Kauppakatu street 27, movie theater Bio Huvimylly
There was a queue for the screenings at Bio Huvimylly. The queue stretched to the door of the Osuuskauppa store and even beyond. Everyone was waiting for Kalle Siponen to arrive with the ticket book.
“There was a long line behind me, stretching far beyond Brahenkatu street. I was determined that this time I would be the one holding the handle, and not Maukka Kaarela, who had managed to surprise me on the previous trip to the movies.
Close to the front of the line were Katinhäntä's friends, Mara and Jorkki Suomela, Nisse Raikuvaara, Eku Kangas, Kässy Kari, Leke Ruohonen, Pena Sankari, Kepe Lind, and others.
From the 'enemy gangs' – the guys from the city center, Velkaperä, and Kaivokatu street– a few lucky ones had managed to break through our victorious line-up at the front of the queue, and Mara Nevala and Raku Kopsakangas, for example, were seen pitifully far away somewhere near the Osuuskauppa store gate. You see, the boys and I had decided yesterday that this time 'we're going to be at the front!'.
There were also some girls there, at least Anneli and Leena Silvennoinen, Silve of course with Alpo on her arm, and some girls from Lapaluoto were also hanging around at the back.
I thought it was particularly cool that Reijo Norio, Jussi Muhonen, Imppa Kastelli, and Tane Kartio, the Big Boys we deeply respect, stood politely behind us younger ones in line—it created a very festive atmosphere. And what was most impressive: even adults, even the gentry from the city center, seemed to be joining the line!
Suddenly, from the back of the line, a shout rang out from Brahenkatu: "Here he comes! Kalle Siponen is coming! He's just turned from Kirkkokatu street onto Pekkatori square!"
The entire long line of people received an electric shock. The line condensed and shortened in an instant, everyone turned their front toward the door of paradise and pressed against the person in front of them. There was some jostling and minor squabbling, but order was maintained.
"Now it's already at Raahenkatu street! Now it's at Seutunkauppa store! Now it's at the post office!" people shouted in turn from the back of the line.
The closer Kalle's sturdy figure came in his light-colored coat with the cash box under his arm, the quieter the line became, and the shouts describing his progress eventually faded into a chain of whispers. And when Kalle turned onto Pitkätie street and I saw him too, it was completely silent. Our Saint Peter with the keys to heaven had arrived." (Text: Matti Pajula, Raahe’s Christmas magazine, 2016)
Who was businessman Kalle Siponen
Kalle Siponen (1891–1962) began his career as a businessman in Oulu, where he owned a machine and coffee shop. There he met his future wife, Amanda Huotari (1886–1937). The couple married on June 25, 1913.
The Sipos family moved from Oulu to Pattijoki in 1919 to farm the land on a farm called Kittilä (now Kujala). The family moved to Raahe in the early 1920s.
The people of Raahe remember Kalle Siponen above all for Bio Huvimylly. He founded the movie theater in Raahe in 1923. The theater was named Huvimylly because the screenings were joyful and long-awaited events. The people of Raahe were proud of the theater, as they felt that such a large city had to have a movie theater.
The cinema began operating in rented premises in Roihu (Kauppakatu street 30) in a small building facing the street, which still exists today. (A fire destroyed Roihu's main building on the corner of Kauppakatu street and Brahenkatu street in August 2005.)
Initially, films were shown once or twice a week in the 120-seat Huvimylly. Construction of the Bio Huvimylly, designed specifically as a movie theater, began in 1936. The building was completed in the spring of 1937.
Before the films started, everyone waited for the arrival of the burly Kalle Siponen with his cash box under his arm. He stood in the lower lobby observing the audience and ticket sales and tore the tickets himself at the door to the auditorium. Once the show started, he returned to his home on Kirkkokatu with a shoebox-like cash box wrapped in brown paper under his arm, containing the evening's admission fees and ticket books.
The Christmas calendar window was decorated by Bio Huvimylly Pelastat Ry.
More information
Kirsti Vähäkangas: Tolokun väkiä, raahelaisia/Meijjän kaupunki tarinoi
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