Stories

The centuries old pine logs of Aapintupa were felled in the forests of Perho. The original intention was to float the logs along the Perhonjoki river to Kokkola and use them for building a church there. This plan was ultimately never realised. When the spring flood ran dry, the logs got stuck in the river at the village of Pulkkinen in Veteli. Farmer Matti Pulkkinen bought the logs at a low price and used them to build a 23-metre-long and 12-metre-wide peasant house, which the ethnologist Kustaa Vilkuna has called “peasant’s log castle”. (http://www.arviiti.fi/tarinaa-pelimannitalosta)

An age-old ghost called Vaatermoukka is said to live in the Pelimannitalo after having moved from Veteli to Kaustinen together with the logs of the house (Marjatta Pulkkinen 1995).

The inauguration of the Pelimannitalo in June 1974 was planned as a media event, which would impressively culminate with President Kekkonen opening the house door with a nearly half-a-metre-long iron key specifically made for the purpose. However, the hosts and the media had forgotten how athletic the president was. After the lengthy ceremonies held on the festival field, Kekkonen strode up the Pelimannitalo slope and opened the door with the key with such speed that neither the hosts nor the reporters could follow him, and no one is known to have got a proper photo of this carefully planned moment.