Jää Seisma Sa, Mu Eestimaa!”: Voices of Nationalism and Cultural Continuity in the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides, 1949-1972

“JÄÄ SEISMA SA, MU EESTIMAA!”: VOICES OF NATIONALISM AND CULTURAL CONTINUITY IN THE TORONTO ESTONIAN GIRL GUIDES, 1949-1972

KRISTI KUKK

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN HISTORY

NIPISSING UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES NORTH BAY, ONTARIO

Abstract

“‘Jää seisma sa, mu Eestimaa!’: Voices of Nationalism and Cultural Continuity in the Toronto Estonian

Girl Guides, 1949-1972”1 examines the stories of ten Estonian women in Canada who participated in the Toronto

Estonian Girl Guides between 1949 and 1972. Through their individual oral histories as well as songs, material culture, and yearbooks from the organization, this master’s research paper explores the ways in which the Toronto

Estonian Girl Guides functioned as a source of cultural continuity for the Estonian community in Toronto after the

Second World War, demonstrating that processes of assimilation are often not as straightforward as traditionally perceived in the historiography.

1 “Jää seisma sa, mu Eestimaa!” (Stay standing, my Estonia) is a lyric from: K Türnpu and P. Grünfeldt. “Gaidide Hümn,” in Mälestusi Gaidirajalt: Eesti Gaidide Liit, ed. Siiri Puust (Toronto: Oma Press Limited, 1988), 4.

Acknowledgements

I would first like to thank the Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program, Nipissing

University, and the Estonian Foundation of Canada for funding this research project.

I would also like to acknowledge the various professors, colleagues, and family members who have shaped this project and have helped me throughout my university career. I would first like to thank my committee: Katrina Srigley, Anne Clendinning, and Lindsay McMaster, for their thoughtful feedback and constructive criticism of my MRP. Particularly, I’d like to thank my supervisor Katrina Srigley, who inspired my interest in oral history and devoted much of her time to providing me support and assistance to complete this MRP to its fullest potential. I’d also like to thank professors for all their guidance and support they have provided over the last five years at Nipissing University: Stephen Connor, Anne Clendinning, and Hilary Earl. From this group I’d especially like to thank Stephen Connor for pushing me to think outside of the box, for allowing me to explore my Estonian heritage and history in many of his classes, and ultimately, for motivating me to pursue graduate school in an area of inquiry that best suited me.

I’d also like to acknowledge my fellow colleagues who have contributed to this program, from various backgrounds and fields, to provide a more enriched learning experience. This MRP could not have been completed without the solidarity and support from this group. Also, I’d like to thank my family: my parents, Hans and Leili Kukk, my aunt Silvia Hermann, my grandparents Elmar and Laine Hermann, Hans and Evi Kukk, as well as my great-aunt Helju

Kivioja. All of their stories, including their journeys from Estonia and their livelihoods in

Canada as either first generation or second generation Estonians, have inspired not only this research project but also my lifelong passion for history.

Lastly, I’d like to acknowledge the ten women I interviewed for this project. These women most generously welcomed me into their homes and took the time to share their stories

of the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides with me. For their generosity and in honour of their participation in the organization, I dedicate this research paper to them.

Table of Contents

Pages

Abstract iv

Acknowledgements v

Table of Contents vii

List of Figures viii

List of Appendices ix

Introduction 1

Historiography 4

Methodology 12

Context: Departure from Estonia 15

Immigration after Estonia 18

Estonians in Toronto 19

Creating the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides 21

Guiding & Nationalism: The Cold War and a Community in Exile 23

Remaining Distinctively Estonian 32

Kotkajärve 39

The Estonian World Festival in Toronto, 1972 42

Guiding & Gender: “The Estonian Woman” 46

Conclusion: Assimilation or Cultural Continuity? 51

Bibliography 71

vii

List of Figures

Pages

Figure 1: Traditional Estonian Embroidery Motifs and Patterns from the Toronto 56 Estonian Girl Guides Leader Instruction Handbook

Figure 2: Instructions on how to use an Estonian Traditional Spinning Wheel 56 from the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides Leader Instruction Handbook

Figure 3: Diagram of the Toronto Estonian Girl Guide Uniform from the Leader 57 Instruction Handbook

Figure 4: “Avamine esimesel aastakoosolekul Kanada, Torontos 1953” (“Opening 57 the first meeting of the year in Canada, Toronto 1953”)

Figure 5: Canadian Girl Guide Uniforms, circa 1950s 58

Figure 6: “Gaidide Hümn” (“Girl Guide Anthem”) 58

Figure 7: The Estonian Diaspora Gathering at Nathan Philips Square for the 59 Estonian World Festival in 1972

Figure 8: Nathan Philips Square During the Estonian World Festival in 1972 59

Figure 9: March down Yonge Street towards Nathan Philips Square. 60

Figure 10: The Toronto Estonian Girl Guides March to Nathan Philips Square 60 During the Estonian World Festival in Toronto, 1972

Figure 11: The Toronto Estonian Boy Scouts and Girl Guides at Nathan Philips 61 Square during the Estonian World Festival in Toronto, 1972

Figure 12: Kotkajärve Maailmalaager during the Estonian World Festival in 1972 61

Figure 13: “‘Kotkajärve’ Maailmalaagri Laul.” (“‘Kotkajärve’ World Camp Song”) 62

Figure 14: “Külalised ‘Alatskivi’ õuel. ‘Põhjala,’ 1954,” (“Visitors to the ‘Alatskivi’ yard 63 ‘Põhjala,’ [camp] 1954”)

Figure 15: “Esimene iseseisev hellakeste laager Eesti gaidluse ajaloos—‘Tibutara’ Jõekäärul, 63 1953,” (“The first independent Estonian Brownie Camp in Guiding History”)

viii

List of Appendices

Pages

Appendix A: Participant Information Letter and Consent for Identified Participants 64

Appendix B: Interview Questions: First Generation Toronto Estonian Girl Guides 67

Appendix C: Interview Questions: Second Generation Toronto Estonian Girl Guides 69

Introduction

On 13 October 2012, I sat with Hilja Kuutma in her apartment in Toronto. Sitting across from me at the dinning table, with a warm smile, she transported me to a completely different world. It was 13 December, 1948. Kuutma, then twelve years old, had just arrived in Halifax,

Canada with her two parents after enduring a strenuous, one-month journey across the Atlantic on the S.S. Walnut. She explained that she was one of three-hundred and fifty-five Estonian DPs who had stowed away. They did not have entry visas. Like so many other refugees in 1948, they had no home to return to in Europe. Luckily for Kuutma and her fellow Estonian passengers,

Canadian border officials admitted them to the country. They were assimilable as white,

Christian anti-communists.2 Despite these characteristics and the assimilative efforts of the

Canadian government, many Estonians retained their heritage after years in Canada.

For the first couple of years, life in Canada was challenging for Kuutma. Canada presented “a completely foreign future. We didn’t know what to expect, and what was here, and where [we] would be going, and everything was sort of up in the air.”3 This confusion was reinforced after she moved with her parents from Halifax to Toronto in 1948 and started to attend school. With little understanding of English this transition was especially difficult. “You didn’t understand everything and you couldn’t express yourself.”4 Despite this reality, the growing Estonian immigrant community in Toronto provided her with an outlet for expression.

