She came to Michigan with $7 and founded a thriving island community

Maggie Walz Photo credit: National Park Service Born Margareeta Johanna Konttra Niiranen in Tornio, Finland, in 1861, Maggie Walz came to the United States at the age of 20 with almost nothing, just $7 in her pocket and a determination to build a new life. According to the National Park Service (NPS), Walz arrived in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula as “a mere girl… a stranger among strangers” in a cosmopolitan settlement of immigrants. She took a job as a domestic servant, learned English through night school, and quickly set her sights on something more. Over the next four decades, Walz would become a pioneering businesswoman, newspaper publisher, suffragette and community builder, challenging the gender norms of her time and leaving an indelible mark on Finnish-American history. Here's her story, as per NPS:From servant to entrepreneurAfter arriving in Michigan, Walz worked for the Jacob Ojanpera family in Oskar, near Houghton. But she had other aspirations. She changed her name to be more readily accepted in mainstream American society and took a job selling sewing machines, pianos and organs door-to-door. Later, she worked as a sales clerk. These experiences helped her master her la...