From the late 1860's to the early 1870, experienced underground miners were urgently needed on the Marquette Iron Range after many Irish laborers left for open pit mining jobs in Colorado. The Cleveland Mining Company recruited replacements in Sweden, offering passage money loans and seeking workers from the Värmland iron mines and Östergötland copper mines. With population growth aided by the successful use of the small pox vaccine and an abundance of potatoes, jobs in Sweden had become scarce, and recruits willingly signed on in hopes of opportunity in the new country. Ishpeming and Negaunee gained new families from places including Värmland, Atvidaberg, Bersbo, and Östergötland, and at one point Swedish immigrants made up over thirty percent of the work force at the Cliff Shaft Mine. These immigrants adapted to their new surroundings, learned English, served in public office, and established five Swedish churches in Ishpeming, of which Bethany Lutheran Church and Trinity Lutheran Church remain active. Swedish cultural traditions, including favorite foods and Midsummer celebrations, remained strong, and the Swedish, along with other Scandinavian immigrants who brought their mining traditions to the Marquette Iron Range, played an important role in the history of mining.