Pekka Olson is a retired forester who works part time at Twin Lakes State Park and devotes much of the rest of his time to woodcarving and basket weaving. He has served twice as a master in the Michigan Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program and has recently been awarded a fellowship from the American Scandinavian Foundation. He has also studied under traditional carvers in Finland and Sweden and will soon return to learn a new technique for carving St. Thomas Crosses, one of his many specialties. Pekka has presented and offered workshops at numerous festivals and fairs and, when Finlandia University held an annual Elderhostel session, he was immensely popular there, too.