In Penttilänvaara there is a provincially valuable protected old residential building Laitela, which was built in the 1850s. It has been in its current location since 1906. Laitela farm is located on the top of Penttilänvaara, and the house is owned by Tuomo Karjalainen (2021).
The village school was completed in 1950 in a beautiful place on the shore of the lake.
Taimi Pitkänen
Taimi Pitkänen b. Pätsi (1925–2017) diligently photographed the life of her home village Penttilänvaara and neighbouring villages with her small camera during the war. Her archive also has plenty of pictures from the evacuation time in Ii during the Winter War. Now afterwards, Taimi Pitkänen wonders why the evacuation of the Continuation War was not photographed. Throughout her three-week trip with the cattle to Rantsila, she kept a diary, but no pictures were taken on the trip. “I guess it’s like a researcher has stated that you don’t even want a picture of unpleasant things and unpleasant people as a memory”, Taimi Pitkänen has speculated.
Taimi Pitkänen in Suonansaari in Posio, when she was returning together with photographer Juhani Kinnunen from Reino Rinne’s birthday. Photo: Juhani Kinnunen
The trench railway during the war in Penttilänvaara in 1943. Taimi Pitkänen photographed the trench railway secretly from the Germans.
Photo sender: Ilkka Vanttaja, Taimi Pitkänen’s son