Rosvall and Voutilainen
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Viljo Rosvall and Janne Voutilainen were two Finnish-Canadian unionists from Thunder Bay, Ontario and members of the Lumber Workers Industrial Union of Canada who mysteriously disappeared on November 18, 1929. The two were on their way to a bushcamp near Onion Lake to recruit sympathetic bushworkers for a large strike which was gaining momentum west of Thunder Bay in Shabaqua and Shebandowan.
The bodies of Rosvall and Voutilainen were found by a union search party, which included Aate Pitkanen, at Onion Lake the following spring. The men's funeral on April 28, 1930 is the largest ever held in Thunder Bay. Adding to the legendary status of the event, a solar eclipse darkened the sky as the funeral procession marched to Riverside Cemetery. The funeral events were regarded as the symbolic beginning of the Great Depression for local residents.
The official cause of death was ruled to be accidental drownings, however, the Finnish community in Thunder Bay suspected that the two were murdered by thugs employed by the bushcamp boss. Evidence that the two men had struggled before their deaths as well as the questionable matter that two experienced bushworkers had drowned in shallow water added to the feeling that foul play was involved. Furthermore, some community members claimed that they had gained knowledge that the hired thugs were in Finland, where they had been shipped after the murder.
The case of Rosvall and Voutilainen continues to be controversial. A historic plaque was erected in the memory of the two men in Centennial Park, just outside of the city, and approximately 20 kilometres from where the bodies were found. It is said that the plaque was erected outside of the city because it still aroused such strong feelings. The original site for the plaque was to be in front of the Lakehead Labour Centre.
Michael Ondaatje's novel In the Skin of a Lion gives a fictionalized account of the murder of Rosvall and Voutilainen.
Rosvall and Voutilainen are generally regarded in the city as being martyrs to the cause of organized labour.
