Painter of Raattamaa's portrait died in the USA (Haaparannanlehti 01/27/1959)

 

Part of Raattamaa's portrait

The following article is mainly based on release of article in Haaparannanlehti 01/27/1959, which I have, however, edited and perfected. Initially, a direct quote from the article:

"In (many) Laestadian homes along Tornio and Muonio river valleys there is a portrait of Juhani Raattamaa, a preacher from Lapland as a result of Selim Töyrä’s brush. According to the information we have just received from America, has well known painter Selim Alfred Töyrä died  there on 22:nd  November 1958. Ylimuonio, Finland native Töyrä worked for several decades as an art school teacher and in addition as a freelance artist in Los Angeles, California. He was born in Muonio 11/13/1875 and died Stats Metropolitan (probably refers to the Metropolitan State Hospital) hospital in Norwalk 11/22/1958. He was blessed and cremated at Utter-McKinley Broadway chapel in Los Angeles on 28^th November, 1958. "

The funeral was submitted by pastor of the local Finnish church, Omar Halme. [1]

Töyrä's Raattamaa portrait as a whole picture

Muonio native Alfred Selim Töyrä was coming from a peasant family. Töyrä’s father was an independent farmer, a man skilled in his hands: he made locks, guns and so on [2]. Selim went to elementary school, which was neither in the home village nor in the neighboring village, but in the village of Hetta (which was the center of Enontekio parish and municipality). The distance from home was 80 km. The way to the school he made cross-country skiing, and sometimes in reindeer sled. In two years, Selim was able to take all courses in elementary school. A little later he moved to  Helsinki to pursue art studies. [3] Father would have preferred that his son would become a public servant than a starving artist. By and by, Töyrä settled in Tornio [4], where he painted diligently. There was completed a large painting  "Ascension of Christ", which is still in the prayer house of Haparanda Peace Association (Local Apostolic Lutheran congregation). It was bought by teacher Angelica Laestadius from Töyrä. [5] This way Mr Töyrä got the money for his family’s  journey to America, where they left 04/08/1903. [6] Old townspeople have told how Töyrä, while living in Tornio region, gathered suitable old men to the hill on Palovaara, and this way was well known painting born, in which still (ie the 1950s) some townspeople will identify some of the characters. Töyrä owned in Chicago a façade painting company, but maintaining it did not satisfy his artistic ambitions. So he sold it and moved to Los Angeles, where he worked mainly as a portraitist. Several well-known film stars were his clients. Töyrä achieved fame as a painter and he was appointed to professor in the University of  Los Angeles.

Bror Hjort’s (1958) church altar painting in Jukkasjärvi church.

Laestadian preacher Juhani Raattama’s portrait was completed in the end of 1800s when Raattamaa was on his preaching trip in Ylimuonio. [7] Here (in Ylimuonio) it is shown even today the room, where Selim , around the age of 20,  used his brush. According to the newspaper Haaparannanlehti "modern viewer will see in that Raattamaa picture a glow of van Gogh, and it occurs over an unusually strong descriptive power. If we look at the characteristic of the face and, above all, clumsy hands." The work has been featured in exhibitions and attracted so much attention that the image was published in Annex of “Young Finnish” Christmas album. Raattamaa portrait Töyrä made once, is clearly recognizable in the artist Bror Hjort’s (1958) church altar painting in Jukkasjärvi church. At the turn of the century, among many other paintings of Lapland was also compiled the portrait of “Ies-Pieti”, ie Pietari Vasara, a preacher from Karesuanto.

Interior view of Haparanda Peace Association.
On the wall SelimTöyry's painting  "Ascension of Christ".

Töyrä visited his native country in the 1910s, after his wife’s and two children’s death. [8] He came back again immediately to America, where he then lived the final stages of his life. His paintings "Broken Languages" and "The Origin of America's star flag" awarded in competitions, and opened the doors for him to Ateneum Art in Los Angeles. He never forgot his home region Muonio, its colorful autumns plus and the sunny midsummer days. Homesickness to North seems to “hurt” his heart until recent years. After the war, Töyrä donated a large-sized painting called "Transfigured Christ on the bank of Jordan" to Ylimuonio prayer house of. This last greeting from son of Muonio, however, was transferred to the parish church, as the small prayer house in  Ylimuonio couldn’t provide the necessary perspective for Selim Töyrä’s  work, which is a real attraction, not only for the parishioners, but also for tourists.

