Following the Western Waters

Wanda Wakkinen, oldest daughter of O.O. Pete Wakkinen, writes this combination family history, memoir, and photo display in his honor and for his memorial. With my grandparents, his parents, coming from Finland, landing at and settling in Ohio, and later Wisconsin, to my dad s interesting life working on Western rivers, this story of his life contains many stories within it. The remembered peeks into Pete s life come from me; my mom, his wife of 28 years; my sister and brother; and other family members. Enjoy his reign of 88 years as Little Oiva, an Army man, an adventurous hunter of women and beasts, a family man, and lastly, The Mayor of the tiny community in which he spent his last ten years as a stroke survivor.