Esko Aaltonen (1893-1966) a Lifetime of Local History
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N O RDI S K MU S EOLO G I 1995•2, S. 4 1-4 7 ESKO AALTONEN (1893-1966) A LIFETIME OF LOCAL HISTORY Hannu Lahtonen Last year was one ofcelebration, not only ofFinland's entry into the European Union but also manifestly ofFinnish culture. It was one hundred years since the foundation ofthe country's first local history society at Lohja. A year before that, on March 9. 1893 a boy who was baptised with the very Finnish name ofEsko, was born into the family ofa weaving mill worker. Later Esko was to become a major force and pioneer in the local history movement. The notion of local arts and crafts in a powerful nationalist feeling evolved, cul Finland was by no means an invention of minating in independence in 1917. the 19th century; its roots reach far back Along with a powerful movement to into the soil of the national romantic collect national poetry, epitomized by the movement. The reconstruction that follo national epic, Kalevala, grew an awareness wed the Great Nordic War (1700-1721) of our own Finnish past. The Finnish meant for Finland, now belonging to a Literary Society (Suomafaisen Kitjaffi Swedish monarch, a search for its own suuden Seura) was founded as early as identity. For Henrik Gabriel Porthan, one 1831, and from 1870 the Finnish Ancient of the prominent figures of the epoch, Relics Society ( Suomen Muinaismuis love of country was a form of love for the toyhdistys) sent entire expeditions around local community. Indeed, the Turku Aca the country. Five years later the Finnish demy of the 18th century formed a centre Historical Society (Suomen Historiaffinen for Finnish district research. Between Seura) began and, among other things, 1730 and 1800 some fifty theses on local started to publish a series of parish re subjects were published within its circles. views. For their part, priests and surveyors pro At the same time began some of decades moted domestic research through their of collection of museum artefacts was ini parish reviews and illustrations. tiated by university students, which resul From 1809 Finland was ruled by an ted in the foundation of the National eastern country rather than a western one, Museum in 1916. Thus museum collec as an autonomous Grand Duchy of ting gave rise to a national ethnology. Russia, and it was during this period that HANNU LAHTONEN 42 YOUTH SEEKS ITS PLACE kening of the working-class population. The first countryside secondary school The foundation of a society dedicated to was also founded at Forssa in 1899. It was the subject is evidence of nascent systema from here that Esko Aaltonen passed his tic local historical research. It was through university entrance exams in 1913 and the this that the local history movement gra following autumn he registered at the dually spread, via the educated intelligent Czarist Finnish Alexander University, now sia, to the wider public. One of the archi Helsinki University. tects of the new kind of movement was Entries in the young schoolboy's diary Dr. Robert Boldt, whose achievement was reveal how this child of an industrial soci the setting up of the country's first district ety developed a yearning for the surroun local history society at Lohja in 1894. ding countryside, its nature and its pea The committee for Finnish Local His sant culture. Blue-covered exercise books tory Research (Suomen Kotiseutututkimus from his secondary school days contain keskus) was formed in 1908 to coordinate studies of local history, natural history the efforts of the emerging local societies. observations, stories of adventures, A year later it began publishing its jour extracts from plays, poems and so on. nal, Kotiseutulehti, in whose columns in «I have begun to sing songs of the home 1911 the barely 18-year-old Esko Aal I love so much ... » he wrote in his diary in tononen began his enormous output of 1912. articles dealing with local history, with a piece called «Place names etc., in NO MORE ROOM FOR Tammela». In fact he even managed to ROMANTICISM edit this journal at some time during the 1940s. Altonen's student period coincided with But even as a schoolboy at the turn of the beginnings of systematic local history the century, Esko Aaltonen participated, study in Finland. Only after the general without meaning to and unaware of it, in strike of 1905 was there any widescale the true breakthrough of the local history appreciation of the fact that the old pea movement. sant way of life was vanishing fast in the In the mid-19th century, a Swede called face of modern culture. The educated Axel Wilhelm Wahren founded Finland's classes determinedly set about salvaging third cotton mill, amid the loose collecti the material as well as the more abstract on of