In the late 1940s and 1950s, the Estonian community in Toronto developed Estonian-specific sport clubs, social organizations and committees, newspapers, and churches to practice and maintain Estonian culture in Canada. Like many other young Estonian women in her community, Kuutma developed an interest in the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides. With seven

2 Hilja Kuutma, interview, Toronto, Ontario, 13 October 2012. 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid.

2 other Estonian immigrant girls, around the same age as Kuutma, they formed the first Toronto

Estonian Girl Guides patrol in May, 1949. This organization was the “central focus” of her life during these years in Toronto. On weeknights and weekends she would attend meetings, participate in Estonian cultural activities, and during the summer, attend camp with other

Estonian immigrant girls of the same age.5

When Kuutma finished explaining this particular story, I was brought back to the context of the interview. Since those formative years, Kuutma has participated in the Toronto Estonian

Girl Guides in various capacities: patrol leader, Brownie leader, assistant group leader and later head of the Põhjala Tütred, and the Estonian Girl Guide’s executive in Canada. She has also acted as the Estonian Chief Guide-in-Exile, and is currently the honourary Vanem, or elder.6

Throughout her life and transition from Estonian immigrant to Estonian-Canadian citizen, the

Toronto Estonian Girl Guides have played an important role in her life. When asked about what it meant to be a Toronto Estonian Girl Guide, Kuutma responded, “it gave me an opportunity to sort of develop myself,” and “made me belong to my Estonian roots.”7 While giving her a context in which to develop as a young woman, much like the Canadian Girl Guides, the organization also allowed her to express, engage in, and maintain her Estonian identity.

In this Kuutma was not alone. All of the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides interviewed for this study described the organization through ways in which it shaped their immigration experiences and, more particularly, preserved their own Estonian identities. Many other members including Helju Kivioja, Siiri Lepp, and Ene Lüdig explained their immigration and adjustment to Canada through the organization’s predominant focus on Estonian language, culture, and history. Other members including Helle-Mai Reece-Saluments, Anne Agur, Ingrid

5 Kuutma, interview. 6 Vanem is Estonian for elder. 7 Kuutma, interview.

Kutt, Urve Tamberg, Silvia Hermann, and Reet Marley described their lives in Canada, as second-generation Estonians, through the organization’s focus on cultural continuity. Given the way in which we understand the Girl Guides organization as a traditionally British institution, it is fascinating that the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides operated in this manner and raises questions about the ways in which this particular organization functioned to promote cultural continuity between 1949 and 1972. What were the experiences of the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides during

1949 to 1972? And how did the organization’s activities, goals, and practices promote cultural continuity in a context well-removed from Estonia?

The world that Kuutma and my other interviewees left certainly made cultural continuity seem pressing for Estonian immigrants. After the Soviet occupation of Estonia in 1939, any form of cultural expression was forbidden, including the celebration of Estonian national events, festivals, and holidays, participation in Estonian national social groups or unions, political or organizational committees, sport or arts clubs, churches, as well as Estonian guiding and scouting.8 Soviet control in Estonia and the abolition of Estonian cultural groups and actvities such as guiding remained until Estonia’s independence in 1991.9 Despite these limitations,

Estonian guiding flourished through other means during these years, particularly in Estonian communities in exile across the Western world. The Toronto Estonian Girl Guides provides one important example, highlighting the ways in which the organization and the women who ran it employed Estonian nationalism to express the cultural continuity of their Estonian heritage in

Canada. The organization focused on Estonian nationalism because of the challenges to Estonia and Estonians throughout the occupation, and the ability to express their ties to Estonia under

8 Karl Aun, The Political Refugees: A History of Estonians in Canada (Toronto: McClelland and Steward Limited, 1985): 109. 9 For more information about the occupation of Estonia: Kristi Kukk and Tovio Raun, Soviet Deportations in Estonia: Impact and Legacy (Tartu: Tartu University Press, 2007); Timothy Snyder, Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin (New York: Basic Books, 2010); Mart Laar, War in the Woods: Estonia’s Struggle for Survival 1944-1956 (Washington D.C.: The Compass Press, 1992); Aun, A History of Estonians in Canada, 8-9.

4 this context as immigrants. Through interviews with women who were members of the organization and through the examination of guiding materials, photographs, songs, and uniforms, this study explores the history of the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides as an organization in exile from 1949 to 1972. It highlights the importance of cultural continuity to members of this organization during these years, as evident in strong expressions of Estonian nationalism and their agenda to preserve Estonian language, history, and tradition in the free Western world. In these ways, this study complicates prevalent discussions of assimilation and integration found in

Cold War immigration historiography. While assimilationist pressures were real for Estonians in

Canada between 1949 and 1972, young women within the Estonian Girl Guides were immersed in narratives of nationalism and resistance that remained distinctively Estonian. These experiences shaped these women’s identities and memories of life as Estonians in Canada during this time period. This is particularly evident when we consider the Cold War and its effects on Estonian nationalism, the organization’s emphasis on Estonian culture, language, and education to express Estonian nationalism, the importance of Kotkajärve and the Estonian

World Festival in Toronto during 1972, and the expression of Estonian nationalism through gender constructions and portrayals of the Estonian woman.

Historiography

In addition to bringing the history of a little known organization to light, this study will add to our historical understanding of the ways in which Estonian culture and nationalism shaped an organization long understood to be thoroughly British. To do so, I will build upon scholarship in the areas of Canadian immigration and ethnicity, the Estonian Diaspora, and the history of guiding.

The historiography of immigration in Canada provides some key debates from which to build this study. The first key area in this historiography discusses assimilationist policies of the

Canadian state as well as other immigrant programs during the mid-twentieth century run by organizations, individual actors in Canada, and immigrants themselves who adapted to or resisted agendas of integration and assimilation. In the 1960s and 1970s, historians applying social scientific methods examined demographic trends and the economic impact of immigration, focusing specifically on the policies and agendas of the Canadian government.

Unsurprisingly, this scholarship emphasizes the assimilative and nation-building goals of officials at all levels of government. Within a paradigm which came to be known as a “melting- pot,” immigrant communities and immigrants themselves had little agency or choice.10 Michael

C. Lanphier’s work provides an example. In “Canada’s Response to Refugees,” he overemphasizes assimilation and ignores the agency of individual immigrants, social workers, labourers, and organizations that operated within or around these policies and processes in favour of Canada’s economic and political agendas.11

Since the 1980s, social historians have expanded our understanding of assimilation beyond the “melting-pot.” Through methods in the “new social history,” these scholars have uncovered a complex understanding of assimilation as a “two-way street” between immigrants and their receiving societies.12 In doing so, these historians have provided us with a deeper

10 See Freda Hawkins, Canada and Immigration: Public Policy and Public Concern (Montreal: McGill, 1972); Alan G. Green, Immigration and the Postwar Canadian Economy (Toronto: Macmillan, 1976); Donald Avery, Reluctant Host: Canada’s Response to Immigrant Workers, 1896-1994 (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1995). See also Irving Abella and Harold Troper, None is Too Many: Canada and the Jews of Europe, 1933-1948 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1983), for their work on refugee policies and the Canadian immigration security system. 11 Christiane Harzig, “Gender in German-Canadian Studies: Challenges from Across the Borders,” in Beyond the Nation? Immigrants’ Local Lives in Transnational Cultures, ed. Alexander Freund, 44-62. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2012), 46. 12 Alexander Freund, Beyond the Nation? Immigrants’ Local Lives in Transnational Cultures (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2012), 5; See more for more information on the ‘new social history’: Katrina Srigley and Stacey Zembrzycki, “Remembering Family, Analyzing Home: Oral History and the Family,” Oral History Forum 29 (2009): 3.

