Abstract

Oiva Toivo Ketonen was born in Teuva January 21, 1913, into a family that all together raised 13 children. Oiva was child number eight. Based on his unfinished autobiography, there seems to have been much going on in the small village, Perälä, where he grew up.1 The village saw some action during Ketonen's childhood despite its small size: during 1919–1932, the government passed a prohibition law on alcohol. This naturally led to a lot of illegal smuggling.2 Perälä connected two important roads in the region, so it became something of a strategic hub for these local bandits. Ketonen still later remembered the village's law-enforcer roaming the roads on a sidecar-equipped Harley-Davidson motorcycle. During his youth, Ketonen reveals in the autobiography, everyday experiences taught him the reality of life, in many respects. The law-governedness of nature etched itself deeply into his consciousness. “There were strange things, but also they are part of the natural order.”3 He recalls that these experiences proved to be extremely valuable: He noticed, for example, how “narrow-minded and strange conceptions some other students had” regarding theological questions and the individuals relationship with the church