The Otto and Olga Klaus Story
Otto Klaus was born on December 20, 1881 in Vaike Maaria, a small town in central Estonia. He moved with his family to Pranti Mets (located half way between Moscow and Leningrad) and there met Olga Soop. They married in Moscow in 1908. Olga, born September 11, 1884 in Estonia, had lived in Poland before moving to Pranti Mets. Their daughter, Alide (whose name was Canadianized to Aletha when she started school in Canada), was born on Feb. 17, 1909. Ever in search of a better home, the family moved to Simbirsk, Russia when Aletha was a year old. Emile (born in 1913) and Alexander (born in 1915) were born in Simbirsk but only survived until the ages of seven and five years, both dying in 1919. Alfred was born on Nov. 14, 1920.
During the Russian Revolution around 1917, Russians were expropriating other people's land. Otto Klaus was a farmer in Russia. Roving bands of soldier’s seized anything they wanted from the unarmed people. A Russian family had been given Otto's house and most of his possessions. As a result, Otto and his family were forced to live in a granary. There was no stove in this building so Olga had to ask the Russian family if she could cook her food in their former home. This was allowed but for a price, of course. Otto feared that the ‘Russian Bear’ was going to put its paw on Estonia again. His fear of the Russians motivated him to write to his brothers who had settled in Canada, near Stettler, at the turn of the century. Otto wrote to the Klauses, hoping that one of his brothers would get the letter. They responded by inviting Otto and his family to Canada and sent him tickets for the crossing.
They left Simbirsk as part of a prisoner trade arrangement which allowed Estonian citizens to return to their now independent homeland. The twelve cattle cars full of Estonian families who had journeyed to Moscow for their return trip to Estonia had to wait there for two weeks because of the poor condition of the trains and the lack of coal to run them. Eventually they made their way to Estonia. Otto Klaus worked on the railroad while they were in Estonia. In Narva, the northeastern border town, Otto and his family were again detained, searched and relieved of most of their possessions. Their clothes were boiled so no diseases could be brought into Estonia. The few gold items and jewelry that had been hidden in the false bottom of a suitcase that Otto made were used to buy food and pay living expenses in Estonia. Customs officials had not searched this suitcase. Otto had Olga strategically place soiled diapers around the edges in order to deter the search.
In September 1922, Otto and his family left Tapa, Estonia. They journeyed to Riga, Latvia and waited two days before a small boat took them across the Baltic Sea to Liverpool, England. They boarded a ship run by Cunard Lines, crossing the ocean in nine days. Waves came over the ship several times but for the most part the weather was good. They arrived in Quebec City on September 17, 1922. A train took them via Montreal on to Stettler, arriving there four days later.
The Otto Klaus family stayed with brother Ed and his wife Pauline and family for the first winter. The following year, Otto and his family moved to a small shack on property near the Red Deer River, west of Big Valley. While living with Ed and family, Aletha attended Wooded Hills School. Aletha stayed with Alex and Amanda Klaus and went to school at Aunger. She moved back with her parents once an addition to the house was constructed. She then attended Vimy School. Otto rented additional farmland, raised a few cows and worked for other people during the winters. Open rangeland was still available but it was quickly being settled. Otto purchased land from Montreal Trust Co. for $10.00 per quarter section (160 acres). This was the amount that had been advertised overseas to attract immigrants to Canada: "HOMESTEADS FOR $10.00". Freedom of speech and freedom of religion were also part of the advertising that appealed to many newcomers. In 1938, Otto bought land northwest of Big Valley from a Mr. Eaton who lived in the United States. Fred Biggs, the County Secretary, assisted with the communication for the purchase. Otto paid $2,500 for two quarter sections. On November 14, 1939, after building a house that was modern at the time, the family moved. Alfred attended Vimy School and then continued his education in Big Valley, living in the dormitory for part of the time.