6 understanding of the lived experiences and individual agency of immigrants, casting them not simply as observers and victims, but also as actors.13

Questions surrounding ethnicity and culture have been central to this shift, including the ways in which these factors interacted or shaped experiences, as well as reactions to immigrants and their communities.14 Franca Iacovetta’s work is particularly notable. Such Hardworking

People: Italian Immigrants in Postwar Toronto, incorporates gender and ethnicity into her microanalysis of Italian immigrant men and women in Toronto following the Second World

War. With this approach, she highlights moments of continuity and change, of rejection and assimilation, to demonstrate ways in which ethnicity, from both within and outside of the Italian community, shaped these women’s lives as Italian-Canadians.15 Iacovetta’s most recent work,

Gatekeepers: Reshaping Immigrant Lives in Cold War Canada, expands her analysis of ethnicity and best captures the time period examined in this study. In this book, Iacovetta shows us the important ways that ethnic, political, and ideological preferences determined the process of assimilation for many immigrants in Canada not only at the border, but also within Canadian society once admitted. Canadian immigration policies during this time gave priority to immigrants from Western Europe, due to the Canadian government’s prevailing assumption that their aggressive anti-communist world-view would make them more susceptible to assimilation

13 See Marlene Epp, Women Without Men: Mennonite Refugees of the Second World War (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2000); Franca Iacovetta, Paula Draper, and Robert Ventresca, A Nation of Immigrants: Women, Workers, and Communities in Canadian History, 1840s-1960s (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998). For more recent works see Franca Iacovetta, Gatekeepers: Reshaping Immigrant Lives in Cold War Canada (Toronto: Between the Lines, 2006); Freund, Immigrants’ Local Lives in Transnational Cultures. 14 Harzig, “Gender in German-Canadian Studies,” 46; for more on ethnicity: Barbara Lorenzkowski, Sounds of Ethnicity: Listening to German North America, 1850-1914 (Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 2010). Lorenzkowski incorporates analyses of sound, language, and music to demonstrate the ways ethnicity shapes processes of assimilation; John Zucchi, Italians of Toronto: Development of a National Identity, 1975-1935 (Kingston: McGill-Queen’s Press, 1988); Varpu Lindström, From Heroes to Enemies: Finns in Canada, 1937-1947 (Beaverton: Aspasia Books, 2000). 15 Franca Iacovetta, Such Hardworking People: Italian Immigrants in Postwar Toronto (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s Press, 1993).

7 according to Cold War nation-building strategies.16 Many Estonian immigrants, including those who shared their stories for this paper, reflected these immigration preferences.17 In fact,

Iacovetta explains that Estonian DPs were among the first ethnic groups admitted on an ad hoc basis to Canada based on their potential to assimilate into Anglo-Protestant society in Canada.18

Not only was this determined by their ethnicity and race, as northern white Europeans, but their anti-communist affiliations and experiences fleeing Soviet-occupied territory, and the overall sympathy gained from Canadian journalists and the public upon their arrival. 19

In addition, feminist and social historians also address questions in the historiography concerning the role of various factors, such as ethnicity, and the ways in which they shape immigrant experiences. Iacovetta in A Nation of Immigrants: Women, Workers, and

Communities in Canadian History, 1840s-1960s argues that earlier political histories and meta- narratives of Canadian immigration often ignored the experiences of immigrants: of individual and group motives, strategies, and experiences that were overshadowed by Canada’s celebrated

“rise from colony to nation.”20 More importantly, analyses of gender and race in immigrant and political histories were ignored as traditional immigration narratives pushed non-British men and women to the margins of Canadian history and portrayed immigrant women as objects, observers, and victims. Feminist social historians have worked to deepen our understanding of immigrant women’s experiences and demonstrate that women played a significant role in

16 Canada’s Cold War nation-building strategies included: the promotion of democratic values, North American gender roles, and the archetypal white, middle-class family model, which all stood in direct contest to communism. See Iacovetta, Gatekeepers, 6 for more on this topic. 17 Meanwhile other ethnic groups such as Orientals, blacks, and Jews did not meet Canada’s immigration preferences. See for more information: Irving Arabella and Harold Troper, “‘The line must be drawn somewhere’: Canada and Jewish Refugees, 1933-1939,” in A Nation of Immigrants: Women, Workers, and Communities in Canadian History, 1840s-1960s, ed., Franca Iacovetta, Paula Draper, and Robert Ventresca, 412-446 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998): 415. 18 Which started with the arrival of 355 Estonian DP’s on the S.S. Walnut on 13 December 1948. See for more information: Karl Aun, The Political Refugees: A History of Estonians in Canada (Toronto: McClelland and Steward Limited, 1985), 25. 19 Iacovetta, Gatekeepers, 28. 20 Franca Iacovetta, Paula Draper, and Robert Ventresca, A Nation of Immigrants: Women, Workers, and Communities in Canadian History, 1840s-1960s (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998), ix.

8 processes of assimilation. Jean Burnet was one of the first scholars to chronicle immigrant women’s experiences and position these women as important actors in Canadian history. In

Looking into My Sister’s Eyes: an Exploration in Women’s History she argues that conventional

Canadian history has been “a history of men and of the public life in which women’s participation has been restricted.”21 Although Burnet was among the first to acknowledge this for immigrant women and in doing so, sought to compensate this limited historiography, there was still more work to be done. In 2004, Marlene Epp, Franca Iacovetta, and Frances Swyripa in

Sisters or Strangers? Immigrant, Ethnic, and Racialized Women in Canadian History sought to complicate Burnet’s use of the term “sister.” They argue that “sister” silences the real power imbalances, which existed between women as a consequence of factors such as race, class, and ethnicity. By expanding our perceptions of gender and our understanding of women’s experiences to include these factors, we can better understand the variety of women’s experiences during the process of becoming “Canadian,” since one’s experience may widely differ from another’s based on one’s ethnic background and the context of their immigration.22

The historiography of the Estonian diaspora is another area on which this paper will build. Very little is known about Estonians and their communities in Canada, let alone the migration of approximately 160,000 worldwide to different countries such as Germany, Sweden, the United States, Russia, Australia, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and Argentina following the

Second World War.23 This is in part due to the fact that most literature on the Estonian diaspora is interdisciplinary and is written by Estonian demographers such as Hill Kulu and language

21 Jean Burnet, Looking into My Sister’s Eyes: an Exploration in Women’s History (Toronto: Multicultural History Society of Ontario, 1986), 1. 22 Epp, Iacovetta, and Swyripa, Sisters or Strangers, 6; For scholarship on the varying experiences of immigrant women see: Marlene explores the complexity of immigrant women’s identities in Epp, Women Without Men; Varpu Lindström, Defiant Sisters: A Social History of Finnish Immigrant Women in Canada (Toronto: Multicultural History Society of Ontario, 1988). 23 Kristiina Praakli and Jüri Viikberg, Eestlased ja eesti keel välismaal: Koostanud ja toimetanud (Tallinn: Autorid, 2010), 10.

9 analysts such as Kristiina Praakli, Jüri Viikberg, and Birute Klaas in collaboration with the

Estonian Language Board or Centre for Migration and Diaspora Studies of the Institute of

Geography at the University of Tartu. To further complicate international conversation, most texts on Estonian migration are published in Estonian with few written or translated works in

English. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, there has been an increased access to archival materials in both Estonian and Russian.24 Although there is a growing interest in this field, it continues to ignore individual historical actors and narratives of cultural continuity in favour of demographic, statistical, and linguistic approaches. Hill Kulu’s “The Estonian

Diaspora” is an example of such an article, which was published in 1997 and was among the first to collectively document statistics obtained from the newly accessible archives. Kulu specifically identifies three patterns or waves of immigration through the migration statistics gathered, including: the first wave of immigration from 1904-1930, the second wave associated with the Second World War from 1939-1945, and the third general wave from 1945-1990.25

Although he successful provides rates of migration and illustrates where Estonians were migrating to during different time periods, Kulu does not provide any historical critique or evaluation of historical forces, conditions, or actors. More importantly, in relation to this study, he does not provide any narrative or experience of migration and as a result, individual voices are lacking.26

24 Tiit Tammaru, Kaja Kumer-Haukanõmm, and Kristi Anniste, “The Formation and Development of the Estonian Diaspora,” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 36, no. 7 (2010): 1158. 25 Hill Kulu, “The Estonian Diaspora,” Trames: A Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences 3 (1997): 278-9. 26 Karl Aun provides a microanalysis of Estonians who settled in Canada. However, his evaluation focuses on singular events and still relies on statistics, overshadowing the individual voices who played a role in establishing an Estonian presence in Canada. See for more information: Aun, A History of Estonians in Canada; Ann M. Walko also provides a microanalysis of the Estonian Diaspora in New Jersey; however, her examination is sociological and not historical. Her analysis explores statistical patterns and trends that document ethnicity. See for more information: Ann M. Walko, Rejecting the Second Generation Hypothesis: Maintaining Estonian Ethnicity in Lakewood, New Jersey (New York: Ams Press Inc, 1989).

