My Journey to the Past

Donna Koper

About the author: Donna Koper grew up with a family of eight children in farming communities of southern Saskatchewan. She landed in the big city of Calgary in 1960 where she worked, married and raised four children. Donna is now retired and lives on a working farm near Cochrane, Alberta. In the summer her passion is gardening; in the winter, the never-ending task of genealogy. She is compiling her family history for publication and she says that life is good!

My lifelong dream of going to Estonia to learn of the land, its people and their culture began September 23, 2008 for three weeks. In my journey to uncover my family history I had the privilege of meeting many wonderful individuals who showed me just how warm and friendly my ancestral home of Estonia truly is. I would like to share a few highlights of my experiences with you.

Together with my husband Larry, who accompanied me on this trip of a lifetime, we gained new insight and an understanding of my family's history. I am grateful to Dave Kiil for the online introduction to Are Saarne, Chief Genealogist of the Tallinn Chapter of the Estonian Genealogical Society who resides in Tallinn. The day after our arrival Are began our immersion experience with a trip to Albu Manor (it is now a school) where my ancestors lived and toiled under the power of the manor - much to my surprise I learned that one of my forefathers was Taskmaster. Are had arranged a private tour for us with two of the schools most knowledgeable guides-teacher Enda Trubok and the Librarian. Historical records for Albu date back to 1282 and it was once the largest manor in Järvamaa. I could only wonder what part my ancestors played in its construction.

Day two Are whisked us off first to Paide to join the town’s Genealogical Society meeting - they say Tere to all AEHS members and gave me their Estonian Newsletter to present to you. One of the elders then took us on a tour to Türi to see the different sights that were bombed and destroyed during the Russian occupation and German invasion of WWII. He himself was sent off to Siberia for the then unlawful act of owning a house. From there we headed to explore the historic Järva-Madise Church for another private tour. Hard to believe I was at the place of worship that my relatives attended as far back as the 16th century- many of whom would have found their final resting place in the vast cemetery. As a note of interest during invasion years, peasants put in a false ceiling in the upper tower where they hid and lived to escape their enemies. People sheltering them would raise food and water via ropes lowered from holes cut out in the tower. The War of Independence Memorial now majestically stands at the gates entrance.

Are took us on numerous excursions of which each and everyone was memorable but too many to mention at this time. However, I would be remiss if I did not mention the awesome sight of Old Town in Tallinn! Are gave us a tour of the numerous wondrous medieval sights to explore, one of which was the Estonian Museum. When my Great Grandfather and his sons immigrated to Saskatchewan in 1903, they constructed "teepee" style shelters on their homesteads as temporary dwellings until their houses were built. Imagine my surprise upon entering the Museum the first thing I saw was a replica of one of those shelters! We were fortunate in spending several days wondering about the cobblestone streets and exploring the numerous shops. Heh, I even convinced Larry to go to McDonald's with me.

Are, his wife Meeli and their adorable son, Marken, won our hearts immediately and shall ever remain in our minds as part of our new family. But now we are off to Simferopol, Crimea for the remaining ten days and a place I had little knowledge of. Wow! Not quite the affluent Canadian comfort we are accustomed to. Nadiya Gladzin was our knowledgeable guide and Urri our most skilled driver for the duration of our stay. We quickly became aware of the vast Estonian network in the Crimea, it seemed like everyone knew we were coming and were welcomed with open arms and hearts and treated like royalty! Our first hosts were "shirt-tail" relatives of my Grandmother- and they invited us to their flat for a scrumptious Estonian feast complete with champagne and caviar. Next day Nadiya had made arrangements to Konchi Saava where my ancestors settled after the trek of 1862 from Estonia. We were invited to the home of more "shirttail" relatives where about a dozen of the villagers gathered and showered us with flowers and gifts. After a long discussion (thanks to Nadiya's interpreting) of the Village history, its people and pouring over pictures, we were able to gain a greater understanding of my family's hardships and struggles that they endured before crossing the Big Pond.

Like magic, a HUGE Estonian feast was set before us – the presentation was something right out of a gourmet cookbook. All this from someone who has only the barest essentials in their kitchen let alone running water! Outhouses are the norm for this part of the world. Anyway, served along with this feast is of course, champagne, caviar and the infamous Vodka.

Next we all had to pay a mandatory visit down the street where the Village’s eldest citizen, Anna Papelbeu -she was absolutely adorable and had quite the sense of humour. Waiting for us was a table spread with caviar, ”appetizers” and what else-Vodka! Crammed in her extremely TINY kitchen, they serenaded us with many old Estonian songs which seemed to transport us to another time and place -Unforgettable!! Needless to say it was a heart-warming adventure for me with a lot of happy tears. My heartfelt thanks go to Nadiya for making all the prior arrangements to Konchi Saava which made for so many fond memories.

Another special time for me was meeting Leongard Salman, the most knowledgable man in all of Crimea for genealogical information- he has been helping me for the past year. Then there was Meeri Nikolskaja - the dearest soft-spoken lady who has spent her lifetime compiling old photographs of every Estonian village and town in Crimea. Not only did she accompany us on many of our excursions, she even met us at Simferopol Airport. That was rather humorous as she does not speak one word of English! Meeri loves to sing and has the voice of an angel - I recorded several songs that she sang for me and have put it on a disc which I have now listened to over and over.

Again, we did not spend time at the tourist hangouts but chose to follow the paths of my ancestors which gave me a whole new understanding of why they left Crimea for Canada. For this reason we saw how the majority of Crimean Estonians live - there is no middle class and for the most part they are stuck in past centuries with little or no chance of change.

It was a wonderful feeling to connect with my Estonian identity and come away knowing that to be an Estonian feels proud and good!! Aitäh to all my new friends.

Author’s acknowledgement

Huge bouquets of thanks to the following members of the AEHS who helped me prepare for my Estonian adventure: Helgi Leesment, Lillian Munz, Martha Munz Gue; to Bob Kingsep for posting my Help! notice on the AEHS website and to Dave Kiil for responding.

Tänan one and all!

Donna (Reinson) Koper