On christmas 2017

The centennial of Finland’s independence is coming to a close, and Christmas is almost upon us.

The operational period of our family society is almost finished as well for the year. We gathered in July to celebrate a two-day family reunion in Hirvaskoski, with the theme “Together at our common ancestry”. I want to thank all those who participated in getting to know our roots in the footsteps of Anders Wikström in Kesänen, the ironworks location Ruukki, and Penttilä on Saturday, as well asthe annual general meeting and family reunion on Sunday. Trip on the Ukko-Majava cruiser was a great experience. New people have also joined our family society: in honour of our centennial the number of members has exceeded a hundred, and is now 107. I would like to warmly welcome also the new members to be a part of the society’s activities. The new board of directors that was
elected in the annual general meeting will start planning the future activities in the beginning of next year.


The Penttilä branch of the family lost one of its dearly beloved members a week ago when Yrjö
Vikström, also known as Pentti-Yki, passed away. He will always be remembered as a person who loved their home region a great deal. Yrjö cherished traditions and appreciated the founding and operations of the Anders Vikström family society. Yrjö’s burial service will take place in Pudasjärvi Church, at 11am on the 30th of December, and the memorial service will be held after that in the Pudasjärvi Parish Centre. Everyone is welcome at the funeral.

Please let either Eija Pohjanvesi (tel. 0408498233) or Aino Niskasaari (tel.
0400243180) know by 26th of December if you will attend the service. You can also sign up on the society webpage, using the sign-up form.

You can honour Yrjö’s memory by taking part in a shared condolence card. The funds collected
with this condolence card will be donated to the Anders Wikström family society. You can pay your contribution via the flower shop and funeral home Pihlaja in Pudasjärvi, or directly to Anders Wikström family society account. The account number is FI83 5360 0420 048129, if you are paying from abroad, please contact Vesa Holmström for the account details. You can also participate in the condolence card in Tulitauko or Ervasti village shop.


Thank you for the year 2017. I wish all society and family members Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2018.

Vesa Holmström

Chairman of the
Anders Wikström family society


Dear family members AD 2017 !

The centennial of Finland’s independence is nearly halfway through. This summer it is again the time to gather together for the Wikström family society’s annual general meeting and

reunion. Our theme this year is “Together at our common ancestry”, and we will
convene at Hirvaskoski and Kurenalus in Pudasjärvi, on the 14th to 16th of July
2017.

The theme of Finland’s centenary events is also “Together”. The members of this family have been scattered around the country and the world, we have made new roots, and the roots and
memories of our parents and ancestors have started to fade. One of the aims of the family society is to refresh our memories and bring the family members together to remember the beaches, fields and fells of our birthplaces.

“We must find the memory of our roots. Soften to hear the echo of the anvil. We are the family of iron, family of the master blacksmith”. (Poem Täytyy löytää juurien muisti by Inkeri Karvonen, translation Mari Holmström)

The poem I quote here can be found in the back cover of Hannu Rouru’s book, Kesäsestä
maailmalle
. An additional edition of the book (100 books) will be commissioned, and it can be purchased for the price of 30€ at the family reunion in July, or directly from me.

The programme frame for the family reunion and annual general meeting can be found on the society webpage’s English section.


Welcome to Pudasjärvi and Hirvaskoski!

Vesa Holmström


PS. Have you already paid the membership fee for 2017?


on christmas 2016

This year’s family reunion and annual general meeting were held in Suolijärvi. Many of our family members visited this remote village in Kainuu for the first time, and the visit several of them with unforgettable memories. One of the most memorable events during the family reunion was a tour of the Mäkelä house, with a presentation of the history of the Komila branch of the family. Many thanks to the people in Suolijärvi for organising the fine events.

Some suggestions for the family society operations surfaced in the annual general meeting. In its assembly in the autumn, the board decided to commemorate the newborn family members, in addition to birthdays. One of the challenges can be to receive information of the new members to our family. Therefore, we hope that such happy events would be reported to us via the contact form on the website.

The upcoming year is the centennial of Finland’s independence. The family reunion and the annual general meeting will be held from the 14th to the 16th of July 2017, at the Hirvaskoski school in Pudasjärvi. The society board has started planning the programme of the event, and the board members and the substitute members take part in organising the gathering. The planning continues in the beginning of the year 2017.

The number of members in the family society has not yet reached a hundred. I hope that the centennial year brings a needed boost for this matter as well, and the number of family members in the society reaches a three-digit number. Next year the membership fees will be collected during January and February, because that way we are paying for the future, not for the past.

I am writing this on the night of the 4th Advent. The wait for Christmas is soon over and the decorated homes are soon ready to welcome the expected visitor of Christmas.

I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, also on behalf of the society board.

Vesa Holmström
Chairman of the Anders Wikström family society board

announcement after midsummer 2016

Summer is starting to reach its verdant colors and families and family societies are beginning to arrange reunions and gather together. The descendants of Anders Wikström are on the same path.

This summer we will gather together in the village of Suolijärvi in Puolanka, where Anders’ grandson Janne Wikström (later on he changed his name to Virrankari) moved from Komila via Koira-Aho in Jaurakkajärvi. He settled with his family in a house in Mäkelä, which has later been renovated and is now in fine condition. The house in Mäkelä is one of the houses in which it is possible to take a tour during the reunion in Suolijärvi, as well as the house in Ketola which is also historically significant for the descendants of the Komila branch of the family.

