People make the village - part 2 of the story series
Pictures: Johanna Koponen
For the love of engines
Many people know that Kerkonkoski has several smaller villages, one of which is the village of Repola. Sami Hämäläinen also lives there, whom our story wizard hit this time. I turn into the yard on a snowy road that runs alongside the fields. It is a rare sunny December morning and Sami has just finished clearing the snow in the yard with his old and faithful tractor.
There are two houses and a large barn on the plot. There are no cows or other animals in the yard, but even a quick glance shows that the barn has been renovated. I step onto the porch of the relatively new house and knock on the door. Sami greets me cheerfully and invites me in. The oven is roaring with fire.
Sami was born in Rautalampi, but has also lived in Suonenjoki. As a child, he spent a lot of time on the farm, where he built his current home in 2014. The place is dear to him, because the house next door is his father's childhood home and was built by his father. Sami points to the window and I see a red house and a few other buildings on the other side of the field: "And that's where my father lives."
Hämäläinen became an entrepreneur in 2007. Sami's employer at the time had his hands full and offered Sami one of his trucks. The deals came and since then Sami's company, Hämy Trans Oy, has expanded. The company currently owns five trucks of various sizes, from full trailers to fish transport trucks, which Sami has built and equipped to suit the needs of his customers. The man's thumb is certainly not in the middle of the palm of his hand and he is also a partner in a heavy equipment sandblasting, painting and repair company.
Hämy Trans transports wood chips, sawdust, sawn timber and pulp. Special and machine transports as well as crane transports are also handled. The company's operations specialize in the transport of live fish. Fish and their fry, from rainbow trout to sea trout, are transported by Hämy Trans mainly in Finland, even as far as the Åland Islands. Fish has also been delivered to Russia, but due to the corona and the war, the trips to the eastern border have stopped. Fortunately, a replacement activity has been found. "And I don't miss the constant border hassle," says Sami.
It could be said that domestic tourism also affects Sami's business. Hämy Trans Oy was one of the companies that was positively affected by the corona. With the pandemic, domestic tourism grew and especially hiking and walking in nature increased in popularity. So did fishing tourism and the demand for fish, for example, in rapids and river locations. Consequently, Hämy Trans's trips also increased.
Summer is the busiest time for Sami's company, but he also has time for his beloved hobby – Jokkis, or Everyman's Class racing. Last summer, Hämäläinen managed to compete in about six competitions. In the best years, there have been 15 of them. There is a row of jokkis cars under the canopy in the yard, and the old barn has also come into use. Several vehicles are revealed behind the door, and there are also some vehicles used for road traffic. I wonder if even the fingers of two hands are enough to count the cars and there is enough "project".
The best thing in the sport is of course winning, but success is also having built a racing car with your own hands that works and sometimes even works well. However, it is not a good idea to form too strong an emotional bond with the cars, because Jokkis' specialty is that the competing cars are sold after the race. Last season, the cars changed hands for €2,000. Sami thinks that the good team spirit makes the hobby enjoyable, and if necessary, spare parts can be found in the pits from a competitor.
Sami's roots are in Kerkonkoski and it's a good place to be. Life in the country is simple, as the man says. It's convenient when you can store the company's equipment on your own plot and one of the biggest customers, Savo taimen, is nearby. In winter, when the rush of work eases, the best thing to do is take a snowmobile and blast off on the nearby trails, dusting the snow behind you.
The author is Johanna Koponen, a project worker for the Kerkonkoski Ketterän Kerkolla Kylään project. The project has received Leader support from the Development Association Mansikka ry.
The purpose of this feel-good series is to make life in Kerkonkoski visible and bring the villagers closer to each other. The series introduces new and old acquaintances, those who have moved to the village and those who have lived there all their lives.
