That is when the town’s people learned anew who this man was that had lived among them for many years in the 1920’s. Local residents and visitors from elsewhere in B.C. and especially from Estonia met, talked, liked what they saw and heard. There were invitations and exchange plans.
As a result, a memorable visit by Terry and Margret-Ann Houghton took place already in the summer of 2010. Terry, a former High School teacher of Fort St. James, and Margret-Ann, an avid researcher of local history, had both been instrumental in aiding with contacts and preliminary preparations for the Pitka Monument idea. Their interest and acceptance made it possible for the out-of-town organizers to proceed and our gratitude to them is great.
Terry Houghton’s summary of his and his wife’s first trip to Estonia follows.
Estonia? Where's That?
Terry Houghton, Fort St. James
Very few Canadians could answer the above question. The fact that I could resulted in my wife, Margaret-Ann, and myself venturing off to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia.
Our story has to begin in 1968, when Paul Bloomfield, an elderly Gentleman, told me the story of Sir John Pitka. His version of Sir John Pitka is somewhat different from that of recorded history.
According to Paul, John Pitka led some British Troops to a bay where there were some German Navy Ships in hiding. The British were able to defeat the Germans and as a reward John Pitka was told that he could have land anywhere in Canada that he chose. According to the story he took a dart and threw it at a map of Canada. It hit Stuart lake in British Columbia and that is where he settled with his wife and two daughters and his son in-law, George Paaren. George Paaren was apparently a boxer. So much for oral history.
Riho Terras, the Undersecretary of Defense, Peep Reisser, the Public Relation man for the Department of Defense, and the Sculptor, Aivar Simson arrived from Estonia in 2009 to unveil the Memorial.
I offered to cook dinner for the group as in Fort St. James the restaurants only offered Pizza and Chinese food. I offered moose nose, beaver tail, caribou guts and a new recipe I learned in Newfoundland, “Cod au Gratin.” Everybody opted for the fish dish.
There was about 8 of us that sat down for dinner. It was a wonderful dinner party. At the end of the dinner party, Riho, in a moment of weakness, invited Margaret-Ann and myself to visit Estonia.
Margaret-Ann and I did not waste time planning our trip. We picked up a travel book on Estonia which recommended a four day stay in Tallinn and the warning, “do not speak Russian!”
We decided to see how the Rich and Famous live. We booked First Class! Before we left the tarmac at the Vancouver airport the stewardess asked us if we would prefer orange juice or champagne while we waited. What would you choose?
Peep met us at the airport and took us to our hotel that was booked by the Ministry at Government rates and, I might add, a wonderful buffet breakfast was included. The hotel was located three or four blocks from the old city of Tallinn. We settled into room 410 at the park Hotel and went for a quick tour of the Old City. We felt like two kids on their first trip to Disney Land. The old buildings, towers and walls. The history embedded in these structures was later to be revealed to us the next day by Jack, a historian hired by the ministry, to guide us through the city. A few quick photos and back to the hotel to meet with Peep and his wife Anna.
On the way back to Tallinn we stopped and visited another historic site on the falls of a river. This was the location of an old hydro electric plant. The grounds were well manicured and was a place where people could have a picnic. We stopped at sea side beaches and eventually were dropped off at our hotel.
We had forgotten to close the door of our hotel room but all was well. Margaret-Ann and I decided to go back to Old Town for supper. Supper was so incongruous. In the heart of this ancient city, there was the “Big M”. Associated with MacDonalds was an independent coffee and dessert counter. The young lady that waited on me, upon hearing that I was not English, not American, but Canadian, asked me what was I doing in Tallinn. I informed her that my wife and I wanted to visit the homeland of Sir John Pitka. She had no knowledge of John Pitka and his role in the history of Estonia. Within a short distance of the Old Town there is a monument to John Pitka (not as nice as the one we have in Fort St. James).
After our hamburger, coffee and decadent dessert we wandered the streets of Old Town. The streets were full of young people, drinking coffee, beer and buying flowers. We were amazed at the number of flower shops. The streets were alive with joyful noise. We sauntered back to our hotel and that was just the first day.
