Juho Kekkonen

Juho Kekkonen (16 October 1873 – 11 December 1928) was Finnish head of forestry, logging caretaker and tenant farmer. He was also known as the father of Urho Kekkonen, the 8th President of Finland.

Biography Kekkonen was born in Northern Savo, in the then Karttula municipality, in the area of the present-day Tervo municipality. which had been in the family's possession since the 18th century. However, Juho Kekkonen had to start working in the forest as a boy to earn a living. Juho, who had learned to read and write, had a good head for calculations.

In his twenties, Juho ended up at a logging site in Kangasniemi in Southern Savo, where he met his future wife, Emilia Pylvänäinen (1880–1957); Emilia's job was to drive the cattle to the Haahkala lands in the mornings, to pasture by the lake, and to pick them up at home in the evenings, in connection with which Emilia came to get to know Juho, who was traveling in the same area with groups of loggers. Juho and Emilia married in 1899, and after that, the young couple moved to Otava, near Mikkeli, when Juho Kekkonen had found work at the local Halla Oy's sawmill. The Kekkonen family lived in Pielavesi for six years; during this time, the family also had a second child, a daughter, Siiri Emilia (1904–1969). Juho was away from home a lot due to his work and at home the responsibility of raising children fell on Emilia.

In 1911, Juho Kekkonen got a job as a log salesman for Kajaani's Puutavara Osakeyhtiö, At first, the Kekkonens had a one-room and kitchen apartment, but later they moved to the largest two-room and kitchen apartment in the house. Juho Kekkonen traveled around Kainuu for his work and often stayed for long periods of time on his trips. However, in the politically young Finn and independence-minded family, schooling was valued, and both boys were given the opportunity to study at the Kajaani Co-educational School. which had a strong influence on his attitude to life; he began to be called "Preacher Kekkonen" because he had a habit of including quotations from the Bible in his everyday speech. Juho Kekkonen died in Kajaani after several years of illness at the age of only 55. He was buried in the Kajaani cemetery.