Little room, big life – a glimpse into the world of Yrjö Miilos

Ella Liljeroos, a researcher of the Helsinki City Museum’s object collections, writes about the artefacts of a former resident of the one-room flat F11. With the reopening of the Worker’s Museum, more is now known about the everyday life and story of Yrjö Miilos.

Yrjö Anselm Miilos (1903–1985) was born Yrjö Laitinen in February 1903 in Pukkila to the family of Oskar and Olga Laitinen. He was the third child in the family and the first son. Later, a younger sister and younger brother came along. The family moved to Helsinki in 1913, where Yrjö Miilos lived until his death.

According to estate inventories and extracts from the population register, Miilos’s life took many turns. In his youth, he may have been a sailor. After that he worked as a precious metal worker, silversmith, carpenter and goldsmith.

Miilos was married three times: the first marriage (1940–1943) lasted three years, the second (1944–1955) eleven and the third (1957–1962) five years. There was no official record of children from any of the marriages, so he was survived by his brother, ten years his junior, and nephew. It is likely that the artefacts ended up in the Helsinki City Museum through his brother.

More than a thousand objects in one room

All the objects in Yrjö Miilos’s movable property were recorded in the Helsinki City Museum’s collections. With around 775 records created, it can be stated that one stove room can hold a surprising number of objects! However, this number does not reflect the actual number of items, as some items are grouped together as a single entity – a toolbox with its contents, for example. The number of items exceeds one thousand, really.

What do these objects tell us?

The items include tools for both metalworking and woodworking. Miilos has most likely used these tools to build a shelf under the fridge, fix the lid of a teapot or make a portable storage rack from sewing table drawers. The items also include an electric sewing machine, sewing supplies and many textile scraps. This suggests that he also knew how to mend clothes, sew his own ties and upholster furniture, for example. Also, the sheer range of occupations shows that Miilos was skilled with his hands.

Despite any television in the room, there were two radios and over fifty records. Most of the records were Finnish waltzes. Though a record player is missing, it was most likely in use and passed on to the estate before the items were donated to the museum. Perhaps dance halls and waltzes were part of Miilos’s leisure time?

Ties, books, and maps

Yrjö had as many as 53 ties, and some of them were even found in duplicate! He had both precious silk pieces and homemade ties. There were only four suits, so ties probably played an important role in the expression of his style. Many ties were worn from use, especially at the back of the neck. Hence, they were not just decorations, but part of Yrjö’s everyday clothing.

The bookshelf contained dictionaries from English to Russian and travel books from all over the world. The items also included browsed maps of Scandinavia, Japan, North and South America, Asia and Africa. The maps of North America and Japan were the most worn – perhaps a sign of travel or interest in those regions. The seafaring days of Miilos’s youth are reflected in his lifelong interest in languages and the world.

Letters and a camera – a connection to the world

A bunch of postcards were found on the bookshelf. Miilos had pen pals as far away as Japan. He had also exchanged items with a Japanese woman – she had given Miilos records and bookmarks, among other things.

The cards also included messages from a former colleague, sharing political opinions alongside everyday news. Among the books were also photography manuals. Miilos’s pastimes included strolling around Helsinki, where he took pictures of himself with a camera and a tripod. Perhaps he also sent pictures to his pen pals?

What you see on the surface often tells you little about the person. But when you “peel back the onion,” a multi-layered story emerges. Yrjö Miilos was not a lonely old man cooped up in his stove room, but a man who had seen the world and experienced life. Even with physical limitations, he remained in touch with the outside world.

Miilos moved into the stove room of the workers’ dwellings on Kirstinkuja from the outbuilding in the same yard after the sauna was built there. Objects and other archival material may have been lost in the move, meaning that there may be some things we cannot know. But what remains is a vivid record of the past.

Text: Ella Liljeroos, researcher, the Helsinki City Museum

• The Worker’s Museum opens on the Night of the Arts on 14 August
• Worker’s Museum 360°