Jack pointed out the various embassy residences, the Government House and the infamous KGB headquarters. We toured the elaborate and ornate churches. Jack told us that during the Russian occupation, people would go to church, not because they were religious, but in defiance of the Russian stand on religion. The old city of Tallinn is in a constant state of refurbishing and maintenance. It is a cruise ship destination. A short visit of two hours to visit this ancient city. How can you cover a history of over 1000 years in two hours? We spent over an hour in the oldest Apothecary shop in Europe. I purchased a bottle of “Raeapteegi Kõhutinktuur”. Just add vodka and your stomach problems are over. The remedy is probably akin to the North American snake oil remedy.
We let Jack off the hook about 4:30 PM and rushed back to the hotel. We were to meet with Peep and Anna and go with them to meet Riho and his lovely wife Kyleen at a restaurant in Old Town.
What a meal! Wild boar, grilled fish, good wine and a special Estonian dessert. A mixture of grain and sour milk sipped through a straw. Anna gave us several packages to bring home-Tõeline Eesti Kama.
We were unable to read the instructions so we cooked it up as a breakfast cereal and just finished the last this morning.
Day three is the day we visited “Crazy Man”, as Riho puts it. My heart swells with joy when the memories of our visit to “Crazy Man” (AKA Simson) comes to mind. Simson and his wife, Krista, live on acreage on the Baltic Sea. Their driveway is long and Simson was in cell phone contact with Peep as he wanted to be at a specific location on the driveway when we arrived. We drove down the driveway and stoped at a guardhouse. Simson was standing at attention in a military hat, saluting with the left hand and bracing a wooden replica of a military rifle. I get out of the car and he gives me a powerful bear hug. He speaks no English but is excellent at playing charades. He directs me to the guardhouse. The guardhouse has been converted to a pit toilet. There is a shelf which contains books on Stalin. Simson then proceeds to take a book on Stalin off the shelf, pretends to rip a page out of the book and use it as toilet paper and then throw it down the toilet hole. I get the message. Estonians do not like Russians. The property that now belongs to Simson had been in his family for a hundred years. When the Russians invaded Estonia in 1939 all property on the coast was confiscated, barbed wire laid out to prevent access to the sea and the boats were cut in half. Difficult times for a nation of fishermen. Guard houses were placed along the beaches. Not the type of behavior to influence and win friends. Simson had spent three years in the Russian army stationed in Afghanistan. I have read Alexander Solzenitsen's book, “The Archipelago Gulag”, very depressing.
Krista, Simsons wife, is also an artist. She paints on silk fabric. I believe it is her own technique.
Margaret-Ann and I saw her paintings exhibited in a restaurant near our hotel in Tallinn. Krista's studio is immaculate.
Simson arranged for us to take a tour on a search and rescue zodiac. The boat travelled over 50 miles per hour. The fastest I had ever been on a boat.
The six of us went out for supper at a nearby pub which was a converted log barn. I cannot remember what we had for supper but I won't forget Simson's meal, a pigs ear. After supper we walked through a small village and along the shore of the Baltic sea. Simson was well known and stopped to visit people. It was Independence Day and everybody was in a holiday mood. Peep and I had to go and drag him back to the car when it was time to go back to the hotel.
On the way back to Tallinn we stopped and visited another beautiful estate with manicured grounds. It was closed for the day but we walked through the grounds. That ended our third day.
Our last day was somewhat relaxing. We toured the modern city of Tallinn by bus. The sites we visited were the sites one would see in any modern city with the exception of the outdoor theater where the song festival is held. Choirs are an integral part of Estonian culture and unfortunately we were visiting at the wrong time to take in a concert.
In the afternoon we met up with Peep and Anna and toured a puppet museum. This museum was another highlight of our trip. Anna was employed by the museum and thus we had a very educational tour. Puppets are not so ingrained in North American Culture. Margaret-Ann purchased several puppets for our grandchildren. We then spent our last evening in Tallinn with Peep and Anna at their small but well laid out apartment. We enjoyed wine and appetizers while Peep cooked a wonderful stew.
Peep took us to the airport the next morning. We stopped a few days in Denmark and then England and finally back home to British Columbia.
It is an honor for me to be invited to write about my visit to Estonia. You can rest assured that many residents of Fort St. James are now able to answer the question, “Estonia? Where's that?”