Tiina Kirss is one of few scholars to provide a narrative to this diaspora. In combination with the Estonian Heritage Society, she recollects and examines Estonia’s past through oral histories since most archival databases and documented sources were destroyed during the

Soviet occupation.27 In Estonian Life Stories, Kirss particularly records oral histories from various Estonians who were born between 1905 and 1973; however, still this area of scholarship is limited to a few scholars in Estonia, placing emphasis onto those who remained in Estonia as opposed to those in the diaspora who fled.

Literature of Estonians in Toronto is also limited, if not entirely absent, in the historiography of guiding. Although literature on other girl guide organizations exists, the story of the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides is missing from this predominantly British and North

American historiography.28 The contexts of this historiography differ in relation to those experienced by the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides; however, the ways in which the organization navigated gender norms according to national contexts remain the same. In “Be(ing) Prepared:

Girl Guides, Colonial Life, and National Strength,” Michelle Smith describes the origins of the very first girl guide troop, which originated from the Boy Scout movement in Britain in 1909 alongside the assimilation of youth into British imperialism.29 In “To Scout or to Guide? The

Girl Scout-Boy Scout Controversy,” Mary Aickin Rothschild discusses the organization’s transformation into the American Girl Scouts to highlight changing ideals of domesticity and feminism during the twentieth century in North America. 30 The two works by Smith and

27 Other scholars such as Mart Laar have worked to build the Estonian Heritage Society since 1988 to recreate Estonia’s history. See for more information on the Estonian Heritage Society and Laar’s contribution: Tiina Kirss, Estonian Life Stories (New York: Central European University Press, 2009), viii; Laar, War in the Woods. 28 For more on this historiography see: Tammy M. Procter, Scouting for Girls: A Century of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (London: Praeger Publishers, 2009); Sarah Mills, “Scouting for Girls? Gender and the Scout Movement in Britain,” Gender, Place, and Culture 18, no. 4 (2011): 537-556; Michelle Smith, “Be(ing) Prepared: Girl Guides, Colonial Life, and National Strength," Journal of Historical and Cultural Studies 12 (2006): 52-63; Mary Aickin Rothschild, “To Scout or to Guide? The Girl Scout-Boy Scout Controversy, 1912-1941,” Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies 6, no. 3 (1981): 115-121. 29 Smith, “Girl Guides, Colonial Life, and National Strength," 54. 30 Rothschild, “The Girl Scout-Boy Scout Controversy,” 118.

Rothschild build upon the historiography by demonstrating the ways in which the Girl Guides or

Scouts organizations promoted assimilation into contemporary, Western nation-building agendas while navigating gender norms and endorsing a progressive British or American woman. As a result, the historiography of guiding demonstrates the ways in which the Girl

Guides Association reinforced and promoted either traditional or progressive gender roles and values in order to support and assimilate its members in nation-building contexts. However, the story of the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides further complicates this discussion, since its members struggled to maintain their Estonian culture in exile, meanwhile resisting assimilation into their new homeland in Canada. The narrative concerning the navigation between immigrant and host cultures during process of assimilation, has yet to be expressed in this limited historiography.

Furthermore, the influence of the organization in assisting, rejecting, or mediating this process alongside constructions of gender has yet to be documented. By addressing this unexplored area the story of the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides contributes to the history of the Girl Guides association, including its smaller organizations and their role in processes of assimilation. By doing so, this study contributes to a larger understanding of women’s and gender history.

We know little about Estonians in Canada, let alone those in Toronto who played a part of this process despite the successes of the community during 1948-1970 and the tight bond this small community held. Nonetheless, the larger historiography provides important themes from which to build our understanding of the Estonian community, in general, and women who belonged to the Estonian Girl Guides, in particular. Through an examination of the experiences and memories of women who were members of the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides between 1949 and 1972, this MRP will build from our understandings of assimilation beyond the “melting- pot,” and in doing so, will challenge the way we document the Estonian diaspora in Canada and the individual voices within. Estonian women who were members of the Toronto Estonian Girl

Guides organization encountered processes of cultural continuity through expressions of

Estonian nationalism amidst a traditionally British and North American institutional setting. By applying our understanding of the discussions, issues, and narratives expressed in the historiography of Canadian immigration, the Estonian Diaspora, and the history of guiding, we can further complicate the ways in which these women experienced cultural continuity as a multidimensional, as opposed to a straightforward, process.

Methodology

Oral histories are particularly well suited to explore these issues, as they provide access to the experiences of women in the organization, an undocumented history of the Estonian community in Toronto, and more importantly, they move us beyond an institutional history by providing a voice that other sources are unable to express. In addition to oral histories, this MRP will also use documentary sources produced by the organization, including leadership training handbooks and guidebooks, photographs, songs, uniforms, and secondary source literature. By combining oral histories and documentary sources, these sources provide us a unique window on the Toronto Estonian Girl Guide’s individual experiences.

For this research paper, I interviewed ten women who were members of the Toronto

Estonian Girl Guides organization between 1949 and 1972.31 There is a distinct generational difference between these women since their ages range between eighty-two and fifty-two years old. The first group of women who were interviewed are first-generation Estonian immigrants and were also the first girl guides. They either founded the organization in Toronto in 1949 or first participated during the 1950s.32 All of these interviewees were born in Estonia and fled during the Second World War. The second group of women are second generation immigrants.

31 These dates were determined by the year the organization was founded in Toronto (1949) and the year the Toronto Estonian World Festival occurred (1972). Both dates highlight the highpoint of the organization. 32 In total, I interviewed four first-generation immigrant women. The women who make up this group are Hilja Kuutma, Helju Kivioja, Siiri Lepp, and Ene Lüdig.

Many of these women were children of former members at the time of their participation in the organization in the late 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s.33 Most of these interviewees were born in Toronto and their understanding of Estonian comes from stories and knowledge passed down to them by relatives, Estonian family friends, the Toronto Estonian community, and of course, the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides.34

Despite generational differences, these women are united by their strong sense of

Estonian nationalism and a firm connection to Estonia, regardless of their age or context of immigration. Since many of these women had relatives in Estonia during the Cold War, and in fact still do today, their ties to their Estonian roots are significant to the perspectives, beliefs, and worldviews they hold. During the Cold War, these ties were amplified by hopes for

Estonia’s independence and concerns about the safety of the relatives they left behind. And, even in 2013, Estonia plays a significant role in the stories they share and their own portrayals of the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides.

While providing a window to the experienced past, oral histories are creations of the present in a time and context often well-removed from the remembered experience.35 Factors such as age, gender, racial, ethnic, or cultural background play a dynamic role in the recollection of memory and the meaning of particular experiences to the interviewee’s present life, beliefs,

33 I interviewed six second-generation immigrant women. The women who represent this group are Helle-Mai Reece-Salumets, Anne Agur, Ingrid Kutt, Urve Tamberg, Silvia Hermann, and Reet Marley. 34 With the exception of Helle-Mai Reece-Salumets who was born in Germany and Reet Marley who was born in Sweden. The parents of both Reece-Salumets and Marley fled Estonia during the war and sought refuge in Germany and Sweden before their immigration to Canada. 35 Alessandro Portelli, “What Makes Oral History Different,” in The Oral History Reader, ed. Robert Perks and Alistair Thomson (New York: Routledge, 2006), 38.

14 and agenda.36 By considering this connection, I can better understand the ways in which these women narrate and provide meaning to their stories.

