I'm writing in english so I can pass this on to my former CBC colleagues. I learned of Edgar's passing today from an email sent from friends of the old newsroom but that's not how I know "Eddie."
I remember Eddie from about the time I was four or five. To him I was always "Little Willie" cause not even Eddie used Dad's esto name at work. A CBC carpenter for 35 years, Dad would take me to work on weekends just so I could play in the studios and see how TV works. I used to see the Friendly Giant, Tommy Hunter, Wayne & Shuster, Mr. Dressup, Bill Lawrence do the weather and George MacLean read The National. The Jarvis complex always had a lot of great places to play. My Dad would have friends drop by in the workshop for visits and I learned how a camera worked from his childhood friend Eddie. At that time I could rattle off more about a camera in estonian then I could repeat in english. Eddie was just a great simple story teller, no flash, no hype just facts. He met so many people. It amazed me who he had pictures of, who stood in front of that camera and how many famous people would say "Hey Eddie, how are you doing." The thing I remember the most, even when I got my first job in the CBC national newsroom is that I would see Eddie stop in from time to time but always with that radio in his pocket and the ear piece in his ear, listening to police scanners and other radio stations just so he could be the first camera to an event. So few people have that talent to know what's important and how to capture it. Eddie had it. His fascination with human events and listening about Eddie's stories through my Dad gave me the itch too.
Eddie was a quiet icon in the CBC. He did his work, had the admiration of his peers and, without knowning it, got his friend's little kid interested in the news game. I wish I had continued the passion for news that Eddie had but, one thing is for sure, very few were as talented a craftsman behind the camera than Dad's friend Eddie.