Alberta’s Estonian Heritage - website
Helgi Leesment
The Alberta Estonian website is available on the internet at abestonians.AlbertaSource.ca.
It focuses on Alberta Estonian history and is part of the AlbertaSource / Alberta Online Encyclopedia complex - an online learning resource - sitting among the websites of Alberta Italians, First Nations people, University of Alberta centennial, the Francophone community, etc. Written in a straightforward, simple style, this website is intended for use by school children as well as adults. Students looking for Estonian-related topics for school assignments may wish to look at the stories, brief biographies, accounts and photos offered. People looking to complete blanks in their family genealogy or those wanting to reconnect with long lost relatives may also find helpful information at this website. All of the information and photos are organized under the headings: History, People, Communities, Cultural Life, and Multimedia Resources (such as photos and video clips). The Search feature enables the finding of specific names and topics. The SiteMap is an excellent detailed guide to the contents.
Created in partnership with AlbertaSource.ca, part of Heritage Community Foundation, and major input from the Alberta Estonian Heritage Society (AEHS), the site was ceremoniously launched on May 3, 2008 at the Snell Auditorium of the Public Library in Red Deer, generously hosted by the Heritage Community Foundation. A preliminary version of Alberta’s Estonian Heritage website has been available since the Fall of 2007; however it has been substantially expanded and updated since then. The site was made possible by grants from Alberta’s Community Initiatives Program and Canada’s New Horizons for Seniors Program.
The session was graced by a small display of Estonian national costumes, selected by Valerie Miller, Collections Coordinator of the Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery, and brought to the launch location by Melanie Berndt who ably guarded the heritage items, providing background information as asked. The girl’s outfit had been commissioned from Toronto by Dr. Rita Matiisen and the Museum in the 1980’s. The other items are treasures from area Estonian families.
At the May 3 official launch of the Alberta’s Estonian Heritage Website, Master of Ceremonies Dr. Adriana Davies, editor-in-chief of AlbertaSource.ca, introduced Bob Kingsep, president of the Alberta Estonian Heritage Society. Both Dr. Davies and Bob Kingsep spoke of the importance of the recognition of the Estonian community within Alberta’s ethnic groups and especially the value of family histories.
Among the honoured guests invited by Dr. Adriana Davies were Cal Dallas – MLA for Red Deer South; Sonia Bitar – Citizenship Judge for Northern Alberta with Souheil, and speakers Mary Ann Jablonski – Minister of Seniors and Community Supports, Red Deer North; Blaine Calkins – Member of Parliament – Ponoka-Wetaskiwin and Morris Flewwelling, CM, Mayor of Red Deer, Chair of Heritage Community Foundation and his wife Hazel. The speakers brought greetings from the Province of Alberta, the Government of Canada and the host city Red Deer.
As a thank you to the honoured guests, Bob Kingsep presented each one with a copy of the Alberta’s Estonians DVD. The National Estonian Foundation of Canada ( Eesti Sihtkapital Kanadas), with partial funding from the Community Initiatives Program, funded this half-hour documentary which was released last year.
Dave Kiil, communications director for the AEHS heading the historical projects, thanked the many people who gave of their time and family records in order to create this substantial Estonian heritage website.
Despite Dave’s modesty, all present were well aware of the tremendous volunteer work done by him organizing and documenting mountains of submitted materials for the Heritage Community Foundation who in turn edited these and created the Estonian website. In recognition, AEHS president Bob Kingsep awarded Dave Kiil a framed certificate of thanks. Dave’s colleagues Eda McClung and Helgi Leesment also received similar framed citations detailing their particular contributions to the project.
The May 3rd launch event was made even more interesting by the concurrent demonstration of the website during the verbal presentations. Clifford Barnett, senior programmer of the Heritage Community Foundation, clicked on appropriate webpages illustrating families, individuals, places and other aspects as these were mentioned by the various speakers. The photos and stories showed on a large screen beside the podium, making for an interesting multi-tasking multi-media afternoon followed by a light lunch and opportunity to chat.
The news media was also present and interviews were held before and after the launch ceremony. The event was recorded in the Red Deer Advocate and briefly shown on television.