There are several ways to contextualize interviews in order to understand how the present impacts stories of the past. For example, during my interviews I focused on ways in which these women expressed their memories and placed emphasis on particular memories, while de-emphasizing others. In combination with tone, volume, and rhythm of speech, I paid particular attention to “why and how [these] women explain[ed], rationalize[d], and ma[d]e sense of their past,” and in doing so, incorporated they ways in which they understood, negotiated, or challenged dominant ideologies or constructions of gender into my analysis.37 The ways in which these women expressed their memories provided me with a more in-depth understanding of the social and material framework of these women’s experiences in the past and more importantly, in the present. In other words, this analysis helped me to better understand, contextualize, and access the subjective experience the Toronto Estonian Girl

Guides operated through the ways in which they view themselves in the present in relation to the context in which they practiced. 38

The present context of the interview itself, including my own relationship to these women and the Toronto Estonian community, also significantly impacted how I analyzed and contextualized these interviews. Prior to these interviews, I was able to establish relationships

36 The following sources have influenced my own understanding of oral history methodology: Paul Thompson, The Voice of the Past: Oral History (New York: Oxford University Press, 1984); Annette Kuhn, Family Secrets: Acts of Memory and Imagination (New York: Verso, 2002); Valerie Raleigh Yow, Recording Oral History: A Guide for the Humanities and Social Sciences (Toronto: Altamira Press, 2005); Stacey Zembrzycki, “Sharing Authority with Baba,” Journal of Canadian Studies 43, no. 1 (2009): 219-238; Valerie Raleigh Yow, “‘Do I Like Them too Much?’: Effects of the Oral History Interview on the Interview and Vice-Versa,” in The Oral History Reader, ed. Robert Perks and Alistair Thomson, 54-72 (New York: Routledge, 2006); Ann Laura Stoler and Karen Strassler, “Memory-Work in Java: A Cautionary Tale,” in The Oral History Reader, ed. Robert Perks and Alistair Thomson, 283-309 (New York: Routledge, 2006); Srigely and Zembrzycki, “Oral History and the Family,” 1-19. 37 Joan Sangster, “Telling our Stories: Feminist Debates and the Use of Oral History,” in The Oral History Reader, ed. Robert Perks and Alistair Thomson, 87-106 (New York: Routledge, 1998): 88. 38 Portelli, “What Makes Oral History Different,” 35; Also, For sources particular to understanding women’s oral histories see: Sherna Berger Gluck and Daphne Patai, Women’s Words: The Feminist Practice of Oral History (New York: Routledge, 1991); Sangster, “Telling our Stories.”

15 with many of these women as a member of the Toronto Estonian community and also as a former Toronto Estonian Girl Guide. In fact, I have known many of these women from a young age as a Brownie in the organization and have grown to respect many of them as a Vanem within the Estonian guiding community. In this situation, the authority and respect that I hold for these women, established through an outside context, was carried into the current context of the interview. As a result, I have been able to relate more easily to my interviewees and their experiences in the community, establish a greater level of trust, and ultimately, gain a particular insight and context into the stories shared by the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides.

Context: Departure from Estonia

The story of the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides cannot be told without discussing the context of Estonia during the Second World War, as this was the time in which the families of women such as Kuutma escaped as refugees. It defined their childhoods and is ever-present in their memories of the country. For second-generation Estonian women, this context functioned as the principle framework through which stories about Estonia were shared with them. This is hardly surprising since the Second World War was a defining moment for Estonians in the twentieth century, as they had no choice but to adapt to the atrocities of total war that characterized these years in Europe. As with elsewhere, options were limited and risks were high. Opportunities for survival were few and many had to quickly decide whether to stay or flee, despite the many risks associated with both options. During the war, the Estonian population was caught between two regimes with two different systems of violence and control.

Deportation, mass shootings, and ethnic cleansing became “normal” to the occupied population.39 In October 1939, the Soviets first invaded the Baltic States and proceeded to

39 Snyder, Bloodlands, 116.

16 occupy Estonia, seizing control over the government, land, property, and economy.40 This

Soviet occupation was reinforced by the first mass deportation of 9,146 Estonians to various labour camps across Siberia on 14 June 1941.41 Despite Soviet claims that its motives during this time period were political, the majority of these Estonian deportees were women, children, and the elderly.42 On 22 June 1941, Nazi Germany invaded Estonia under Operation Barbarossa and further complicated the stability of the Baltic States.43 Although this occupation was first perceived as a liberation of Estonia, Estonians who did not immediately support the Germans, or who had previously assisted the Soviets, were quickly targeted.44 This situation intensified after the Soviets re-occupied Estonia as the Nazi Germans retreated in February 1944.45 Once again, those who had assisted the previous regime were located and eliminated by Soviet forces.

During this time period, the civilian population faced constant fear. Helju Kivioja recalled that her father was targeted by both the Soviets and the Nazi Germans for the business he owned in Estonia.46 At one point in 1944, she explained the Soviets were patrolling their home with the intention of deporting them to Siberia the following day: “He was walking around and told us not to go any place because he’s looking after the apartment.”47 But “then it started to rain and at that time he went after his raincoat and we were gone. My sister and father went bicycling one way. Me and my mother went another.”48 From there, Kivioja’s family reunited at their uncle’s farm away from the city and later made their way to the coast, bribing guards at checkpoints with smoked ham, French cognac, and leather goods. Once at the coast,

40 Aigi Rahi-Tamm, “Deportations in Estonia, 1941-1951” in Soviet Deportations in Estonia: Impact and Legacy, ed. Kristi Kukk and Toivo Raun (Tartu: Tartu University Press, 2007), 13. 41 Ibid. 42 Ibid., 20. 43 Ibid. 44 For more information on Nazi Germany’s occupation of Estonia see: Anton Weiss-Wendt, Murder Without Hatred: Estonians and the Holocaust (New York: Syracuse University Press, 2009). 45 Rahi-Tamm, “Deportations in Estonia,” 20. 46 Helju Kivioja, interview, Toronto, Ontario, 30 December 2012. 47 Ibid. 48 Ibid.

Kivioja and her family, including her two parents and sister, stowed away on a small fishing boat to Sweden, which according to Kivioja was: “not supposed to take more than sixty people on board but there were over—there were exactly a hundred and one people on board when we left.”49 Unsurprisingly, the conditions on this boat were challenging, especially as it was a fishing vessel. Kivioja recalled that everyone on the boat slept next to one another, side by side, in the hull of the boat with no bunks, washrooms, or any other accommodations: “We were just sitting where the fish were thrown in, in the water,” and “if we had to go to [the] washroom…we didn’t have a chance. We just did it wherever.”50 At one point, when the “water started to come in one [passenger] went crazy and jumped overboard.”51 Despite these conditions, it was crucial for Kivioja’s family to escape since her father was quite obviously under surveillance and members of her extended family had already been deported to Siberia in

1941.52 For many of the first-generation interviewees like Kivioja, the threat of deportation or death was an ever present part of their childhood. The end of the war brought little respite. In

1945, Estonia was annexed to the Soviet Union as the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic

(ESSR).53 The Soviets became even more oppressive of Estonian culture and violent to the civilian population in attempts to deal with resistance and partisan activity, which had increased heavily during this time period.54 Another mass deportation in 1949, during which 20,713

Estonians were deported to gulags in Siberia, ensured fear remained.55 For many inside and outside the country, fear did not abate until Estonia’s independence in 1991 when the iron curtain lifted and the Cold War effectively ended for Estonians. Until then, opportunities to escape remained few and there was little to no recognition of Estonia in the western world.

49 Kivioja, interview. 50 Ibid. 51 Ibid. 52 Ibid. 53 Rahi-Tamm, “Deportations in Estonia,” 20. 54 Laar, War in the Woods, 23. 55 Rahi-Tamm, “Deportations in Estonia,” 20.

Context: Immigration after Estonia

Between 1939 and 1944, 70,000 Estonians fled to the West as a result of the war.56

Many of these Estonians, like Kivioja, stowed away on ships or small fishing boats across the

Baltic Sea and settled in refugee camps in either Sweden or Germany.57 According to Estonian diaspora scholars Tammaru, Kumer-Haukanõmm, and Anniste, the estimated size of the

Western Estonian sub-diaspora in 1945 was at least 90,000.58 In combination with those who had immigrated to Eastern Europe, and mainly to the Russian Empire at the turn of the twentieth-century, the total Estonian diaspora around the world during this time period was approximately 200,000.59

Those who had settled in Sweden or Germany continued to maintain Estonian culture in the DP camps they lived in. Siiri Lepp recalled her life in Sweden and her participation in

Estonian school and Estonian choir run by Estonian refugee communities, councils, and clubs.60

However, for many Estonians, life in Sweden was cut short for various reasons such as better job opportunities and familial ties in other countries. Estonian refugees were also afraid of the close proximity to the Soviet Union and the growing fear of repatriation. Both Kivioja and Lepp stated that this determined their departure from Sweden, especially after the Swedish government submitted to Soviet demands and repatriated a group of Estonian soldiers hiding in

56 Kulu, “The Estonian Diaspora,” 279. 57 Tammaru, Kumer-Haukanõmm, and Anniste, “The Formation and Development of the Estonian Diaspora,” 1162. 58 This number does not include those who had immigrated or had been deported to the East. See for more information: Tammaru, Kumer-Haukanõmm, and Anniste, “The Formation and Development of the Estonian Diaspora,” 1163. 59 Ibid., 1164; It is also important to note that the emigration of 200,000 Estonians to the Russian Empire during the early 1900s was the first major wave of immigration. The immigration of 70,000 Estonians during World War II was the second wave. See Kulu, “The Estonian Diaspora,” 278. 60 Siiri Lepp, interview, Toronto, Ontario, 4 January 2013.

