Jõekääru was abuzz with chainsaws and black flies last Saturday, as more than 45 Jõekääru property owners gathered for a day of community work, better known in Estonian as talgud.
The day began inauspiciously with a cool gentle rain descending until about 7 a.m. Work, however, had already commenced in the wee hours of the morning at the intersection of Lembitu Ave. and Estonian Rd. A large backhoe operated by Ted’s Excavating, along with Rick Tae and young Ivar Rannala had begun the business of removing an old culvert and replacing it with a new larger shinier one. Two more old and decayed culverts along Estonian Rd, at Vambola and Sulevi, would be replaced before the day’s end.
Little did the talgud participants realize when they gathered in the Jõekääru Suvekodu parking lot next to the new sauna at 9 a.m. that their brows would be sopped with sweat in a mere two hours when chilly dawn temperatures transformed into a sweltering mugginess.
Along the sides of the roads could be seen hats, jackets and shirts hanging from tree branches as Jõekääru worker-bees shed their outer garments to better handle the mid-morning heat. Not so easy to take were the swarms of black flies that pestered workers throughout the day. Reports suggested the bug invasion was worse on the west side of Jõekääru, but before the day was out volunteers on both sides of the river could be heard hacking and wheezing as they tried to dislodge the flies from their throats. Luckily the flies were too young to bite, but unfortunately they were old enough to be a confounding nuisance. A theory frequently heard throughout the day suggested that people wearing lighter coloured clothes were bothered less by the bugs. Another theory said that not washing for a few days kept the bugs away (not to mention friends and neighbours). In any case, Pirita Rd. resident Linda Tae, voicing an opinion shared by many, said most emphatically that never had the black flies been so bad.
Estonian Summer Homes Association (ESHA) accounts keeper Evi Novek and Maimu Schaer made the rounds by car at noon serving a variety of sandwiches, water and, most welcome of all, beer. By all accounts the sandwiches were superior to last year’s fare, though the cooks had remained the same.
The tall rotting fence surrounding the 30-year-old decayed and now little-used tennis court at the corner of Narva Ave. and Estonian Rd. was removed. The fence’s wood frame was in flames throughout the afternoon on the court’s tarmac.
An ancient and majestic willow overhanging the “tiik” at the west end of Narva was cut down and the wood was left for whoever was interested in taking it. Ditches all over Jõekääru were cleared as much as possible to improve water flows in an effort to reduce mosquito breeding grounds, with the aim of keeping the blood-sucking bug population and its threat of West Nile virus at bay.
ESHA executive Rick Tae was chief talgud operations organizer. Dynamic forward-looking association president Jaan Schaer kicked up a sweat managing the burning of debris on the east side of the Jõekääru river, above the two dams.
Long-time association member and property owner Lya Sarapuu was heard saying that in her estimation Jõekääru had never looked so clean.
Indeed, Jõekääru’s good looks have much to do with a new and invigorating spirit of community mindedness that is rivaling earlier times. Much of this turnaround is due to the unflagging efforts of Jaan Schaer and the ever more proactive ESHA executive which appear intent on including all property owners, and not just Estonians, in the affairs of Jõekääru.
By 3 p.m. work was winding down and people gathered on the now fenceless tennis court to finish the remaining beer and to further discuss community matters and, of course, gossip about each other. Some people say the best part about talgud is the gossip.
The rain began again in earnest shortly after 5 p.m., which put a bit of a damper on the lõke, or bonfire festivities. While the crowd was thin to nonexistent into Saturday evening at the riverside lõke, an enthusiastic, but small crowd of about 12 people, tended a scrap fire in the field to the northeast of the Jõekääru Suvekodu kitchen. Kose Ave. resident Dieter Metzner provided a finely marinated jerk chicken which he cooked over the fire. Julie Priebe of Viru Ave.. kindly made a salad and Linda Tae baked her very own apple crumble that was served with a sugar free vanilla ice cream supplied by Viru’s gracious Peeter Pajos. Thoroughly soaked, but full with good food and spirits these hard-working and fun loving talgud volunteers called it a day around midnight.
ESHA is holding its peakoosolek, or general meeting on Sunday, May 29, at 11 a.m. at the Jõekääru Suvekodu kitchen. Following the meeting a delicious meal of pasta in a fine and delicate red sauce, herbed pork and specially spiced chicken, with salad and garlic bread will be served. See you there!
