I am blessed to be working at a job, which offers me always a variety of different tasks. Also surprises and challenges, so I never get bored. One interesting assignment is the house visits. There are many Estonians who fled from the World War to Canada, living all around the country. They get old or they pass, and the descendants are left with various Estonian memorabilia, which is looking for a new home.
It is wonderful to be welcomed to strangers’ homes to go through their items, which are oftentimes so beautifully arranged and displayed. It shows the owner’s appreciation of the items representing their home country and pride in being Estonian.
Pictured is a photo of Ene-Liis’ home, specifically her dining room. On its table, she had laid out all of the items she no longer wishes to keep, but which represent her travel to Canada from Estonia, gifts brought from there or items her mom used to make. In one word – history. Not just her or her family’s, but the history of Estonians who found a new home in Canada.
Museums are into preserving the people’s or countries’ heritage. So there are always items they are looking for, not only these but also the stories behind the items. VEMU got a nice collection of items and stories from Ene-Liis’ kind donation. These items will preserve the history and display the life of many people in the museum, which allow other people to get to know more about the Estonian diaspora in Canada.