It is my great wish that the family meets in strength in Suolijärvi and thus enables the realization of the family society’s aims, and increases the sense of solidarity between family members. Our aim is also to further local history work by getting to know the whispers of the woodlands, the splashes of the wild lakes, without forgetting the roaring rapids and shoddy swamps, as stated in the anthem of the Kainuu region, the home of the famous Finnish author Ilmari Kianto.

I, for one, would like to wish everyone a great summer, also on behalf of the Anders Wikström family society board.

Welcome to Suolijärvi!

Vesa Holmström
Chairman of the family society board

letter on christmas 2015

In its meeting in October, the Anders Wikström family society board accepted 31 new members into the society. The family society has now 84 registered members, and in my opinion the number has increased in a satisfactory manner, and soon we will reach three digit numbers. The aim is that the number of members will at least exceed a hundred members during next year. Membership fees have been paid reasonably well. In retrospect, reminding members of unpaid fees was not difficult, judging by the apologies I received in regards to the unpaid fees. Thank you for your membership in the society.

The development of the society’s webpages was also discussed in the same meeting. The translation of the webpages is still on the agenda. Mari Holmström has promised to work on the translation within the limits of her study schedule, and I am collaborating with her regarding the matter. The address of the webpage is still www.anderswikstrominsukuseura.com.

The plan is that the reunion and annual meeting next year will be held in Suolijärvi, in Puolanka, on the 13th of August 2016. During the reunion, it would also be possible to take a tour of the Mäkelä and Ketola houses, which are both historically significant places in the family. In 2017, when Finland reaches the honorable mark of 100 years of independence, the reunion is tentatively planned to take place in the new school built of timber in Pudasjärvi. This meeting could be classified as a family celebration. The society could invite the Finnish Minister of Interior Petteri Orpo, who is a member of the family, as the honorary speaker. The celebration is tentatively planned to take place from the 14th to 16th of July in 2017.

Updating the family book Kesäsestä maailmalle has also been on my mind. I have attended classes regarding the matter, and the society has also procured a genealogy software to enable the updating of the book. We are advancing slowly but steadily in this matter.

The society’s coat of arms is also being planned. Anna Vikström has made tentative designs for it that the board has viewed, and the work on the design continues.

This autumn I have taken part in executing a CD that was produced by the Sotkajärvi village society, the CD is called Tuttu Tie Kotiin. The recording includes patriotic music with a feel of Christmas, as well as speeches. Performing on the CD are the opera singer Hannu Niemelä, pianist Markus Vaara, music teacher Sari Hukari, Vox Margarita choir and Vesa Holmström giving the speeches. The income from the CD is allocated in full to the war veterans in Pudasjärvi, and the price of the CD is 15€. It is being sold in several shops in Pudasjärvi, and can also be ordered from me or Henrik Hämäläinen, either by phone (Vesa +3584003877671 and Henrik +358400588626) or via the website. The cost of the envelope and postage fee will be added to the price.

The year has almost reached its end and soon it is Christmas. Thank you all again for the meeting last summer in Pudasjärvi, and thank you for your membership in the family society to increase solidarity among the family members.

The board of the Anders Wikström family society and I wish you all Merry Christmas.

Vesa Holmström
Chairman of the family society board

membership letter on midsummer 2015

The society board has assembled a few times during the past year and made plans for the society based on the contents of the constitutive meeting. The aim has been to think of different ways to “find” the descendants of Anders Wikström and in that way also to welcome them to take part in the society’s activities and reunions. When the society was established, one of the most important aims was to increase the sense of solidarity between family members.

The amount of members in the society is currently approximately 50, and we know that before the society was established a hundred times that amount of family members could be reached. The society’s aim is to increase the amount of members significantly. Word-of-mouth is a good tool to achieve this aim, so please let family members know about the society.

One of the conversation topics in the constitutive meeting was the necessity of webpages for the society. The board has been very active regarding this matter, and the webpages have been launched and can be found at www.anderswikstrominsukuseura.com. The website is still at a developing stage, and all of the elements are not fully functional yet. The webpages are and will be used to inform the family members of the society’s activities. Through the webpages people can contact the society board, apply to become a member, find instructions on paying the membership fee etc.

The family reunion and annual general meeting will be held on Sunday the 2nd of August in 2015. The event begins with a service at the Pudasjärvi church at 10am. The first announcement of the reunion was published in the Kaleva newspaper on the 17th of June 2015. More information about the schedule for the event can be found in the attached document. I warmly welcome you all in great numbers to join the family meeting. Please bring as many family members as you can.

I wish a great Midsummer celebration and summer to all of the members of the Anders Wikström family society and all the family members. Better weather and good berry crops are still ahead of us.

Vesa Holmström
Chairman of the family society board

Thank You

The reunion and annual general meeting on the 2nd of August arranged by the Anders Wikström family society was a great success. Slightly more than 80 members of the family were present, and the board received approximately 30 new applications to join the society. The board will approve the applications in the next meeting.

On behalf of the board, I would like to give my sincerest thanks to all of those present at the reunion. My compliments to Sari and Inkeri for their performances. Food and coffee were delicious, and I would like to thank Marjatta and Martti for the catering. We were able to sell about 300 lottery tickets. Thank you for those who donated prizes and those who bought the lottery tickets.

The expiry date for the membership fees is the 31st of August 2015.

Happy autumn to all!

Vesa Holmström
Chairman of the family society board