Martti Markkanen 22.2.2003 - For my mother's memory

Astrid Markkanen

My mother Astrid Markkanen was born on 12.02.1913 in St. Petersburg. She died at Virrat on 13.02.2003. She lived a historically rich era from czar's time's Russia to virtual age of Virrat. Her father Vladimir (Valdemar) Kinert was an engineer and a factory manager and my mother's mother Maria took care besides my mother also of her little brother Alexander, my uncle Dick.

There were five major marking points in her life. She lived in five places, she spoke four languages, Russian, Finnish, Swedish and a bit of French, she has three grandsons Petteri, Valtteri and Sakari, she had two sons of her own and finally she had one strong principle lived through her life.

Time of St. Petersburg

She was born in Russia in Czar Nikolai II's time. Indeed the family had a strong connection to the grand duchy of Finland, and so the beloved summer spot Taaperi was on Karelia's istmus at Muolas . From this summer spot on the beach of lake Suulajarvi came the Kinert family's support and protection after the revolution.

The first world war and the Russian revolution that followed dimmed gradually that childhood idyll, where my mother had born. The waves of revolution touched Kinert family so badly, that they were afraid to go out from their home and finally they suffered from evident hunger. So the only hold was left to Taaperi which now was on the other side of the border. The family decided to flee to Finland. The escape was dramatic. On New Year's Eve 1921-22 (I am not quite certain of the year) they walked in the dark towards the border. Their thought was to cross the border when the guards would be celebrating the change of the year. For their annoyance their guide was tempted by the same celebration and the family got lost in the dark. My eight years old mother and her three years old little brother in his mother's lap in the lead of my grandfather finally managed to get to the Finnish side. They were placed to an elementary school and my mother's memory from this time is the warm semolina porridge which was given to the starved children in the group accommodation.

Pitkaranta

My grandfather got a job at Pitkaranta's cellulose factory. So my mother's childhood continued on Impilahti's municipality's village of Pitkaranta. My mother went to school and adopted the Finnish language amazingly fast. Her teacher even proposed once that my mother could move to an upper class. From Pitkaranta the family moved always in the summer to Taaperi. My mother remembered these summers to be truly warm summers of childhood.

Vyborg

There was only junior high school in Pitkaranta. To get through high school you had to move to Vyborg. Vyborg's new school for boys and girls was mother's new seat of learning. She went a long trip circulating Lake Ladoga between Vyborg and Pitkaranta. School still went well and she wrote with excellent marks becoming an undergraduate.

In those days it was exceeding for an undergraduated woman to continue in a university, usually in that time in Helsinki. That could be done only by the wealthy. My mother started her work in SOK's Vyborg's office. The firm SOK became her only employer. One detail belongs to these years at Vyborg. She traveled to visit her own uncle who lived in Paris. The travel was different then, first you went over the Baltic Sea and then by train to Paris. From that trip remained an interest towards cultures, art and language.

The winter war interrupted work life in Vyaborg. SOK moved its functions to Vaajakoski and so my mother's new environment and longest job moved to central Finland. And my mother did live in Vaajakoski for sixty years.

Vaajakoski

Vaajakoski was her destiny in many ways. At Vaajakoski she met her coming husband Kalle or Kaarlo Markkanen. Describing to this love was that when Karelians were allowed to go back in the time of Continual war, so did my mother and between two bomb waves in June 1944 they were married in Vyborg. It was a true belief in the future in a situation when Karelia and the war were soon to be lost.

Two sons were born into the family in Vaajakoski, I in the year 1945 and my brother Hannu a year later. My mother stayed home to look after the sons and my father continued working for SOK in which he had been working for twenty years. I do remember that how difficult it was to take care of two wild boys, be responsible of a big house and feed my father. My mother and the whole family had two nice places, other one was grandmother's place. Mother's father and mother had after many turns ended up from Pitkaranta to near Helsinki in Leppavaara and that was our boys true grandmother's place with apple trees and grandfather's binoculars and photographs. Grandfather got a job from Cable factory, which is now a days the birth place of present Nokia. The second important place for us was Stockholm and mother's brother's Dick's family and all five cousins. Of that five now is here Jorma, Bosse and Stefan. The visits to Sweden were memorable to all of us in the fifties.

My father died in 1957. Our family moved to a storey building and my mother went to work to the SOK, naturally. My mother became by the present terms a single parent. Mother's life was fulfilled by work and two sons. After my brother died and I had went to study and start a family of my own, mother finally had some time to herself and her dear hobbies.

Virrat

My mother retired 1978. Her peaceful retirement time lasted at Vaajakoski to year 1998, when after her moving had become difficult she decided to move once more. She moved closer to her relatives in Virrat, where she was greatly helped and supported by the granny of Virrat, Ulla's, my wife's mother who no longer had to make a long trip from Parkano to Vaajakoski to visit Astrid.

The last move came two years ago on March first, when Mother fell in her home and ended up in a hospital. The health center of Virrat and its good treatment was her home for the last two years.

My mother loved art. It was her passion. The second was traveling and studying strange cultures. Besides that Karjala, Taaperi, Pitkaranta and Vyborg were always close to her heart. She identified herself strongly with the transferred Karelians through her friends and dialect.

And that principle of hers. She was very interested in all new and exciting things and in everything that happened around her. She combined skillfully this to those traditions and values which she had had as strong influence from her birthplace. This is an excellent combination to any one who is confused by modern way of life. She was a survivor.

May there be peace for my mother's memory.