Introduction

Already in the 1700s, Kaustinen was known as a locality where craftsmanship was valued. A group of local men brought a beautiful spinning wheel as a present to the Queen of Sweden in order to have permission to build a church in Kaustinen.  The Kuorikoski family of church builders, who originated in the village of Nikula, constructed nearly 20 churches for Finnish parishes in the 1700s and 1800s.

In the Virkkala village of Kaustinen, significant small-scale industry was launched in the early 1800s by farmer Elias Wirkkala, who started to manufacture carts and cartwheels. This activity expanded when Vicar Anders Chydenius encouraged Wirkkala to develop the technical quality of the wheels. At its best, the Wirkkalas employed over 30 people in this line of production, in addition to the family members themselves.

A great-grandson called Juho Wirkkala (1855–1926) was born into Elias Wirkkala’s side of the family. According to folk memory, the boy was a fully trained tailor by the early age of 12. As a dexterous young man, Juho travelled to America and bought his first sewing machine. He brought this machine to Kaustinen after having bought his sister’s house, built in 1868.

Juho Wirkkala settled down in Kaustinen with his wife Anna-Liisa (née Kentala) and started a family, whose firstborn was Ilmari Wirkkala (1890–1973). The talented boy was soon sent to study at the Kokkola Finnish Coeducational School. Ilmari reminisces about the scarcity of his school years like this:

“Something unforgettable happened to me in the outhouse of the Lövgren’s. A long-lasting frost heave and a snowstorm had blocked the road from my family home to Kokkola. The post did not transport food sacks, so I ran out of food. I had not eaten for two days when the lady of the house asked me if I was ill. I guess I had a tear in the corner of my eye when I answered that I had nothing to eat. At once she brought me a slice of crisp bread and a large mug of milk. They have never tasted as delicious. Even decades later, I used to grab a slice of crisp bread with nothing on it, accompanied by a mug of milk, shut my eyes and enjoy the lovely feeling I had had as a child.” (Hiljaa lensi zeppeliini, 2001)

Drawn by his artistic vocation, Ilmari Wirkkala moved from Kokkola to study art in Helsinki. From a young age, he had shown himself to be multi-talented. As a youngster, he wrote and recited poems, collected a herbarium for his school, illustrated an ABC-book written by writer Teuvo Pakkala, and painted a triptych for the stage of his home municipality’s youth association house.

Ilmari Wirkkala was very active in the art circles of Helsinki. He was one of the founders of the Finnish Association of Designers Ornamo, and his hand is visible even today in the stone male figures at Helsinki railway station. Writer Algot Untola, who also served as teacher in Kaustinen, ordered an ex libris from Wirkkala for his pen name Irmari Rantamala.

After his studies, Ilmari Wirkkala started to work as artistic director at Granit Oy in Hanko in 1913. He demonstrated his sculpting skills thereafter by creating numerous monuments and statues in different parts of Finland.

In the 1920s, Ilmari moved back to Helsinki and later became executive manager of Hautausmaiden ystävät ry. In this position, he designed hundreds of graveyards, gates, small-scale buildings as well as garden plans for Finnish parishes. Overall, Ilmari’s hand is visible in more than 1,400 drawings and maps. The most significant work in this field was the chapel and graveyard of Lappee parish in Lappeenranta.

Ilmari Wirkkala’s mission was good graveyard maintenance. In this calling, he cooperated with writer Maila Talvio. Ilmari carried out educational work in parishes and visited hundreds of destinations by bike. At the same time, he sought orders for his family business, which included, in addition to himself, his children Tapio and Tauno Wirkkala and his wife Selma Wirkkala as textile designer. Tapio designed some monuments for fallen soldiers as well as church items, while Tauno managed the company and sculpted statues as well.

After World War II, Ilmari Wirkkala continued his artistic work by painting altarpieces. In his heart, he always felt Central Ostrobothnia was his home.  His contacts to the region spawned a wide variety of projects. In the Perhonjoki river valley, especially in Kaustinen and Veteli, Ilmari worked hard on various projects.

Ilmari Wirkkala designed the municipal coat of arms of Kaustinen in 1949. He designed and costumed a regional history parade and wrote the script for a ‘crown wedding’ ceremony and a play about the folk musician Kreeta Haapasalo.

Ilmari continued to write actively in the Keskipohjanmaa newspaper until the end of his life. He was very interested in all kind of folklore, old buildings and ancestral history. His good memory and verbal talent enabled him to translate his memories into a rich tradition.

Genealogy was also one of Ilmari Wirkkala’s hobbies. He collected a large databank on Kaustinen families and created many skilled pedigree charts and family trees. The Wirkkala genealogical association was founded in 1949, and Ilmari designed a granite monument for the family, featuring the family roots back to the year 1549.