Keweenaw Bottling Works

16 May 2025, last revised 28 Oct 2025

The Keweenaw Bottling Works was the only soda bottler in Keweenaw County. It was one of the last bottling works of the Copper Country to be established during the hand-blown period. It then lasted well into the ABM period and eventually transitioned to bottling and distributing franchised brands.

In Dec 1910, John Jaaskelainen and Matt Karvonen established the Keweenaw Bottling Works to "manufacture all kinds of carbonated drinks" (20). Their pop factory was located in the basement of the street railway station (20). Their product was "met with an immediate demand and general satisfaction," which led the firm to install more machinery by Jan 1911 (20). In 1913, the bottling works had three employees (6).

Newspaper ad - May 1911

John Jaaskelainen was born in Karttula, Finland (1) in 1869 (2) and immigrated to the U.S. in 1887 (3). He was listed as a merchant in a store and a resident of Allouez Township on the 1910 U.S. Federal Census (3).

Matt Karvonen was born in Finland in 1879 (4) and immigrated to the U.S. in 1893 (3). He was a resident of Fulton and a miner when he was married on 30 Dec 1899 (4). The 1910 U.S. Federal Census listed him as a salesman in a store and a resident of Allouez Township (3). He was a resident of Mohawk and a bottler when he was remarried on 14 Jan 1913 (5).

At some point Karvonen became sole owner because in Aug 1914 he sold the Keweenaw Bottling Works to "Kokkonen and Mattson" (7). Karvonen and his wife "practically lifelong residents" of the Keweenaw were preparing to settle in Alaska where he had an "excellent business opening" (7). But in May 1916, he was in the general merchandise business in Iron River, MI (8). The 1930 census then placed him and his family in Portland, Oregon where he was a grocer (9).

Newspaper ad - Aug 1914

In Sep 1915, "Collins and Ikonen" became the new proprietors of the bottling works (10). Alex Collins, after conducting the business for a year, sold the Keweenaw Bottling Works in Apr 1917 to John Jaaskelainen and Isaac Pakkala who had recently returned from Finland (11).

Jaaskelainen and Pakkala moved the bottling works to Ahmeek and were located in the building formerly occupied by the post office (11). They also purchased the ice cream business of Abram Lahti and would run it along with the pop factory (11). In Oct 1917, Jaaskelainen & Pakkala purchased from Foley & Smith a building that was adjacent to the pop factory in Ahmeek (12). They planned to remodel the building and move their ice cream factory and pop factory into it (12). In 1917, their business was listed as the Keweenaw Bottling & Ice Cream Factory (13). It had two employees in 1917 (13), five in 1918 (14), and two in 1919 (15).

John Jaaskelainen died on 04 Nov 1931 at the age of 62 (1) and was buried in Calvary Cemetery, Ahmeek (2). He was identified as the owner of the Keweenaw Bottling Works at the time of his death (16), indicating that he had continued the business over the years. The business continued after his death.

A Keweenaw Bottling Works ad from a 1947/1948 directory identified "Patty Jaaski" as owner (17). Patty Jaaski is known locally to be the nickname of Heimo Jaaskelainen and his grave stone bears the name "Heimo (Patty) Jaaskelainen" (17).

Directory ad - 1947 or 1948

Heimo Jaaskelainen was born on 24 Apr 1912 in Mohawk (18) and he was the son of John Jaaskelainen (9,21). In his youth, he was a professional boxer and held the U.P. boxing title in the lightweight division, and was also active in hockey, baseball, golf, and bowling (21). He had "none" for occupation on the 1930 census when he was 17 years old (9), and was listed as a truck driver for a road bypass project on the 1940 census (19).

From the 1940s, the bottling works bottled franchised brands. The 1947/1948 directory advertised Smile and Vernor's Ginger Ale. Bottles are known to exist for these brands as well as Hires Root Beer, Royal Crown, Upper 10, and Nehi Beverages.

Heimo's obituary stated that he owned and operated the Keweenaw Bottling Works for 30 years before retiring in 1967 (21). If this time period is accurate, it would mean that he ran the bottling works from 1937. It is unknown if someone else, and if so, who, ran the bottling works after John died and before Heimo took over. It is also unknown if the bottling works closed in 1967 when Heimo retired. Heimo Jaaskelainen died on 15 Sep 1992 at the age of 80 and was buried in Calvary Cemetery, Ahmeek (17).

Given what we know so far, the Keweenaw Bottling Works operated for at least 57 years, making it one of the longest-lived bottling works in the Copper Country.

Citations

1. Michigan, Death Certificates, 1921-1952, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KF3T-6GQ : Sat Mar 09 02:50:04 UTC 2024), Entry for John Jaaskelainen and Heikki Jaaskelainen, 04 Nov 1931.
2. Find a Grave. accessed May 2025. John Jaaskelainen. www.findagrave.com/memorial/133159693/john-jaaskelainen.
3. U.S. Census Bureau. 1910 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
4. Michigan, Marriages, 1868-1925, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N3F7-F72 : Thu Jul 18 16:07:34 UTC 2024), Entry for Matti Karwanen and Peter Karwanen, 30 Dec 1899.
5. Michigan, Marriages, 1868-1925, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N3LH-7HQ : Mon Jul 15 00:52:44 UTC 2024), Entry for Matt Karvonen and Peter Karvonen, 14 Jan 1913.
6. Michigan Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics. 1914. Thirty-First Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., State Printers. Lansing, MI.
7. anonymous. (1914, Aug 01). Mohawk news. The Keweenaw Miner (Mohawk, MI). p. 17.
8. anonymous. (1916, May 27). Keweenaw news. The Keweenaw Miner (Mohawk, MI). p. 23.
9. U.S. Census Bureau. 1930 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
10. anonymous. (1915, Sep 25). New proprietors. The Keweenaw Miner (Mohawk, MI). p. 22.
11. anonymous. (1917, Apr 28). Pop factory to Ahmeek. The Keweenaw Miner (Mohawk, MI). p. 21.
12. anonymous. (1917, Oct 06). New ice cream factory. The Keweenaw Miner (Mohawk, MI). p. 21.
Michigan Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics. 1918. Thirty-Fifth Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., State Printers. Lansing, MI.
13. State of Michigan Department of Labor. 1919. Thirty-Sixth Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Fort Wayne Printing Co. Fort Wayne, Indiana.
14. State of Michigan Department of Labor. 1920. Thirty-Seventh Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., State Printers. Lansing, MI.
15. anonymous. (1931, Nov 05). Well known Ahmeek man dies Wednesday. The Calumet News (Calumet, MI). p. 2.
16. The Daily Mining Gazette. 1947 or 1948. Copper Country Classified Business and Professional Directory. Houghton, MI.
17. Find a Grave. accessed May 2025. Heino Jaaskelainen. www.findagrave.com/memorial/133159691/heino-jaaskelainen.
18. Michigan, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1947, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPJH-Q7LN : Thu Apr 10 16:32:38 UTC 2025), Entry for Helmo Jaaskelainen and Hermo Jaaskelainen.Helmo Jaaskelainen
19. U.S. Census Bureau. 1940 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
20. anonymous. (1911, Jan 13). Keweenaw Bottling Works. The Keweenaw Miner (Mohawk, MI). p. 5.
21. anonymous. (1992, Sep 16). Heimo (Patty) Jaaskelainen. The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 2.