Kerttu Luhtala – teacher and philanthropist
Teacher Kerttu Luhtala suddenly suffered a serious medical emergency and passed away in Heinola on 6th October. She was born in Kanneljärvi on 26th December 1913.
Kerttu Luhtala left a significant mark on Heinola's educational and cultural history. She worked for the good of her own town with the fine qualities of a teacher.
He was strong-willed, fair and a demanding person. These qualities have been invaluable to him and to his decades-long work as an educator.
Kerttu Luhtala, who was born in Karelia, was forced to leave her home and lost her husband in the turmoil of war. With her young daughter, she did not let her losses paralyse her. She went wherever circumstances required her to go at any given time.
Kerttu Luhtala qualified as a primary school teacher in 1936 from the Sortavala seminary. Later, she completed a subject teacher degree in mother tongue in 1970 and she gained qualification as a primary school history teacher in 1971. Luhtala worked as a teacher at Enso primary school in two separate stints and in between for three years in Haapajärvi.
In Heinola, he was a teacher at Jyränkö School from 1944 to 1974, during which time he served as headteacher from 1956 to 1965. At the same time, he shouldered responsibility for public affairs.
She was a member of the Lahti Teachers' Association District for over 20 years and for five years in the late 1960s as vice-chairperson.
He was elected as a member of the federal council of the Finnish Elementary School Teachers' Association for the years 1953–1956. He was a board member of the Heinola City Teachers' Association from 1951 to 1970 and was elected vice-chairman from 1962 to 1970.
Kerttu Luhtala considered it important to value the diverse skills of women. She made a significant contribution to the Heinola Business and Professional Women's Association. She bore responsibility in the association over several different periods. She was elected chairperson of the association for over 20 years. Following this, she went on to serve for well over ten years as honorary chairperson.
Decades of school and educational work required of him continuous study, an untiring hobby of reading, listening and reflective discussion, even debate.
Teacher Kerttu Luhtala served as a member of the Heinola town social welfare board for 18 years and likewise as a member of the kindergarten and nursery board, as well as chair of the latter for 9 years. She was a deputy member of the town council from 1961 to 1964 and a teacher member of the primary school board from 1962 to 1964. Having been elected as a member of the church council of the Heinola town parish, she was actively involved for over 20 years. During that time, she made historically and culturally significant initiatives, for example regarding the graveyard. The most significant initiative was likely the restoration of the Old Vicarage for the use of the parish community.
In the parish's social work activities, he was involved in developing the tradition of a Christmas meal for the unemployed and their families. The unemployed and those living in hardship were close to his heart in other ways too. Part of the same theme was the project to organise the end apartment of the small vicarage as temporary supported housing for those in need.
Kerttu Luhtala has been awarded numerous medals and badges of merit. The portrait commissioned by the Heinola Business and Professional Women's Association from the artist Leena Puranen was donated to the city in 1989.
Teacher Luhtala also made personal, culturally and historically valuable donations. To the Heinola urban parish, she gave items associated as beautiful symbols of Christian light: four candle sconces decorating the church pulpit, and in the chapel of the old vicarage there is a pair of silver candlesticks designed by Tapio Wirkkala.
Heinola City Museum received a valuable collection of medals and coins numbering around 150 pieces. The oldest medals originate from over 1,000 years ago. In the premises of the art museum, one can see works of art and graphics from the Luhtala collection, of which he donated a collection of 47 paintings. In addition, a few paintings were received from him to decorate the premises of the Heinola Music Institute.
Anja Mastosalo
