Korby's Connections: It's always been cool to sauna

Have you read media headlines lately? There apparently has been a renaissance across Minnesota and the nation on the joy of sauna. It’s now “cool” to cleanse your body and spirit in a hot, Finnish-inspired sauna. Of course, many locals know that, for it has been tradition in Carlton County and northeastern Minnesota for more than 100 years. The Finns, when they immigrated to this region of the state, often started homesteads by building a sauna.

I grew up in a house with no bathtub, just a sauna and a shower. Our family thought it was normal. Most of my Finnish relatives had a sauna in their basement or by a shore adjacent to a lake cabin. When I was a kid, it was every Saturday and Wednesday when my dad or mom would light a fire in our basement sauna stove. I could usually smell that beautiful aroma of wood burning at Sather Park while outside playing ball, a half mile from home.

Our family, and often guests, would take turns enjoying the steam, bathing, and then showering. There was only room for two or three people at a time. Then guests, including uncles and aunts, would sit around the kitchen table enjoying hot coffee, pula, other treats punctuated by laughter. It was a tradition brought across the Atlantic Ocean by my grandparents, on my father’s side of the family, who immigrated from Finland.

The harbor in Duluth has a sauna barge, and a nearby dipping station to jump into the cold waters of Lake Superior. The Aerial Lift Bridge was in the background of a photo in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Brrr, that really did have to be “cool.” I’ve never tried jumping into icy lake waters myself unless you count my experience at Hal Smith’s Health Spa in West Duluth about 40 years ago. Smith had three different saunas: a steam/wet sauna, a eucalyptus room, and a dry sauna. They also had a cold plunge pool. I remember it was 38 degrees. After my sauna, I took the “polar plunge,” as it was called. A Hal Smith patron asked me, “Are you Finnish?” I proudly answered “Yes, but only half.”

Barrel saunas, portable saunas, infrared plug-in saunas — the market offers many options these days. For about the past 10 years or so, local lake shore property owners have seen building restrictions enacted where it is no longer legal to build a sauna or other buildings adjacent to the shore. This has increased the popularity of portable sauna structures.

Is a sauna therapeutic or good for everyone? Sitting on a cedar bench in your birthday suit, pouring water from a dipper over heated rocks producing steam, washing, and then jumping in a lake, or cleansing and soothing the body under a cool shower — the health benefits seem obvious to me. And there are reinforcing scientific studies. A 2018 University of Eastern Finland research team showed that test subjects, taking a sauna bath of at least 30 minutes, reduced blood pressure and increased vascular compliance, while also increasing heart rate similarly to medium intensity exercise. A new study is analyzing sauna bathing and a reduction in dementia onset.

I’ve polled sauna regulars who claim they can relieve body pains, maintain mental health, heal wounds, lower blood pressure, and create healthy cells.

Long ago, there were at least two public sauna businesses in the Cloquet area.

Luoma’s 14th Street Sauna was across the street from the current Cloquet City Hall. The “old Finns” (probably my current age) would sit on the top benches, pull the overhead cord that released water on the hot stove producing steam, in trying to drive us youngsters, with overwhelming heat, into the adjoining dressing room. They usually succeeded.

The second business was Korpela’s Finnish Sauna on Washington Avenue in Scanlon. Several chiropractic and acupuncture operations have been in that same building site since. There were also several other sauna opportunities at local private clubs and even the Cloquet Country Club.

Some prefer saunas with no noise, keeping it a quiet, almost reverent, place. Other sauna regulars cherish classic or rock music wired and piped in. Some builders have made TV viewing possible from behind plexiglass. Now sports can be watched while sauna lounging. I prefer music.

Each sauna experience is special, but the following are three of my favorites.

First, I was fortunate to visit Finland with my family in 2022. After firing up the sauna stove on a picturesque lake home, Timo (a Finnish relative) and I, after sweating plenty, ran down the dock and jumped into the salty Baltic Sea. Wow.

Second was visiting my friend Veli Torniainen’s parents’ sauna on the shore of Prairie Lake, north of Cromwell. Torniainens had birch branches soaking in buckets inside the sauna to beat yourself with, called “vihta” in Finland. Fast vihta swatting is meant to increase circulation, absorption of plant oils, and as an exfoliate. There were reclined benches in the sauna, rather unique. Also, his mom would often bake homemade Finnish sweet bread when I’d visit. The best.

My third choice, and I think my favorite, is the Finlandia Beach Club saunas on Little Grand Lake in Saginaw about 10 miles north of Cloquet. Finlandia, based on the Finnish family cooperative model, is a membership-driven lakeside club established in 1908. Little Grand is a spring-fed lake that can be chilly even on the Fourth of July. It sure feels good to jump into the lake after relaxing in the very hot sauna. I’ve never felt cleaner.

Do you sauna? Spread the word. Be sure to invite a friend and be “cool” like a growing number of people seem to be.

Steve welcomes ideas for human interest stories and tales regarding local projects, history, and plans. Email [email protected].