| | LEVEL OF DESCRIPTION: | Sous-fonds | | No.: | PR3396.002SF | | TITLE: | Edmonton Estonian Society sous-fonds | | CREATOR: | Edmonton Estonian Society | | DATE RANGE: | 1925-2010 | | EXTENT: | 0.40 m of textual records. -- 163 photographs. -- 49 negatives. | | ADMINISTRATIVE | | HISTORY/BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: | The Edmonton Estonian Society (EES) held its first general meeting at St. John’s Lutheran Church on December 4, 1949. The purpose of the EES was to coordinate Estonian community activities in the city of Edmonton, preserve Estonian history, and promote Estonian culture and traditions. The Society first celebrated Estonian Independence Day in 1950 with speeches, music, and art exhibits. In 1951 the celebration expanded to included folk dancing and a joint gala with members of Edmonton’s Latvian and Lithuanian communities.
By 1975 the EES had increased to 48 members and helped organize the Jaanipäev, mid-summer solstice, celebration at Sandy Lake in 1977 and 1978 as well as a celebration for the 60th anniversary of Estonian Independence in 1979. In 1978 the EES also participated in Edmonton Heritage Days, in conjunction with an Estonian folk dance group from Toronto. EES published a newsletter, Pajataja, which ceased publication in 1979. The EES would resume publication of a newsletter under the title Ajakaja, from 1989-1991. After a short hiatus, it restarted again in 1997, publishing articles in both Estonian and English.
Membership in the EES peaked in 1991, the same year Estonia declared independence from the USSR, leading to a renewal of interest in Estonian culture. In 1999, the Society celebrated its 50th anniversary with a centennial celebration at Linda Hall near Stettler, Alberta. Members of the EES also helped welcome Estonian President Lennart Meri and his family to Linda Hall in 2000. The following year the Society hosted the Estonian National Track and Field team, including Olympic decathlon gold medalist Erki Nool.
Former Edmonton Estonian Society Presidents include Robert Kreem (1949-1951), Andreas Pilt (1951-1954, 1956, 1958, and 1973), Feliks Lasberg (1955 and 1957), Nurmi Simm (1978, 1985-1987), Siim Ruusauk (1979-1982), Eda McClung (1988 and 1991), Rita Viivi Piil and Jan Urke (1992-1993), Toomas Pääsuke (1994-1998), and Dave Kiil (1999-2005).
In 2005, the Edmonton Estonian Society was amalgamated into the Alberta Estonian Heritage Society and Ajakaja became the publication of the provincial organization.
| | CUSTODIAL HISTORY: | Dave Kiil, member of the Alberta Estonian Heritage Society and former president of the Edmonton Estonian Society, deposited the records at the Provincial Archives of Alberta. | | SCOPE AND CONTENT: | The Edmonton Estonian Society sous-fonds forms part of the Alberta Estonian Heritage Society fonds along with the Medicine Valley Estonian Society sous-fonds and the Calgary Estonian Society sous-fonds.
The Edmonton Estonian Society sous-fonds consists of society records including membership lists, photographs of members and events organized by the society, minutes, correspondence, financial records, local history books, and issues of their newsletters Pajataja and Ajakaja.
The fonds also consists of personal documents of Estonian-Albertan pioneers including photographs, memoirs and correspondence.
| | GENERAL NOTE: | Information for the administrative history/biographical sketch was sourced from conversations with the donor and from the website “Alberta’s Estonian Heritage:” http://www.aehs.ca/ accessed July 8, 2010. | | RELATED FONDS: | PR3396 (Alberta Estonian Heritage Society)
|
|