Sweden to the ESSR.61 As a result, many Estonian refugees immigrated elsewhere in the West including: Canada, the United States, the U.K., Argentina, Australia, and Brazil.62

Context: Estonians in Toronto

According to a census in 1961, 14,310 Estonians immigrated to Canada between 1947 and 1960. 11,370 of these 14,310 Estonians immigrated during 1948 and 1951.63 During this time period, Toronto emerged as the cultural centre for Estonian immigrants in Canada. There is little to no record of a significant Estonian community in Toronto prior to this massive wave of immigration in 1948 and 1951. According to Aun in A History of Estonians in Canada, the first significant record of the Toronto Estonian community corresponds with the wave of Estonian immigrants following the Second World War who established Estonian committees, clubs, and organizations in Toronto as the population of this diaspora grew.64 Between 1949 and 1953,

Toronto held the largest Estonian community with 10,000 members.65 There they established

Estonian-specific organizations according to the growing demand within the community.66

Initially, Toronto appealed to Estonian immigrants as a large industrial centre complete with employment opportunities and the promise of a new stable life. For instance, Estonian immigrants arriving via Germany in the 1940s found jobs as contract labourers for farms, lumber camps, and hydro construction. When the one-year contract was over, most Estonian immigrants moved to Toronto or other urban centres to seek better employment.67 Helle-Mai

61 Kivioja, interview; Lepp, interview. 62 Praakli and Viikberg, Eestlased ja eesti keel välismaal, 235, 262, 282, 303, 339, 357. 63 Aun, A History of Estonians in Canada, 14. 64 Ibid., 65; The first record of Estonians in Canada dates back to 1895 in Vancouver. There are records of a number of Estonian communities in Alberta from 1899 to 1920, including: Livonia in 1899, Medicine Valley in 1902, Linda in 1904, Kalev Village in 1905. However, the number of these populations is unknown since the Canadian census documented these Estonians as Russians, because Estonia at the time was a province of tsarist Russia until 1918. For more information see: Praakli and Viikberg, Eestlased ja eesti keel välismaal, 357. 65 Other notable Estonian communities in Canada included Montreal, with 3,000 members, and Vancouver with 1,500. See Aun, A History of Estonians in Canada, 39-40. 66 Endel Aruja, “The Estonian Presence in Toronto,” The Polyphony: The Bulletin of the Multicultural History Society of Ontario 6, no. 1 (1984): 110. 67 Aun, A History of Estonians in Canada, 39.

Reece-Salumets describes this as the case for her own father who immigrated from Germany to

Canada in 1948, and worked for one year at the mines in Timmins, Ontario.68 Once her father’s contract ended, he moved to Toronto with his family with intentions of pursuing a job in engineering.69

According to Reece-Salumets, the growing presence of the Estonian immigrant community in Toronto also appealed to their family. The Estonian community in Toronto not only assisted newly arrived Estonian immigrants with information about employment and housing, but it also provided an emotional framework or support-base to help Estonians adjust to Canada. This was achieved by building the community around the preservation of Estonian language and culture. Ingrid Kutt, a second-generation Estonian, claimed that the community felt “like a family” and that when given the choice between her Canadian life and her participation in the Estonian community she responded: “I’d always choose the Estonian stuff. It had more substance for me.”70 This was largely because by the time Kutt was old enough the

Estonian community in Toronto offered a large range of options: Estonian kindergarten,

Estonian school, piano classes, Guiding and Scouting, Gymnastics, Estonian folk dancing, choir, fraternities and sororities, Estonian churches, newspapers, and even Estonian National Councils

(EKN) and committees (Eesti Selts). They all had a central function: to encourage the next generation of Estonians to participate in and maintain the language and culture of their homeland. When asked about her initial contact with the Toronto Estonian community, Silvia

Hermann replied: “As soon as I was born.”71 In fact, she replied that she was raised in Estonian and she did not learn English until she attended a Canadian kindergarten and was instructed there. Like many of the second-generation immigrants, life growing up in Canada was much

68 Helle-Mai Reece-Salumets, interview, Toronto, Ontario, 28 May 2013. 69 Ibid. 70 Ingrid Kutt, interview, Toronto, Ontario, 31 May 2013. 71 Silvia Hermann, interview, Oak Ridges, Ontario, 3 June 2013.

21 different than other typical Canadian children of British ancestry. Estonian seemed to dominate every avenue of their lives. Hermann went on to explain that all her godparents, family friends, and close friends growing up were Estonian. Additionally, she described her social life growing up through her participation in Estonian organizations and with her Estonian friends, to the extent that mostly every weeknight or weekend was spent with the Estonian community doing language or culture-related activities.72 As a result, the Estonian immigrant community during this time period flourished with active involvement from Estonian immigrants and their children. Although the next generation had never experienced Estonia first-hand, their connection to Estonia was real.

Context: Creating the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides

The Toronto Estonian Girl Guides was one of many Estonian organizations in Toronto.

However, the creation of this specific organization was not particular to Toronto itself. Its origins date back to guiding in Estonia. Scouting was first introduced to Pärnu, Estonia in 1912, four years after the Boy Scout movement occurred in England.73 Guiding in Estonia soon followed with the creation of the first guide troop in Tallinn, under the leadership of Mrs.

Eleonore Hünerson in 1920.74 Similar to the creation of the British Girl Guides, the Estonian

Girl Guides was formed during this time since the Estonian Boy Scouts organization was deemed too masculine for young Estonian girls.75

By 1940, there were over 2,500 members in the Estonian Girl Guide Association.76 After the first Soviet occupation in 1939, communist youth organizations, such as the Little

Oktobrists, the Pioneers, and the League of Young Communists, replaced Scouts and Guides.77

72 Hermann, interview. 73 Aun, A History of Estonians in Canada, 109. 74 Hilja Kuutma, document, “Important Events in the History of Guiding in Estonia,” Toronto: (12 August 1977), 1. 75 Ibid. 76 Ibid., 3. 77 Aun, A History of Estonians in Canada, 109.

Despite the abolition of Guiding in Estonia itself, Estonian Guiding was not eliminated altogether. Scouting and guiding became even more popular with Estonian refugees and immigrants as a means of preserving their Estonian homeland abroad. By 1949, an estimated

2,000 to 2,500 Estonian Boy Scouts and Girl Guides participated in the organization in various

Swedish and German refugee camps.78

The first Toronto Estonian Girl Guide troop was founded in May 1949 and consisted of seven members, including Hilja Kuutma.79 Membership later increased to twenty-seven girl guides in 1950, eighty-three in 1952, and steadily increased to one-hundred and thirty-five guides in 1955.80 This period demonstrated significant participation by Estonian youth as the

Estonian immigrant community in Toronto continued to develop. By the 1960s, there were approximately four-hundred Estonian Girl Guides in Toronto.81 At this time, membership included both first-generation and second-generation members. However, as first-generation members retired from the organization and as many second-generation Estonians found participation more difficult to manage, membership declined to a total of approximately two- hundred members by 1979.82

The first guiding troop established in Toronto in 1949 was called the Põhjala Tütred.83

According to Hilja Kuutma, this name belonged to the Põhjala Tütred Estonian guiding troop in

Gothenburg, Sweden. 84 This name was also used to demonstrate continuity from one group to

78 Aun, A History of Estonians in Canada, 110. 79 Hilja Kuutma, interview. 80 Hilja Kuutma, document, “Toronto ‘Põhjala Tütred’ Lipkond,” 2; Membership by 1970 included seventy-seven Girl Guides. However, these statistics only represented one group: the Põhjala Tütred. The other Toronto Estonian Girl Guide group, Rajaleidjate, most likely had an equal number of participation. 81 Aun, A History of Estonians in Canada, 112. 82 Ibid. 83 Puust, Mälestusi Gaidirajalt: Eesti Gaidide Liit (Toronto: Oma Press Limited, 1988), 31; Põhjala Tütred is Estonian for “Northern Daughters.” 84 Hilja Kuutma, interview; It is important to note that the Põhjala Tütred was the name that the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides were associated with until 1955. In 1955 the organization split into two different groups: Rajaleidjate and Põhjala Tütred, because of the overwhelming number of Guides in the organization.