[1] Also, the California State Death Index confirms the date of death 22 November 1958. The 1940 census says Selim Töyrä lived in the city's 14th district.
[2] Selim Töyrä’s father Mikko Rauhala Juhonpoika (subs. Töyrä) came from Kittilä. Mikko Rauhala moved to Muonio, Ylimuonio village, where he purchases “Tapani farm” and began live there. Mikko Töyrä’s wife since 1855 was Elsa Maria Charlesdaughter Mäki, or Örn, a native of Muonio. From this marriage was born eleven children, of whom Selim was the ninth. Töyrä’s mother was reported to be a "devout Christian".
[3] Selim Töyrä studied in Helsinki at the Finnish Art Society’s drawing school.
[4] Töyrä moved from Ylimuonio to Tornio in 1901.
[5] The city’s upper class tried to help Töyrä by buying his paintings. He did not succeed by means of revenues to provide living for himself and family..
[6] http://maine.utu.fi/emregfree/ml_finresults2.asp
[7] Töyrä accompanied in the exhibition of Finnish artists at the Ateneum in 1897 with Juhani Raattama’s portrait. It is his most famous his early work. The painting attracted so much attention that it was published in in Annex of the “Young Finland” Christmas album.
[8] Selim Töyrä married with Senia Eveliina Jacobdaughter Saarela (1880-1909). Töyrä bought his bride a sewing machine, which caused uppsett among his then-contributers. In United States were four children born to Töyrä family. Wife returned later back to Finland.

Greasewood Finnish Apostolic Lutheran Church, Umatilla County, Oregon

Greasewood Finnish Apostolic Lutheran Church

On my trip ”Go West Old Man” I stopped in 29^th June, 2005, at the former Finnish Apostolic Lutheran church and Cemetery in Umatilla County in Northeastern part of Oregon. At this Church site I once again saw that simple is often beautiful.

When the church was young and automobiles were even younger

This church, the Greasewood Finnish Apostolic Lutheran Church is 131 years old. The abandoned building, surrounded by wheat fields, stands on a hill five miles west of Adams and eleven miles north of Pendleton. It’s located at the intersection of Enbysk and Midway roads near Adams, Oregon. It was listed in 1988 on the US National Register of Historic Places. The Apostolic Lutheran Church was founded by a Lutheran branch called Laestadians.

The founders

They brought their faith, Bibles, songbooks and catechisms with them from Finland, Sweden, Norway and Lapland first to the copper mines of Michigan and later to Oregon, where they claimed free homesteads in 1877.  In the early days, their religion formed the backbone of their lives. In 1884, the Greasewood Finns agreed that they needed a church. For one dollar, Peter and Josephine Enbysk donated one acre of land for the church in the center of the settlement. The transaction was made to Andrew J. Rauhala, Carl. J. Pell, Matt Deining, Matt Kononen, Peter C. Enbysk, Olof Hendriksen, Gustaw W. Planting and to their successors and assigns forever.

The one room sanctuary was built between 1884 and 1887 by volunteer labor. To this small, Gothic Revival church was added a vestibule in 1910. In the chancel, painted maroon, are the clergy's pulpit and a choir loft for the three song leaders. The communion railing is in front of the pulpit, with a gate on each side. The walls are painted a light blue, the floors gray and the inside doors are finished in light oak.

The building was heated by a large potbellied wood stove located in the middle of the room. Light was supplied by ornate kerosene lamps attached to the wall. Water was carried into the room in a blue granite container with a spigot.

Signboard

In addition to Sunday services, special services were held during “juhannus”, and when visiting ministers came to the area. Often after baptisms and special services, the congregation gathered at one one of the homes for dinner and fellowship. Some members walked to church, but there were families who traveled many, many miles, returning home the next day. Horseback, horse-and-buggy or horse drawn sleigh was the mode of travel for the day. In about 1912, when automobiles came into use, they were parked in a row on the east side of the building. The noise and sight of the cars frightened the horses tied to the hitching posts. When a car backfired, the horses often became unmanageable and runaways occurred.

Some of the local Finns were affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church. They found a church three miles to the Northwest, founded by Germans, who came to the are in 1878. Their church was built in 1897.

At an evening service, in 1910, the congregation observed Halley's comet with awe and alarm. Another service was interrupted when a farmer came asking for help. His cow fell into the well. The men used horses to pull her out, but in her agitated state, she turned on the crowd and scattered the people.

In the chancel, painted maroon, are the clergy's pulpit and a choir loft for the
three song leaders. The communion railing is in front of the pulpit, with a gate
on each side. The walls are painted a light blue an the floors gray.

In those days it was the custom for men to sit on the right side of the room; the women and children sat on the left. Older children were instructed to sit quietly. Sometimes little ones escaped from their mothers, opened the gate on the communion railing and wandered behind the pulpit. Their stirring around, or the crying of infants did not bother the preacher as he delivered his sermon.

The Finnish language was used exclusively as long as the immigrants lived. The first generation born in America spoke Finnish from childhood, and they too treasured the inflections of the words and the sacred songs sung in minor key.

