I met Niilo when I was at Antioch College. We traveled together (maybe hitchhiked) to Columbus, Ohio. I attended a hearing he had with his draft board. He was trying to establish himself as a conscientious objector. The hearing officer had trouble believing that someone had beliefs which had not been instilled in him before age 6 by his religious group. He did not grant the C.O. Status.

I can’t remember if we both went on from there to Wheeling West Virginia, but I did. What I remember for sure is that Niilo taught me a song in Finnish which I then taught to the weekend Folk Dance Camp I attended at Ogelbay Park.

I lost track of Niilo after college, but discovered later that he had married…Joan who is a cousin to Michael Paine. I think you call it cousin once removed, when they are not the same generation. They grew up as age peers (during vacations in the) summers.

Raising young children and working for a living often leads to being too busy to keep up with distant friends, and I lost track of Niilo and Joan. Then one spring at Southeastern Yearly Meeting (Florida) I read an epistle to our YM from the clerk of the unprogrammed YM in Alaska: Niilo! I wrote and we’ve had Christmas Letter communication since then.
In 1998 I saw several members of the Koponen family at a memorial service for Ruth Forbes Young complete with a display of art by family members.

I believe I had a brief visit with Niilo in Florida in connection with a trip he took seeking physical therapy for Joan. Niilo also visited with someone who entered kindergarten with him in NYC. They were both from the Finnish community, and both entered Kindergarten speaking only Finnish. It was sudden immersion into English!

My greetings and prayers to to all the family. Thank you for keeping in touch.

Ruth Hyde Paine