Visit of President Kekkonen

President Urho Kekkonen was a great friend of Lapland and was eager to meet local people when visiting Salla.
During his visit to Salla, he stopped by Vihtori Vuorela’s house for a cup of coffee. His wife had even ironed a white tablecloth for the table. When drinking his coffee, President Kekkonen accidentally spilled some of it onto the white cloth. He apologised to the wife, who naturally answered that there was no need to worry, no harm was done.
After a while, the same accident happened to the host and more coffee stains were spreading on the white cloth. Indignant, the wife scolded her husband: “And there I have another clumsy oaf…”
Still, the visit remained quite pleasant until the end.
It was not long after this that Vuorela’s wife received a package from the capital city and, lo and behold, from the Office of the President of the Republic.
The package contained two white tablecloths, and the note was signed: ”From the first clumsy oaf.”