Farm life posed many hardships. People needed to be self-reliant so the family raised chickens, pigs, cattle, wheat, oats, barley, strawberries, vegetables, and small fruit that would survive on the prairies. Thus they could provided their own meat, vegetables, jams, wine, eggs, milk, butter, preserved fruits and other commodities required for daily living. Trips to the nearby town were infrequent as roads were not always passable. The entire family worked extremely hard in order to survive and accumulate property.
Horses were a necessary part of farm life at this time. Otto had six horses that were always in front of the plow, disc or harrows. Another saddle horse was used to get the cows and help at branding time. Three or four families usually got together to do the branding and Olga and Aletha cooked for the entire group. There were always lots of visitors in the Klaus household. Most guests would be served dinner, lunch or breakfast depending on the time of their visit.
Linda Hall was one of the centers for community get-togethers. The Klaus family participated in many Estonian occasions that were held there. Christmas was always celebrated here with performances by members of the community, young and old, and Santa Claus always arrived. In July, Buffalo Lake was the setting for the Farmer's Picnic, where activities for the children were organized, everyone joined in the pot luck lunch and various activities such as ball games, horseshoes and nail pounding contests provided entertainment for all.
Aletha married Ado Tipman in August, 1940. Ado was a school teacher and also of Estonian heritage. The Tipman family had four children: Bob, Marlene, Allan and Thomas. Thomas died at birth. The three Tipman children and their families follow many Estonian traditions. Bob Tipman is President of Alberta Estonian Heritage Society (AEHS). Bob and his wife Kathy, have two children: Liisa and James. They all attend and participate in the varied activities of A.E.H.S.
Marlene and her husband Kalev Kuutan, also of Estonian background, live in Toronto. Marlene has been on the Board of Directors for Estonian House in Toronto since 1999.
They have three children: Kersti-Li, Aili and Eon. The children are trilingual, having gone to Estonian School and participated in a French Immersion Program.
Allan and his wife, Marianne, live in Calgary and attend A.E.H.S. functions whenever possible. Ado Tipman passed away in May, 1990 at 85 years. Aletha stayed on the farm for two years but found the winters too lonely so moved to Stettler where she lived until her sudden passing on July 2,1999. Two weeks prior, Aletha was pleased to attend the Estonian Centennial Celebration at Linda Hall. It was the largest gathering of Estonians in Alberta.
Alfred Klaus married Irma Nitschke and they raised two children, Ron and Audrey, while farming in the Big Valley area. During this time Alfred and Otto shared farm duties and both lived on the property in separate houses. As Otto's health declined, Alfred assumed full responsibility for the farm.
Otto and Olga Klaus celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary in July, 1958 at the home of Aletha and Ado Tipman. Otto suffered a stroke in 1963 and passed away on January 20, 1965. Olga continued to live on the farm for a few years and then went to live with Aletha and Ado Tipman. She lived with them until she passed away on July 30, 1977, a month and a half prior to her 93rd birthday. She had lived long enough to welcome two great-granddaughters, Keri and Kersti-Li.
In 1969, Alfred sold the farm. He moved to Stettler and went to work for the County of Stettler as an assistant field man. He held this position until his retirement at age 65.
Alfred and Irma's son, Ron and his wife, Carol, have two children, Shannon and Jason. They are often in attendance at Estonian functions at Linda Hall. Audrey and her husband Dan Benjamin have two girls, Keri and Amri ( Irma -spelled backwards). They are often in attendance at Estonian functions.
Irma Klaus passed away in July, 1980, following an asthma attack. Alfred later married Joyce Wilson in December, 1981. Alfred and Joyce continue to enjoy their retirement and are members of the A.E.H.S.
The descendants of Otto and Olga Klaus celebrate their Estonian heritage and have passed on many traditions to the next generation.
Prepared by Irene Kerbes from notes compiled by Marlene (Tipman) Kuutan, and Alfred and Joyce Klaus