23 the next, since many members in the Toronto organization were former members in Sweden.85

When the Estonian Girl Guides was first established in Toronto in 1949, they also wanted to demonstrate continuity from guiding in Estonia. Although the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides had the rights to use Canadian guiding rules, regulations, and lesson books, they chose to work separately from the Canadian Guides.86 Instead, guiding materials, regulations, and instructions derived from the Estonian Girl Guides. Since guiding was banned in Estonia and communication with girl guides outside of Estonia was forbidden, members who had previously participated in the Estonian Guides in Sweden or Estonia re-created guiding materials based on what they could remember.87 Thus, the Toronto Estonian Guides since its formation in 1949 operated as Estonian Guides first, and therefore, distanced themselves from the Canadian Girl

Guides association. For many in the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides, it was crucial to carry on

Estonian-specific guiding in Toronto since those in Soviet-occupied Estonia could not. In this sense, the organization took on a strong nationalistic focus, with recognition that they operated as an Estonian guiding community in exile separate from any other guiding institution, particularly the Canadian Girl Guides.

Guiding & Nationalism: The Cold War and a Community in Exile

The term “in exile” was first used by the Estonian Girl Guides in Sweden in 1945.88

During this time, twenty-four Estonian Girl Guides, who were also refugees in Sweden, organized the first Estonian “Girl Guide camp in exile.”89 This term derived from Estonia’s occupation and the abolition of guiding in Estonia. Since girl guides in Estonia could not practice guiding, those who had escaped and continued to practice it in the free world became

85 Hilja Kuutma, Helju Kivioja, Siiri Lepp, and Ene Lüdig were all members in different Estonian Guiding troops across Sweden. 86 Puust, Mälestusi Gaidirajalt, 31. 87 Kivioja, interview. 88 Hilja Kuutma, document, “Estonian Guiding in Exile,” (Toronto: 1977): 4. 89 Ibid.

24 guides in exile, or as organizations and communities in exile. The term “in exile,” was extended further to the Estonian diaspora in 1949, as Estonian guiding established new roots in Canada, the United States, Germany, Argentina, Brazil, and Australia and united all Estonian guiding groups under the Estonian Girl Guides in Exile.90 Established on 1 December 1949, the primary goal of this organization was to unify all Estonian Guides throughout the free world and to co- ordinate their activities.91 As organizations in-exile it was crucial for this international association to keep Estonian communities in the western world alive, predominantly because of the organization’s focus on Estonian language and culture. This was made evident by the organization’s role in organizing World Jamborees and world camps, known as a

Maailmalaager, to connect Estonians with one another around the world and promote nationalism.92

The context of the Cold War and particularly the Soviet occupation of Estonia played a significant role in the ways in which the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides operated, as well as how its individual members perceived their role within this organization in exile. In fact, individual awareness of the Cold War and its impact were present even before many of these women participated in the girl guides. Silvia Hermann explained that from an early age, “I became

90 The Estonian Girl Guides in Exile changed it name to the World Federation of Estonian Girl Guides in 1960. See: Kuutma, “Estonian Guiding in Exile,” 6. 91 Ibid; There were also other Estonian organizations in Toronto that sought to unify Estonians and similar Estonian organizations in the diaspora during this time period. Most notably, the Estonian Central Council of Canada, which was situated in Toronto, played an active role in the Estonian World Council in New York to discuss problems the Estonian diaspora faced across the world. Other Estonian organizations from the United States, Sweden, England, Germany, and Australia also participated in this council. Other organizations, which sought this international goal, included Estonian churches, war veterans’ groups, and interest or social group associations and clubs. See for more information: Aun, A History of Estonians in Canada, 70. 92 The first Maailmalaager was held in Canada in 1960. This was followed by the United States in 1967, Germany in 1970, Canada once again in 1972, and Sweden in 1975. See more: Kuutma, “Estonian Guiding in Exile,” 7; For a detailed discussion of Maailmalaagried (World Camps) see chapters “Guiding & Nationalism: Kotkajärve” and “Guiding & Nationalism: The Estonian World Festival in Toronto, 1972,” found later in this paper.

25 politically aware of the evils of communism” because “we used to get letters that were blacked out [by censors] from Estonia from my aunts.”93 So:

It was explained to us about the oppressive nature of the communist regime and it was explained to us fairly young why my father and mother couldn’t visit where they were born, why they couldn’t see their friends anymore, why their other family members were killed, why their lands and all their property was taken away, and why they as children could not see their extended family members or, even my father, his closer family members.94

Even Reece-Salumets described that “it was a conversation constantly in the air at home. All these other [Estonian] activities just kind of added fuel to it.”95 Stories about Estonia’s occupation spread across the diaspora as Estonian immigrants were cut off from relatives in

Estonia and relayed these experiences to others at home in daily conversations, at family or social gatherings, or most importantly, in Estonian cultural organizations. In fact, many Estonian organizations such as the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides operated within this context, although as a whole, did not openly advocate for Estonia’s freedom in their guiding mandate. Instead, the

Toronto Estonian Girl Guides contributed to the bigger picture: the preservation of Estonian language and culture as a community in exile.

The nationalistic goals promoted by the Estonian Girl Guides in Exile association were certainly upheld by the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides themselves. As an organization in exile, the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides sought the preservation of Estonian language and culture with recognition that it played a significant part in the survival of Estonia itself. When asked if the

Toronto Estonian Girl Guides had an obligation to preserve Estonian language and culture in

Canada since those in Estonia could not, Kuutma replied: “Definitely because we were here to sort of uphold Estonian culture because back there they couldn’t do it. So we felt that was a big

93 Hermann, interview. 94 Ibid. 95 Reece-Salumets, interview.

26 part of out mission.”96 When asked the same question, other members also recognized the organization’s nationalistic, and even political, role in the larger context of the Cold War. Siiri

Lepp responded:

It was very important for us and our parents made sure that we got this—that we have to keep the language alive. Everything worked towards freedom. We have to get rid of the Russians. We have to be free again. So it was very important to keep the Estonian culture alive and also with other organizations—who all wanted to keep Estonia alive and see it free.97

The discussion of the Toronto’s Estonian Girl Guide’s cultural and nationalistic goals, as evident in Lepp’s response, brought forth a larger message experienced by the Toronto Estonian community as a whole during 1949 and 1972. This message was: freedom for Estonia. Some members of the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides particularly focused on this message and the organization’s role in its overall promotion. Reet Marley described the organization according to this message: “Before Estonia gained its freedom it [the Guides] was a way of showing the world that we are active, that we are here, that we are interested in Estonia gaining its freedom.”98 More importantly she stated, “Certainly a big factor was the fact that we had to fight for Estonian freedom and it was a big part of the whole organization.”99 Ingrid Kutt even went so far as to state that,

It was sort of instilled in us…that every opportunity we had we need to discuss Estonia because it was the political fight to try to get freedom for Estonia as well and just to educate people that there’s other countries, and there’s these horrible things happening there, and it’s a history that’s not taught anywhere.100

The Cold War played a significant role not only in these women’s participation in or perceptions of the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides as ring bearers of Estonia’s language, culture, and

96 Kuutma, interview. 97 Lepp, interview. 98 Reet Marley, interview, Toronto, Ontario, 5 June 2013. 99 Ibid. 100 Kutt, interview.

