Lehon Torppa, 100 years of family history

Lehon Torppa (croft) was the home of the Hille and Saima Kaulanen family about a hundred years ago. Saima gave birth to a total of nine children, of whom seven survived. The second oldest son, Heino Kaulanen, founded the Karila farm with his wife in 1953.

Lehon Torppa was then located in the middle of the Äkäslompolo village on the Lehon farm (next to YlläsHumina). At that time, there were only a few houses in the village, and there was no road to the village. Journeys were made on foot or by reindeer. Some houses also had a horse.

Back then, a hundred years ago, the people of the village helped each other with all everyday matters, because a doctor, a midwife and other help offered by society were far away.

Hille and Saima’s home was very poor, but the children still remembered that their home was happy. There were two cows in the house, from which milk was provided well into the autumn. In the winter, Saima stayed home alone to take care of the children and cows, because the father of the house, Hille, was at the logging company and away from home for long periods of time.

In the corner of the croft there was an oven and a stove, where food was prepared and water was heated. However, in winter it was often so cold that the water froze in the container at night. The first task on a winter morning was to light a fire in the stove. Light was obtained from shingles. They also had some kind of oil lamp, but lamp oil was so expensive that it was not usually used in everyday chores. When Saima carried hay for the cows in the darkness of winter, she held a shingle in her teeth. There was also no well and water for the household needs was carried from the lake. Of course, snow could also be melted in winter.

The family faced great sorrow and adversity when Saima fell ill with cancer and died at the age of just over 30. After her mother died, the eldest daughter, ten-year-old Anja, was left to do her mother’s work. She had to learn to bake, cook and look after the cows. Fortunately, there was a neighbor nearby, Kentä House, from which help was usually available and of course that help was often needed. When the family’s mother died, my father was only 12 years old and the older brother Armas was 14. The youngest, 2-year-old Esko, was given to be raised by my mother’s brother in the village of Sieppijärvi. But the family still had a 3-year-old daughter, Milja. Other younger siblings were the boys Toivo and Aatos.

Lehon Torppa has now been moved to Karila, on the edge of a field.