Kusti William Mouru was born in Kauhava, Finland on January 24th, 1914. He died in High Falls, New York on January 18th, 1994 . . . six days short of his 80th birthday. He was born in a sauna and he died in a sauna.
Kusti grew up on his parent’s farm in Finland. I remember him telling me that he had Palomino horses. I also remember him telling me he was kicked in his face while shoeing one of his horses. Being the handsome lad he was, he had his herd of girlfriends too. It wasn’t admitted often, but enough has been said to know he knew how to party ’till the cows came home for milking in the morning. Will anyone ever know now if he serenaded the girls with his accordion or harmonica playing?
Kusti claimed to have been struck at by lightening on two different occasions. It was one of those shocking instances that actually saved his life. Because of being struck at by lightening, he was hospitalized. The day after he was admitted into the hospital for his several months of recovery, his battalion was wiped out by the Russians.
He legally immigrated from Finland into the United States via Toronto, Canada, in the beginning of the 50’s. This was after he served as a Sergeant Major in the Finnish Army during World War II. It was in Toronto that he met his one and only bride to be in the year 1951. He taught himself English when he came to America. He never was one to depend upon others for anything if he could help it.
He began his new life as a family man in High Falls at a place he named, “Finn Villa.” His sister, Aino Mouru-Makelin, was the only relative he had who settled in the US. Aino married Kusti Makelin. They had one child named Helen. Shortly after, Kusti Mouru married Mamie Hill and they also had one child. Aino Makelin and Kusti Mouru, along with their spouses and other Finns, enjoyed good times at “Mirror Lake Lodge” in Ulster Park (near Port Ewen), NY. Aino settled with her husband and child in Boiceville, NY (approximately 20 miles from High Falls). Visits back and forth were regular until the late 60’s. Back then, Route 213 had hardly any houses and was mostly woods which made arriving by the Ashokan Reservoir enchanting, especially during the autumn months!
During the holidays of those years between the mid-fifties and late sixties, warm meals of venison, ham, and turkey were shared between Kusti Mouru’s and Kusti Makelin’s family. It was then their miniature live band was awakened by the hot saunas and chilling snow rolls Finns are so familiar with. The blend of a violin, harmonica, and accordion backed up the Finnish folk songs being joyously bellowed out (in Finnish of course) after some Vodka and sausage snacks. Those were the happy days.
Farm life was left behind in Finland. Kusti became a member of the Carpenter’s Union which provided opportunities for many projects. He was involved in the Kingston-Rhinecliff bridge building project along with the construction of the Marbletown Elementary School and the Ulster County Community College in Stone Ridge, NY. Those who have worked under his authority thought of him as a great boss. Many houses he either built new or renovated the structure. He built the High Falls Motel for his wife to operate full-time; for himself and his daughter to manage part-time. Even his in-ground pool he constructed himself. If something was broke, he knew how to fix it. There was almost nothing he could not figure out on his own. Whatever was his to do, he always did it his own way.
Guests at his Motel often heard Kusti’s war stories. He loved to chat with his guests as if they were already his friends. Impressions Kusti left behind have faded into the past so most of them will probably never be known. One comment about him however has survived to make it here: One summer weekend in 1980, Amado Boutet (Executive Secretary of the Panama Embassy) spent a couple of days getting to know Kusti. His comment about him was, “…he’s a very smart man who hides his intelligence.”
Kusti’s favorite expressions were: “Light’s on but nobody’s home,” and “That computer’s working.” He voiced these sayings, in his heavy Finn accent, well before computer usage as we know it today. He had cancer twice. Both times it was in his right arm and neither of those times did the cancer succeed in killing him. The doctors told Kusti his arm should be amputated if he was to have a chance to survive. Kusti told them, “No.” Once again, he knew what was best for himself. He willed to remain to care for his wife for all of her life. He always believed: “When the man upstairs wants me, he will take me.” Kusti knew his every heartbeat was numbered and when his purpose here on earth was done, he drifted into eternal rest while relaxing in his sauna on a cold winter night . . . alone at home in High Falls. His soft, well-worn, red-plaid flannel shirt . . . touched by pale blue paint drops on its sleeve . . . life-less on that dressing room bench; never again to rise. God prepared me for that day I knew I’d walk in alone to find his burned body slumped on the floor. Kusti let me know in his own way that he knew this was the way he would leave this world.
Here are photos of Kusti, his wife (Mamie), his sister (Aino), his brother-in-law (Kusti Makelin), and his niece (Helen).