Look at the large potbellied wood stove in the middle of the room

No collection were taken during the service, but donations were made to pay the expenses of visiting ministers. Members of the congregation provided lodging for them and sometimes their large families as well. Many Finns held fast to their faith and supported other Apostolic Lutheran  churches in the Portland area and in Michigan and Minnesota. Families traveled far to visit their countrymen and brothers and sisters in faith. Astoria, Portland, Quincy and Clatskanie in Oregon, Brush Prairie and Centerville in Washington and Long Valley in Idaho were often destinations.

In 1929 were held a memorable occasion for the local Apostolic Lutherans. The Finnish Apostolic Lutheran Church of America had their Big Meeting / Convention in Pendleton. It was held four days at the Methodist Church in Pendleton. Over 700 delegates and guests came to convention by bus, car and train from different parts of the USA. At this National Convention, the by-laws and the constitution of the Finnish Apostolic Lutheran Church were approved.

Church lamp

The local lay preacher and ministers were Andrew Rauhala Jacobson, Sackri Hendrickson, Henry Maaherra, Ingerbrit Holmgren and Gustaw W. Planting. Reverend John Lumijarvi from Astoria is remembered among the most eloquent of former ministers. He owned land in the community which he rented to a farmer who never needed a written lease. Reverend Wilhelm Basi, pastor in Centerville, Washington, conducted many services in the local church. Reverend Andrew Mickelson, a minister from Michigan, brought preachers from the “old country” to speak to the pioneers. They enjoyed news from Finland and this touch from across the sea. Reverend Bernhard Fardig, a former sea captain from Berkeley, California, was a favorite with the young people. Other ministers or traveling missionaries who were invited for special occasions were: Charles Ojala, John Nelson, Carl Sacarisen, Fred Johnson, Isaac Nelson, George Nelson, Liimatta, John Paana, Alwar Leppanen, Monroe Prouty, Kurtti, Evert Maattala, Otto Stadius, Uuras Saarnivaara and many others.

Baptism certificate on the church wall

During two weeks in the summer, teenagers attended confirmation school (Rippikoulu) where they studied the Bible, Bible history and catechism. They were required to memorize many passages. A visiting minister taught the class in the Finnish language and held a concluding examination in front of the congregation. Then the students proudly received their diplomas and were invited to partake of holy communion for the first time. The ministers who served the congregation are remembered for preaching the apostolic faith which stressed confession, repentance and forgiveness. The parishioners wished each other, "Jumalan rauha" (God's peace) when they left the worship service.

Kerosene lamp attached to the wall.

It was the custom for the people in the settlement to help one another. In times of sorrow, relatives and friends (valvojaiset) stayed with the one in repose until time for the funeral. The casket arrived on the Hunt train at Myrick Station, where someone waited with a team and wagon. The deceased was washed and dressed by family or friends and then placed in the parlor until time for the service at the church. Burial was at Greasewood Cemetery, one-half mile north of the church, where the men of the community had opened the grave. At the concluding ceremony, a trio sang several songs. After the minister's last words, the pallbearers took turns filling in the grave.

The last time the church was used for worship was in the beginning of 1970’s. The church received a generally high degree of maintenance until 1965, when it ceased being used for services on a regular basis. Following its restoration by descendants of the builders in 1985 – 1986, it is still quite good condition.

Scholar of Laestadianism successfully defends dissertation

By Mauri Kinnunen (Finnish American Reporter, April 2015)

I had a great pleasure to participate in a dissertation event at the University of Helsinki main building on Saturday, January 31 . The dissertation inspected was ThM. Thomas Palola's study "American of Scandinavian. American Apostolic Lutheran 1884 - 1929." The dissertation deals with two of my personal and research interests — Finnish American culture and the Apostolic Lutheran denomination/Laestadianism. Furthermore, I was one of the study's preliminary examiners.

The research was very extensive, including as many as 570 pages. The study has an unusually comprehensive appendix (annex 11 , not less than 70 pages), even wider than some dissertations with appendices and bib-liography. A family tree of the Apostolic Lutheran movement and a really useful glossary of terminology can be found at the end of Palola's dissertation.

The conference hall can accommodate 130 people, and was full of people, so the subject seemed to interest more people than usual. Jouko Talonen, a professor of church history, acted as a custom in the inspection. The opponent was Auto Kostiainen, a histo­ry professor emeritus from the University of Turku.

During the more-than-two-hour event the following topics were discussed: the title; some of the terms used in the dissertation; and defining the work.

Also, the opponent asked if the mutual exclusivity of the workers' movement and the Apostolic Lutheran faith was as absolute as the dissertation states. In addition, profes­sor Kostiainen stated that the chronological order of events used in the study was mainly agreeable. However, in some places (such as discussing the annual meetings of the Apostolic Lutheran movement) a thematic treatment would have been more use­ful. The dissertation received strong praise for its extensive and detailed work, use of source material and fluent language.

