Who is Pappa Jackson from Our Only May Amelia and what is their importance?

Pappa Jackson is May Amelia's father. Pappa Jackson grew up with a harsh and unforgiving mother. As a young man, Pappa Jackson moved from his native Finland to America and has made a home in the Nasel River valley with his own family. Pappa Jackson is clearly a kind and compassionate man as the reader can judge by his decision to take in and raise his sister's oldest child. Pappa Jackson later takes in his ailing mother, as it is tradition for the eldest child to do, despite his mother's cruelty against his own children. Pappa Jackson is often hard on his children, May Amelia in particular, but the reader never doubts his deep affection for them.