The Toronto Estonian Kindergarten will be marking its 40th anniversary of teaching our youngsters in Estonian about a land, language and culture geographically far, far away, but very near and dear to our hearts.
Many of our readers will recall taking their children to the Toronto Estonian House in the 1960's to give them that opportunity of learning about those roots. Now many of those same children, having graduated from the ranks of the Toronto Estonian Society's language schools are themselves taking their offspring there on Saturday mornings. The kindergarten will be celebrating four decades with pomp and circumstance on Saturday, February 19, and are inviting parents, grandparents, graduates and their families to join them on this historic day.
This 1967 photograph, from the collection of this year's anniversary celebration committee chair Anita Nippak Genua, recalls the festivities with which young and old commemorated Estonia's Independence Day. Anita asks all former
lasteaiakasvandikud to bring photos taken during their years of attending the kindergarten to the celebration, to allow the present generation to identify their parents, godparents and friends from their own days of learning. Teamwork has identified the three young girls in folk costume here as (from left) Riina Kaunismaa, Kristiina Valter and Anita Nippak. Educated guesses about the two children in the background? Come share them with ours while you join the celebrations, reminisce with friends about those carefree days, be ready to sing the evergreen "birthday song", composed by Heljo Liitoja - "Me õnnitleme, me õnnitleme, me õnnitleme sünnipäevalast". This time, it is the lasteaed, please bring along your own photo albums! Festivities begin at 10 AM.
