Brahenkatu street 17, Patala, Raahe College, window on the Reiponkatu street side.
Today, the calendar window opens on Reiponkatu Street, at the Patala window. During the sailing ship era, sailors also lived on Reiponkatu Street, and they told Samuli Paulaharju about their lives.
Today, the calendar window opens onto Reiponkatu street, at the Patala window. During the sailing ship era, there were more sailors than craftsmen living on Reiponkatu street, even though rope makers gave the street its name. Many of them told Samuli Paulaharju about their lives, and his excellent book Wanha Raahe (Old Town Raahe) was published in 1925.
Paulaharju's book Wanha Raahe was published a hundred years ago, and the Raahe Society celebrated this milestone by organizing a reading marathon. The Christmas calendar is participating in the celebrations by telling the story of sailor Matts August Witolin (1851–1940), one of the old seafarers interviewed by Samuli Paulaharju. Witolin, who sailed the world's seas for years, was a good storyteller and a wonderful memoirist of the lives of sailors and the Raahe of yesteryear.
The old sea dogs often argued among themselves about who was the most respected. Matts August Erikkilä (1850–1922) and old Kalle Burman (1820–1895) often quarreled about their travels. Erikkilä had always been to Valparaíso but Burman had also been there, and even to Monte Verde, which Erikkilä knew nothing about.
Matts August Erikkilä, mentioned in Samuli Paulaharju's book Wanha Raahe, served as a constable on the Amphitrite from 1874 to 1877. His house was located at the corner of Ämmänkatu street and Reiponkatu street.
Paulaharju recorded sailors' stories
When Matts August Witolin (1851–1940), a sailor who lived on Reiponkatu street, told Samuli Paulaharju about the life of sailors during the sailing ship era, he was 72 years old.
Witolin, who had sailed the world's seas for years, was a good storyteller. He also sang many entertaining songs in his long, flowing voice. The melodies were written down on paper by student Erkki Karikoski.
Many sailors who had sailed on English ships knew English shanties and songs. Vitolin and Pyy were masters at singing English. Led by Matti Aukusti Orava, they sang: “What shall we do with a drunken sailor, blow, boys, blow.”
Sailors who sailed on the open sea and along the coast
Only those who had sailed the world's oceans for years were considered true sailors. The more voyages a sailor had made, the prouder he was, and his reputation grew in proportion to how far he had traveled.
Those who only sailed along the Finnish coast were considered less experienced because they navigated in shallow waters where the boat could almost touch the bottom.
"You haven't even spat in the open sea," the old sea dog might say to those who stayed close to the coast.
Port Elizabeth Police
The cities of Cape Town in South Africa had also become familiar to many sailors from Raahe. Many had at least sailed around them on their way to Ust-Luga.
Matti Aukusti Vitolin had once been a police officer in Port Elizabeth for many years.
There he once saw the famous Thomas Alva Edison. The great master presented the city of Kimberley with his own handmade human heads, which took turns glaring, grimacing, and singing at their master's command, and finally held a magnificent "concert" together. Kimberley was the first city in the southern hemisphere to have electric street lighting.
The officials of Port Elizabeth spoke English, which Vitolin also knew, even though it was pronounced quite differently from what was in the book. The language of the local indigenous population, on the other hand, was peculiar. When pronouncing some letters, you had to pinch your nose with two fingers before you were ready.
Wonders of the World
When the sailors got excited about praising their long voyages, they told their families that the ships had sailed so far that the earth and sky began to come closer together. The masts were no longer suitable, and the large mast had already broken. It was so close that they had to hurry back.
In the world's major ports, the people of Raahe encountered many different nationalities. The Italians gestured and waved their hands so much that the people of Raahe came to believe that they could not speak in the dark.
In the Gulf of Mexico, dark-skinned men loaded planks barefoot, and not once did their toes get crushed between the planks. The loaders sang beautifully in English.
The people of the Holy Land wandered in colorful, ornate chairs, as seen in old paintings.
London gangsters
One sailor recalled that London was a dangerous city where all the gangsters in the world had gathered. Apparently, it could happen that a man would suddenly be dragged into a doorway and disappear forever.
The sailors from Raahe had come up with a clever solution to this problem. They traveled in large groups. Once, there were three men in one group.
From cabin boy to captain
Sailing ships required many different skilled workers. The crew of a schooner consisted of eight sailors. A brig needed a dozen workers. The crew of a large barque or frigate could number as many as twenty men.
Examples of seafaring professions include captain, first mate, helmsman, boatswain, cook, carpenter, sailor, deckhand, steward, and cabin boy. Sometimes, a cabin boy could work his way up to captain over the years.
Sources: Eija Turunen: Siellä he uinuvat untaan – Haaralan hautausmaa (There They Sleep – Haarala Cemetery), Samuli Paulaharju: Wanha Raahe (Old Raahe), 2nd edition, 1965, Komppakujalta Katinhäntään (From Komppakuja to Katinhäntä), Kai Snellman: Raahen purjelaivat ja niiden päällystöt 1800-luvulla (The Sailing Ships of Raahe and Their Crews in the 19th Century)
Calendar window decorator: Raahe Adult Education Centre
More information
Samuli Paulaharju: Wanha Raahe
Komppakujalta Katinhäntään -kirja
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