Thursday, 15 June 2017
Virrat 150 Years 1867–2017 — in Pictures and Words
The story of how the Virrat 150th anniversary book came to be — the contract, the research plan, and the three-level structure of the book covering chronology, village-by-village survey and the town's many activities.
I have been quiet on this blog for a good while. That does not mean I have been idle — quite the opposite.
In May I visited abroad twice: a few days in Poland and slightly longer in Slovakia. Those trips could be written about too, but my main topic here concerns the Virrat theme of the title.
At the beginning of June I agreed a contract with the City of Virrat to write a non-fiction book. The working title is Kimaltelevilta vesiltä — Virrat 150 vuotta 1867–2017 kuvin ja sanoin (From Shimmering Waters — Virrat 150 Years 1867–2017 in Pictures and Words). “Shimmering waters” refers both to the waterways of Virrat and to Into Konrad Inha and the Into Centre (Into-keskus) that opened at Killinkoski in April.
Throughout Finland in the 1860s, municipal governance was separated from parish administration. This happened in Virrat too — and so municipal self-government began. I started working on the project in March. The writing is far enough along that I can tell others about it.
Virrat’s history has been written within the framework of the History of Old Ruovesi, covering up to the 1970s. That has been a good starting point. The commissioning party hopes that the book will emphasise the period after that history series — which is completely understandable and challenging. I would not have signed the contract if I did not trust my ability to carry out the task. I have sketched the book as forming three levels:
Level 1: Chronological span — reaching back to 150 years ago. Without that context, many present-day features of Virrat — the Into Centre being a good example — would not be understood. I have named the period from the 1870s to the early 1900s “the Inha era.”
Level 2: Village-by-village survey — I write about every village and village community, with the idea that Virrat is a whole made up of its villages. All villages have their own character, and that must be communicated in the book. Village history books and village websites are a great help here.
Level 3: “Activities of Virrat” — currently in progress. The intention is to cover, from the present situation outward, the many-sided activities of Virrat: starting from agriculture, forestry and industry, continuing through transport, the service sector, cultural and recreational activities, and the natural features of Virrat, which are well worth presenting.
The best source I have found has been the local newspaper, Suomenselän Sanomat. When preparing text for the paper’s anniversary supplement in 2011 I went through every issue published until then. Those notes are now available to use. The issues from 1911 onwards I have now read specifically for this project, noting topics and themes that should and could be covered in the book.
When I have the skeleton of the third level done, I intend to make contacts with various parties — visiting villages where photographs are sparse, companies, etc. I will be contacting village associations and other actors to get up-to-date information and perspectives on the future. Contact in this direction is also welcome during this summer. If, for instance, events are happening in companies, associations or villages from which good situation photographs could be obtained, it would be good to know about them in advance.