Jooseppi PULJU

                   Farmer in Meadow Township, Wadena County, Minnesota and Sawyer.  Farmed in the summer, and in the fall and spring he worked a sawmill he and Edward Pulju owned.  Died of a heart attack.

Social Security #471-22-0266
Name used on Social Security: Nels Pulju
                  

                   Waitress, homemaker, welder at Swan Island Ship Yard at Portland, Oregon during WWII.  Gave birth to 5 children, 2 of which died at birth.
                  

                   Never married.  Helped his dad on farm.  Owned a threshing machine and threshed for other farmers in the area.  When not farming he worked in the sawmill he and Nels Pulju owned.  Eventually he bought out Nels and ran the mill himself.

Social Security #476-09-5007
                  

                   Lived at Green Pines Nursing Home in Menahga, Minnesota.  Had arthritis since age 20 and spent life in a wheelchair.  Had no children.
                  

                   Born on family farm
Buried in Catholic Cemetery

Went to District 16 School in Shell River Township up to 8th grade.  Helped purchase the property for the "Assumption of or Lady Church," in Menahga, and moved the Ristinen Store Building to the property.  He was in charge of remolding the building into a church.  Was a housemover, building contractor, motel owner and farmer.  Wadena County, Minnesota Democratic County Chairman.

Social Security #468-14-0651
                  

                   Never married, died in a car accident 6 miles NE of Menahga, Minnesota.  He worked in the woods in the winter and on farms in North Dakota in the summers.  During WWII he trained at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, with the 135th Regiment, and Northern Ireland.  Fought in North Africa and was captured and sent to a prison camp in Austria for three years.
                  

                   Went to school distric #16 and to Menahga High School for three years.

Bought some trucks and hauled lumber from Nels and Edward Pulju's sawmill to Minneapolis and sold to Gersther Lumber Co.  In the years of 1941-42 worked in Newfoundland building Destroyer and Army base.  Went to San Francisco and worked in shipyard at night and drove truck hauling gravel during day. (Hans Pulju owned the truck).  Sent family back to Minnesota.

In 1943-44 went to work for Utah Construction Co. traveled to Skagway, Alaska by boat, Whitehorse, Yukon Territories by train, and then to work on the Alcan Highway.  Went back to Minnesota and started sawing lumber.  Moved to White Sulphur Springs, Montana and worked for Barnum and Bailey Railroad between Ringling and White Sulphur Springs.  Rebuilt railroad, built sawmill to cut railroad ties, logged and hauled gravel for railroad.  Moved to Portland, Oregon and hauled logs between Estacada and Willamette River.  Divorced and went back to Alaska and worked in the 302 Operating Engineers Union on projects in Alaska:  Snettisham Power, Ketchikan Airfarm (just for the timber) 1 1/2 miles south of th eNestor Samuelson farm.  Nestor worked for him as a cutter and skidder.  They hauled off 5 million board feet of lumber and cut and delivered many carloads of pulpwood out of the Menahga area.  Part of the arrangement when he bought the Flowers Farm was he was to take Mr. Flowers to Menahga once a week so he could sell his flowers (he raised flowers) and buy his groceries.
                  

                   Buried in Jim Cook Cemetery.
                  

                   born on family farm.
Buried in Jim Cook Cemetery.