Rantakatu 7 C, Seminary area
Iivari Reinilä worked as a lecturer in mathematics and natural sciences at Raahe Seminary from 1911 to 1948. His son, Yrjö Reinilä (1916–2010), served as mayor of Raahe.
On Iivari Day, the seminar teachers and their families gathered at Dr. Iivari Reinilä's villa. He had a large Excursio boat, which he used to take one class at a time to explore the vegetation of the Raahe archipelago. (Tuikkuja ja kynttilöitä)
Iivari Reinilä was born in Oulu on December 8, 1884. His father, Wilhelm Rehnbäck, was an official in the Oulu Provincial Government at the time. Wilhelm moved with his family to Raahe in 1892. He worked as a bailiff in the Salo district.
Iivari attended elementary school in Raahe and Oulu Lyceum. He graduated from high school in 1903. In 1909, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Helsinki. Two years later, he completed degrees in botany and zoology.
Brahenkatu street 8
Iivari worked as a lecturer in mathematics and natural sciences at the Raahe Seminary from 1911 until his retirement in 1948. During his retirement, he did odd jobs as a teacher in Raahe and Oulu until he was 83 years old.
He married Ruth von Pfaler in 1915. The marriage produced five children. After becoming a widower, he married Kaisa Törmä in 1959 and moved to Oulu.
In 1917, he bought a house, which is now located at Brahenkatu street 8. Ellen Wåhlberg (1867–1950), a teacher of geography, health care, and physical education at the seminary, lived in the house as a tenant. During the Reinilä family's time, the house also served as a post office and telegraph office.
Plant cultivation as a hobby
Iivari practiced crop cultivation and hired a few school kids to work on his fields during the summer. His huge garden had at least carrots and beets growing in it. A bit further away, there was a big rapeseed field. Rapeseed was a totally weird plant for the folks in Raahe. Iivari himself turned the soil with a shovel. The schoolchildren pulled out the roots of couch grass and yellow worms, which were cut in half.
One of the seminar students recalled that when he went to see his teacher, the teacher came out to meet him in his work clothes and sweaty.
"Yes, it's unfortunate when there's no horse in the house and I'm considered the draft animal," Iivari said.
The Potato Doctor's Dissertation
In 1928, he traveled to the Amsterdam Olympics and visited an agricultural research station, where he acquired a potato variety called Erstling. It became a long-standing potato variety for the Reinilä family.
In 1930, he obtained his doctorate in agricultural and forestry sciences, which was related to his hobby of farming. The title of his dissertation was "Light-transmitting paper in plant cultivation." Because of his dissertation, the people of Raahe gave him the nickname "Potato Doctor."
Excursio boat trips to the archipelago
In 1913, Iivari built the Excursio sailing boat at the Aho house in Kultalanperä. An important feature of the boat was that it could be lifted out of the water, allowing it to travel in shallow waters. During the fall semester, Iivari took his class on trips to the Raahe archipelago, where the students learned about marine nature.
Sailing was also an important hobby for the family. The children learned early on how to navigate the waters and the importance of the archipelago. In 1932, Iivari built a sauna villa and a boathouse in Kylmäniemi beach.
Iivari also had enough energy for municipal positions of trust. His first position of trust was as a member of the welfare committee from 1915 to 1922. He was active in the city council from 1920 to 1946. In addition, he participated in the work of several committees until 1959. Iivari Reinilä died in Oulu on August 28, 1975.
Today's calendar window was decorated by students from the Craft School Solmu.
More information
Sari Salmela: Tuikkuja ja kynttilöitä, Memories of the Raahe Seminar from 1896 to 1971, Raahe Society publication, 1999
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