Near the end of the event a few questions were asked. One person wondered why women played such a small role in the study and were barely visible. Also, the absence of the so-called Lyngen branch (a branch of the Laestadian movement that’s big in Norway) was not discussed in the dissertation. The event concluded with some "kahvi ja pulla."

This dissertation required an extensive amount of work. The Apostolic Lutheran movement has spread across North America, and gathering the different phases of the movement from countless fragmentary pieces of information must have been an enormous task. Namely, the Apostolic Lutherans have never had a significant central organization or central archives. Also, the movement has scattered into many groups, viewing each other as suspicious. Thus, a researcher might be seen as a snoop from another group.

The study includes a lot of information on the development of Finnish-American communities in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Namely, it includes a variety of detailed descriptions of Finnish American individuals and families' lives. Thus, it might also prove useful for a person who is interested in Finnish American culture but not that much in the study's religious context.

Finnish Newspapers in America part one: Finnish American Paper (1876)

Amerikan Suomalainen Lehti /Finnish American Paper

The first Finnish language newspaper in America was Amerikan Suomalainen Lehti. It started in Hancock on April 14, 1876. Its founder and editor was A. J. Muikku, a Finn who had been actually called to the community to serve as pastor for local Lutheran congregation . 

In the fall of 1875, Hans Roernaes, the Norwegian pastor in Hancock received a letter from a Finnish university student Antti J. Muikku in New York. He was expressing a wish to come to the Copper Country. The letter-writer informed also that he didn't have money for his fare. Pastor Roernaes read the letter at a worship service of his Finnish-Swedish-Norwegian congregation. The Finnish members were immediately interested. They thought that now they would have a preacher who can speak their language. So they collected the money.

Antti J. Muikku, the son of a carpenter, was born on March 22, 1846, in Liperi. His family moved later to Joensuu. After his graduation from the lyceum at Jyväskylä, Muikku studied  mathematics at the University of Hel­sinki . His studies ended because of a lack of money. After working for example at the Pulkova Observatory near St. Petersburg, he came to America.

The newcomer was not planning to be a preacher or speaker of any kind. Muikku had in his mind a Finnish newspaper which could serve the growing Finnish population of the Copper Country. Muikku spent the winter 1875-76 collecting funds and subscriptions. He could get 300 subscribers and started his paper with the name Amerikan Suomalainen Lehti (Finnish American Paper). The first issue came out on April 14, 1876. This was the birthday of the Finnish American press. Muikku's newspaper came out on Fridays and consisted four four-column pages.  The price was two dollars a year. It was printed on a press owned by German-born E. P. Kibbee.

The  local newspaper Karjalatar in Joensuu, Finland noticed hometown boy's new career:

Muikku tried to make his paper many-sided and lively. It included local news, news from other places where Finnish immigrants had settled down, and from Finland. 

Muikku's greatest difficulty was his inability to take care of paper's financial businesses. Subscriptions did not increase in number. Only a few of the immigrants appreciated the value of having a Finnish newspaper. Another problem was that Solomon Kortetniemi, pastor and leader of the Laestadians (Apostolic Lutherans), forbade his congregation to subscribe to a secular paper. At this time most Finns belonged to this congregation. All together 14 issues were published. The last number came out in July 1876 as an edition of only two pages.

Nearly all copies of Amerikan Suomalainen Lehti have disappeared. There may be only two copies left—an incomplete one in the Finnish National Library, and another, in fairly good condition, in the FinnishAmerican Historical Archives at Finlandia University in Hancock

Antti J. Muikku died on February 5, 1877 at the Johan Fredrik Frisk's home on Quincy Hill. Later a monument was placed on his grave in the Quincy Hill cemetery. On it was carved the following inscription: "A. J. Muikku. Died 1877. The founder of the Finnish American press. A memorial from his countrymen."

The Quincy Hill cemetery was abandoned a few years later when the rental agreement with Quincy Mining Company ended. Many graves were moved to the new Lakeside Cemetery in Hancock.  Muikku's grave was still there unti year 1914, when four men, J. A. Kärkkäinen, Emil Saastamoinen, Juuso Hirvonen, and F. Tolonen, decided to move it also to Lakeside Cemetery. Muikku's bones were dug up by Kärkkäinen and Hirvonen, and moved to a coffin of Finnish model. And on Sept. 18, 1915 the coffin was laid down in the grave at Lakeside Cemetery. The old gravestone was replaced by a new one in 1916. It was made by Sampo Granite Co. of Quincy, Massachusetts.

The old marker was moved to the museum of Suomi College. Today it belongs to the collection of Finnish American Heritage Center at Finlandia University. The cemetery at Quincy Hill was "found" in 1999 while construction works were made to build a new water tower. It was investigated using geophysical methods and named Ingot Street Cemetery in the investigation report.