The Genre of Trolls - Doria

the 1880s onwards. Between 1893 and 1910, 17.1 % of the parishioners had
left Finland; from the whole county of Vasa, more than 40 000 people emigrated
to non-European countries in 1893–1901. Emigration reached its
peak in 1901–1913. The emigrants were mostly of lower social status: dependent
lodgers, cottars, peasant boys and girls (Lönnqvist 1972: 59–60;
Åkerblom 1963: 9, 13, 18).
Any large-scale industrialization or mechanization of farming methods
were not discernible during the period studied. The shoe factory, founded
in 1908, and the Hällnäs sawmill, established in 1890, were the only major
employers in the parish. However, local ventures were fairly numerous.
Several dairies and co-operative dairies were set up in 1886–1902, and various
steam mills and saw-mills from the 1880s onwards. The farming guild
of Vörå was instituted in 1902. By the 1890s Vörå could boast many shops,
including specialized ones, in the different villages. The landless workers
employed in industry furnished the principal customer base, since they
were paid in cash (Lönnqvist 1972: 65–66, 63–64; Åkerblom 1963: 76–84,
101, 122–134).
Finland got its Education Decree in 1866 which meant that public schools
were established for children, making education freely available to the masses
for the first time (Nykvist 1979b: 316; Talve 1997: 317). However, the
parish of Vörå was already running 21 permanent village schools in 1862.
The number of pupils amounted to 730, and lessons were given during 22
weeks each year. Some parishioners also attended Anders Svedberg’s renowned
school in Munsala, and several of the village teachers sat in on his
classes in order to improve their own teaching and educational level. By
1886 the number of schools had increased to three elementary schools with
97 pupils and 22 primary schools with 770 pupils. Twenty-one children attended
school in Vasa (Lönnqvist 1972: 64; Nykvist 1979b: 315; Åkerblom
1963: 266). In 1898 municipalities were enjoined to establish schools if a
minimum of 30 children had been registered for education, and since the
maximum distance to school was set at five kilometres, many new schools
were created. The immediate background for this decree was the intensification
of Russification implemented by the Russian authorities at the
time, and a good education was perceived as the best bulwark against such
attempts (Nykvist 1979b: 321). At the end of the period, in 1925, the parish
of Vörå had thirteen elementary schools (Åkerblom 1963: 275–294). The
folk high school was founded in 1907 (Lönnqvist 1972: 64; Nykvist 1979b:
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