PARIS — An open house was held recently for area residents who are enrolled in the new Finnish language course at the Western Maine University and Community College Center (WMUCC), at the center, 232 Main St.

Thirty-one students attended and had their first class on March 17. Many of the students had come from Finnish lineage and most live in the Oxford Hills area where their ancestors settled many years ago.

Some are taking the class to refresh their memories of a tongue spoken in their youths, or practiced by their parents and grandparents, while others hope to become more fluent in their native tongue. Folks also rekindled old friendships or discovered new relationship.

Words of welcome were given by Marge Medd, University of Maine trustee, Curt Madison, director of distance education, and Nikki Abbott, director of WMUCC. Medd noted the college building represents the community heritage of the past and the educational and vocational opportunities for the future.

The class is being taught by two native-born Finns, Marja-Leena Bailey and Aire-Maija, two teachers who teach Finnish classes at Harvard University and Middlesex Community College in Massachusetts.

It is a collaborative venture between the colleges that brings the Finnish language class to Western Maine for the first time in recent memory. It is also “a way for the center to connect with the community in a meaningful way and one that builds on the Finnish culture. It is yet another way in which to serve the community,” said Abbott.

The center is fundamentally a resource for education. WMUCC has long been a provider of post-secondary education both through the University of Maine System and Central Maine Community College. Through the past eight years it has become a meeting hub for area organizations in the surrounding communities and is frequently used as a training space for businesses and for the nonprofit sector.

It has more recently partnered with the Oxford Hills Education program as a venue for some of the Transition to College classes, and has also offered some early college opportunities to high school students.

The Finnish class is offered as a noncredit class that is being taken by students, not only for personal enrichment, but also the opportunity to socialize with other Finns. The class will run for seven consecutive Saturdays through April 28.