dwellings that made up the parish of relics of this disappearing folk tradition. Tammela, which not only gave its name to University students were naturally invol the district but was also the opening move ved in this renaissance of the local history in the industrial development of Forssa. In movement. The regional students' associa keeping with general trends in Finland, tions set up special local history research the turn of the century was also a time of committees, and Aaltonen's Harne cultural and social progress. The first Students' Society (Hi:imi:ili:iisosakunta) for labour club to be formed in the countrysi example, was the first in Finland to de had a decisive effect on the social awa- publish in 1916-17 a body of old poems ESKO AALTONEN - A LIFETIME OF LOCAL HI ST ORY Esko Aaltonen on an 43 interviewing to11r at Liesjitrvi in Tammela in i928. The inter viewee is the owner of the Sipilit farm. Aaltonen was an eager photogmpher - note the camem. Photo: The M11se11111 ofSo 11th West Hitme. and incantations, following a huge collec southern Harne, about a third of the enti ting effort. re compilation. Aaltonen's share of this Aaltonen's contribution to this accumu accumulation of old Harne verse amoun lation of national poetry was enormous - ted to a full fifth of the entire Harne poe in 1914 he collected about a thousand tic tradition collected up to that time. poems and spells from the parishes of The push for this local history research HANNU LAHTONEN 44 among the students came from a new history, it was the Southwest Harne Local mood, a social spirit and a nationalist sen History and Museum Society (Lounais timent in society. Gunnar Suolahti, Hameen Kotiseutuja Museoyhdistys) foun Helsinki University professor and curator ded in 1923 that on a deliberately practi of the Harne students' society, became a cal level became, in all its manifestations, dominant figure in this movement and the laboratory for the great idealist. also Aaltonen's mentor. Suolahti's ideas The aims of the society were defined as contained powerful social overtones and the creation of a provincial museum, rese he inspired his students to seek out the arch into south-west Hame's past and the roots of the Finnish people. The period of fostering of local sentiment. Nature re 19th century romanticism was irretrieva search and awareness were also included. bly ended. The local history of Forssa and the unoffi As a sociology professor at Turku cial province of parishes surrounding it University, Aaltonen reminisced about was quite obviously Aaltonen's calling. that period: Even in the dummy issue of Forssan Lehti his leader proclaimed the paper's purpose In my youth, long ago, I tried to sketch out an over as a unifying force in Southwest Harne. all picture of our peasant culture as it was expressed The article further stated in the paper's at the peak of its development, some time in the intention of making the local district middle of the last century, before the years of great known by publishing its history, nature, famine and the upheavals wrought by industrializati folk customs and activities. on. I saw in that relatively motionless, static way of Aaltonen was the prime mover behind life balance and harmony, beauty and poetry, perso the Local History and Museum Society; it nality and closeness to nature - I saw all this as the was, for example, on his initiative that result of centuries of peaceful, balanced development Tammela's observation tower was erected and construction work built on tradition. on the beautiful Kaukalonharju ridge and the Saari National Park was developed THE CALL HOME into an enormous meeting place for pro vincial celebrations into the 1950s. His Aaltonen studied Finnish and Scandi initiative was astonishing. He was invol navian history and graduated with an MA. ved in just about everything that appeared in 1917, after only about three and a half in Forssa at that time. He was secretary years. But turbulence in Finnish society at and chairman of the Museum Society for that time forced him to abandon many of a total of 30 years, and managed to parti his plans and return to his village in south cipate in various tasks in the municipal west Harne. life of Forssa village between 1923-33. Energy survived, however, for the same Amid all this, his literary output accu year he founded his own newspaper, mulated at a respectable rate: Old Forssa Forssan Lehti, and a little later, as indepen and Its People I and II, A History of dent Finland began to settle down, a press. Tammela, The origins and Early Years of Although Forssan Lehti can be regarded Forssa, the History of Somerniemi, The as the first expression of his views on local History of Somero, An Illustrated Old E S KO AALTO N EN - A LIFETIME OF LO C AL HI STORY Tammela, and so on.