My Father Spoke Finglish at Work In 1874 the first Finnish immigrants came to Northeast Ohio"s Lake Erie port towns to work on the docks loading coal or unloading iron ore from ships sailing the Great Lakes or to work on the railroads. As with most immigrant groups, the Finns clustered in the same area, hoping to retain their language, customs, and culture, even in the New World. The Finnish American Heritage Association of Ashta... Full description