Steger Mukluks

In 1898 this location housed Gust Maki Senior’s shoe and leather shop. When Gust died prematurely of a ruptured appendix, his widow Amelia sold the leather shop property to the Finnish Stock Company, a grocery, dry goods, and women’s apparel consortium. The Finnish Stock Company had been in business since 1900, through the efforts of three Finnish immigrants, John E. Porthan, Eric Lund, and Andrew Watilo.  In 1914, they built the larger building you see before you today. 

The building housed the Finnish Stock Company from 1914 to 1960. The building rested for a time, but ultimately was purchased by Patti Steger in 1999 who completed a stellar restoration and returned it to its retail roots. 

The original Finnish Stock entrepreneurs, Mr. Porthan, Mr. Lund, and Mr. Watilo raised $1300 to develop the business. They were responding to what they believed were excessive prices being charged by the local merchants whose customers had few alternatives to buying locally. At the Finnish Stock Store, the customers could buy shares of stock in the business and then benefit from any profits made. The building housed the Finnish Stock Company until 1960. 

John Porthan, one of the original developers, was born in Finland in 1871 and came to this country when he was 19, initially working on the railroads and later at the Chandler Mine. He learned to speak English and used his skills as a bookkeeper and manager in the retail business.  He was also involved in a logging enterprise.  John married Edla Kinnari in 1903 and they raised twelve children, living on Harvey Street.  Edla died in 1917 leaving John with small children still at home. By 1930 John had remarried. John died in 1955 at the age of 84.

Eric Lund was born in 1858, so older than John. He had married his wife Katie in Finland. They came to this country when he was 30 in 1888. By 1920 he had given up his career in retail and he and his family live in Duluth where he worked for the railroad.  

It is unclear whether the Andrew Watilo who started the Finnish Stock was Andrew Senior, born in Finland in 1855 and immigrating in 1887 or his son, Andrew, also born in Finland in December 1884 but coming to the U.S. later in 1891.   It’s likely that the Finnish Stock Andrew was the son, who lists his profession in 1910 as a grocery clerk.  He later became the City of Ely Treasurer and in 1930 the City Clerk.  He married Helma and they had one daughter, Miriam. 

Ely Finnish Stock operated until 1960. After closing, the building was owned by neighbor, John Debeltz (proprietor of Dee’s Bar), and used primarily for storage. This turned out to be a good use of the building, as it was spared the unfortunate remodels that were popular in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1999 Patti Steger bought the building, which had essentially been unchanged since its early days, and completed a stellar restoration. In 2000, she moved her mukluk and clothing retail business to this location.

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1898 – Gust Maki had a shoe and leather shop at this location

1900 – Porthan, Lund and Watilo open The Finish Stock Company next door

1914 - this building is erected

1960 – Ely Finnish Stock closes for business

2000 – Patti Steger opens Steger Mukluk’s at this location

The Sanborn Insurance Maps 1900-1924.

1900 and 1907 Ely City Directories.

Ancestry.com. Accessed April 8th, 2022.

Ely, Since 1888 (The Blue Book). Ely, Minnesota. The Ely Echo, 1988

Ely Phone Directories from 1949 to 2020 (available at the Ely-Winton Historical Society).

Information from David Kess (grandson of Gust Maki).