and other accoutrements
which, like the boat itself, were designed
and manufactured single-handedly by
Tom Sukanen. The cabins would be heated by steam from the boiler below.
The ship’s
propeller, chains, pulleys, lifeboat and funnels
were gradually made over the years in preparation
for the day when the boat would be launched.
Early
in the 1930’s Tom Sukanen, now approaching 50 and with most of
his savings depleted, began the arduous task of winching the hull and keep
of his steamboat to the Saskatchewan River; on his way to Hudson’s Bay,
Greenland, Iceland, and Finland.
The hull and keel of the ocean-bound boat
were constructed as separate sections
over a period of more than 10 years at
Tom Sukanen’s homestead seven
miles southwest of Macrorie and 17 miles west of the South Saskatchewan River.
Sometime in the late 1930’s he began to winch the two sections to the
river’s edge.
By anchoring the winch by hand and employing
a horse, he was able to drag the boat
20 feet at a time, a distance of one
and on-half
miles.
The keel
which
was mounted on sturdy, homemade wheels 18 inches wide and 24
inches in diameter, rode behind the hull.
In order to traverse a large ravine which
lay in his path, Tom also placed the
hull on wheels made by rolling pliable
willow
trees and
securing
them with steel bands.
Around 1940 it appears, he abandoned his
quarter section farm and hauling the
two completed cabins of the boat onto
pasture
land
along the South
Saskatchewan River, he took up residence in them. He then
constructed a forge and commenced
to work on a boiler and engine. Materials were toted from
farm to riverside, a distance of 17 miles,
by wheelbarrow and on
his back.
The mileage
was nothing to Tom Sukanen who was known to walk to Saskatoon
on occasion for supplies.
Made of Mild Steel
The huge boiler was made of five-eighths inch mild steel which he had heated,
rolled in his homemade press, and riveted. He also, fashioned a cylinder
engine and bilge pumps. Eventually every part of the steamboat was completed,
but there remained the task of bringing the pieces together – the hull
and keel still sat 15 miles from the river.
Just how Tom Sukanen was to take his ship
down the South Saskatchewan has been
a source of speculation for decades.
In the early days, steamboats by alternatively
dodging and lodging on sandbars, plied the river to Medicine Hat. But these
were the flat-bottomed, barge-type, not the keel-type of the Sukanen boat.
The average depth of the Saskatchewan most of the way was four feet; the
keel
of the Dontianen was nine feet.
It is believed he intended to construct a
raft to transport himself, the boat’s
superstructure, and also a horse which might be needed for winching and hauling
fuel for the boiler along the route. The raft would tow the hull and the airtight
keel which would ride the water on its side. Tom figured that high water on
the Saskatchewan in the spring of the year would be sufficient to carry this
assemblage well along on the first lap of its journey to Finland.
When it reached a point where the boat could
be properly assembled, it is believed
the superstructure would be transferred
to the hull, and the
keel
section would
be flooded so it would sink below the surface in an upright position.
The hull would be floated into position
above the keel and the two sections
would be
joined in some fashion for the first time. Then the pump or pumps would
partially empty the keel until the boat was riding normally.
Never Reached Before
But Tom’s Sukanen’s boat was never
destined to reach the river. Over the years Tom
had become completely obsessed by his creation.
Planning for the boat had monopolized all his
thoughts, and its building had increasingly occupied
every walking moment. His life savings had been
invested in the ship and his fiercely independent
nature would not allow him to accept anything
for which he could not pay.
Inevitably his health both physically and
mentally, deteriorated and he finally
died on April 23,
1943, and was buried in the Hospital Cemetery
at North Battleford.
Tom Sukanen left behind an amazing quantity
of his handy work which literally began to
walk
away. Pulleys, chains, railings, pumps, chronometer,
brass and copper fittings and tools simply
vanished. What remained was auctioned off
by the municipality,
like his violin which recently turned up
in Saskatoon.
The hull and keel never moved beyond the
spot where Tom Sukanen had winched them.
The hull
was used as a dwelling for a time before
both pieces were purchased from the Municipality
for $30 by a neighbor Victor Markkula,
and hauled
onto his property to protect them from
further vandalism. Over the years the
hull had been
used for grain storage.
Years later, when PFRA engineers and surveyors
were looking over the site of the proposed
dam on the South Saskatchewan River,
they came across
the rusting boiler and cylinder assembly.
Gardiner Dam would be constructed only
a quarter of
a mile from Tom Sukanen’s forge, and it is
believed that the boiler and engine, and the
ship’s cabins where he lived during the
last years of his life, were swept away during
the building of the dam. Eventually the rising
waters of Diefenbaker Lake would cover the scene
of Tom Sukanen’s frantic labors.
Mullin Acquired Parts
In 1949 a farmer of Lake Valley, Laurence “Moon” Mullin, became
interested in the story of Tom Sukanen and his steamboat and set about to acquire
the hull and keel and whatever other parts still remained so that they could
be restored to the appearance they presented in Tom Sukanen’s dreams.
Wilf Markkula, son of Victor Markkula, donated
the hull and keel and also the cupboards
from one of the cabins which had been
used for storage of small hardware
in the blacksmith shop on the Markkula farm.
One of the ship’s pulleys was located at Crosby, North Dakota where it
had been taken by some Americans hunting in the area; another pulley was left
at the Mullin farm by an anonymous donor.
The chronometer or timepiece was “discovered” at Moose Jaw’s
Art Museum. Although weather beaten and in pieces, its tiny dowels turned on
an improvised lathe, indicating the skill of its builder.
The lifeboat, superstructure railings and
transport axle have been preserved by
Mr. McPherson of the Macrorie area, and
the Riverhurst Museum has
a gear and endless driven chain of the engine. Mr. L. Peterson of Riverhurst
gave
the forceps Tom used to lace the steel wire for the galvanized iron
sheets of the keel. The propeller exists
and there is hope for its return.
In January of 1972, the hull and keel were
lifted out of their resting place at
the Markkula farm and placed on flat-beds
for the trip to
the Pioneer
Village and Museum at Moose Jaw. It has been restored, under the “New Horizons
Programme” as far as funds to date permit.
In the fall of 1971 a marine engineer looking
at Tom’s ship, opined that
it had been a seaworthy craft, and marveled at the workmanship of one man with
a few handmade tools.
When asked if he though Tom Sukanen’s ship would really work, a neighbor
remarked, “Everything this man made through the years worked. How could
men say the ship wouldn’t.”