27 ultimately its freedom, but also in their daily lives and, according to Kutt, the necessity to make others outside of the organization aware of Estonia’s occupation.

Of course, interpretations of the Toronto Estonian Girl Guide’s political involvement varied based on the individual, since some of these women perceived nationalism as more of a political act than others. In fact, when asked about the organization’s political goals, responses varied rather remarkably depending on the generation of the women I was speaking with.

Women of the first generation recognized the organization as absolutely apolitical. In a stern voice Kuutma explained that “guiding is completely apolitical.”101 Or, in other words, the girl guides as an international association did not participate directly in politics or political affairs.

When asked the same question Kivioja, another woman of the first generation of immigrants, also claimed that the organization did not have any political goals or agenda, especially when it came to political parties or ideologies: “We don’t talk about it, you know. It’s their choice whatever they do in a private life. When they grow up it’s their choice. But to teach them politics—who you have to be or what you don’t have to be is a no-no.”102 Out of this group of women, only Ene Lüdig recognizes a distinct political aspect to the organization. But still, her response was mediated. She stated that the political nationalistic goals were “a focal [point] in disguise,” in that “whatever we did at the back of our minds was this ‘Estonia had some day to be free.”103 However, she did mention that this was not the sole focus of the organization.104 The overall response from this generation is interesting given this generation experienced Estonia under Soviet occupation. It could be that the plight for Estonia’s freedom was more concrete and, based upon their own lived experienced as it was, real. In this case, the stakes involved in

Estonia’s freedom were greater for this group of women; yet, responses to the Toronto Estonian

101 Kuutma, interview. 102 Kivioja, interview. 103 Ene Lüdig, interview, Toronto, Ontario, 22 May 2013. 104 Ibid.

Girl Guide’s political goals and agenda were more reserved and conservative.105 According to

Lüdig’s response, it is evident that this generation certainly perceived political goals and agendas but did not aggressively or openly act upon them, especially in the Toronto Estonian

Girl Guides.

On the other hand, responses to this question from the second generation of women I interviewed focused more on the political participation of the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides and its emphasis on Estonian nationalism and independence. Ingrid Kutt explained that the “girl guides was supposed to be an apolitical organization and it was apolitical in that we didn’t suggest people [should] be conservative, or liberal, or whatever. But it certainly was political in that when they had the parades during the Estos, the girl guides were taking part of it.”106

Similarly, Anne Agur stated that the organization did have a “goal to see Estonia free,” and that it was a “political goal, but it didn’t mean that you belonged to EKN or anything like that. I think everyone was striving towards a common goal and it was slightly political. You can’t get around that. But it was not a political organization in any shape or form.”107 In this sense, the second generation agreed that the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides was not a political organization; however, they depart from the first generation by openly recognizing the political goals of the

Toronto Estonian Girl Guides as well as their nationalistic activities expressed through instruction in the Estonian language, history, geography, song, dance, and literature. In other words, according to Urve Tamberg: “[It was] political for recognizing, I guess, the value of

Estonian culture, the value of the country, and the value of maintaining that outside—you know,

105 There is also a possibility that for these women fear may have played a role in distancing themselves from politics. For many in Europe, it was extremely dangerous to openly discuss or engage in politics during the Second World War. In Estonia during this time period, this resulted in imprisonment, execution, or deportation. Based on these lived experiences, many of these first generation immigrant women may have been more silent or reserved to discuss political agendas. In this case, there is not enough sufficient evidence in the interviews to assert this claim but it remains a point of interest to consider. 106 Kutt is referring to the Estonian World Festivals. More on this topic will be discussed later in the paper; Kutt, interview. 107 Anne Agur, interview, Toronto, Ontario, 24 May 2013.

29 in that diaspora.”108 As a result, it is evident that the political messages that circulated around the Toronto Estonian community concerning Estonia’s independence were acknowledged by the second generation at the time. Especially with respect to Tamberg’s comment, the second- generation during this time were well aware of the organization’s goals in educating the next generation of Guides in Estonian culture and nationalism, and in doing so, were able to value the preservation of Estonian culture in Toronto for generations to come.

In relation to the organization’s focus on cultural continuity, it is important to note that the organization shared messages concerning Estonia’s freedom and sovereignty and did not openly express or even recognize any Canadian nation-building goals, which have been emphasized within Canadian immigration historiography. When asked if the organization promoted or rejected these women’s Canadian identities, Helle-Mai Reece-Salumets replied: “I don’t think they necessarily rejected, they just assumed that this is what I was. It’s not that they said anything about the Canadians being bad, but once you’re in there that’s what you were— you were an Estonian Guide.”109 In other words, the organization did not promote her dual identity as an Estonian-Canadian. Instead, they focused solely on her Estonian identity. To

Reece Salumets, this presented an issue as she struggled to discover her own identity as a young woman in Canada: “At the time it wasn’t easier because it was just, kind of, they were of pulling me apart.”110 Yet, in hindsight, she viewed the organization’s promotion of her Estonian identity as positive: “I think in hindsight it was a good thing because you get the full experience of what the Estonian side of it is, of you, and of your nationality, and your heritage,” to establish that

108 Urve Tamberg, interview, Oakville, Ontario, 30 May 2013. 109 Reece-Salumets, interview. 110 Ibid.

“strong Estonian connection” within yourself.111 Since nationalism was experienced through concerns over Estonia’s nationhood and its members’ ties to their Estonian heritage, any assimilationist or Canadian nation-building agendas were absent in the experiences of the organization shared by these women. It is clear that especially through Reece-Salumets’ dilemma over her identity as an Estonian-Canadian, the organization did not specifically address the assimilation of these women into Canadian society since the emphasis remained on Estonian nationalism and its members’ participation within it.

The second generation’s strong reception to Estonian nationalism in the Toronto

Estonian Girl Guides during the Cold War was also largely shaped by a particular symbolic image of Estonia portrayed by first-generation Estonians. German-Canadian immigration scholar Hans Werner describes this as the “imagined homeland”, a “sense of loss” created by

“an ongoing connection with a ‘homeland,’ a connection that often takes the form of economic and social ties but may also be mental—a feeling of being in two places at once. This notion of a mythic homeland is shaped historically and is a particular feature of forced migration and refugee displacement.”112 Werner uses this concept to describe Soviet German immigrants, who had grown up outside of Germany either in the Soviet Union or in Canada, and thus felt isolated from their homeland in Germany. The only connection that these Soviet Germans had with

Germany was imagined. More importantly, since these Soviet Germans could not access

Germany at the time due to the Cold War, concepts of Germany itself were replaced by this

111 Reece-Salumets, interview; It is interesting to note that Reece-Salumets extensively discussed her dual identity as an Estonian-Canadian throughout her interview and the struggle she faced to balance this identity as a young adult. She explained that this was further complicated after she married outside of the Toronto Estonian community to an English-Canadian. However, today she recognizes the balance between the two identities and describes herself as a “Canadian with a strong Estonian heritage.” 112 Hans Werner, “‘German Only in Their Hearts’: Making and Breaking the Ethnic German Diaspora in the Twentieth Century,” in Beyond the Nation? Immigrants’ Local Lives in Transnational Cultures, ed. Alexander Freund, 211-226 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2012): 212.

31 imagined homeland.113 Werner’s concept of the “imagined homeland” is transferable to other ethnic groups displaced and isolated from their homelands during the Cold War. More importantly, it accurately describes the second-generation immigrant’s perception of Estonia: their true Kodumaa or homeland. Since these women were born outside of Estonia, they had to rely on parents, community members, and in this case, the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides for information about Estonian language and culture. When asked about her relationship to Estonia as a second-generation Estonian, Tamberg replied: “since it was so far removed from—my roots, I really had to rely on whatever was given here.”114 The information transferred to

Tamberg depicted Estonia as a “utopian homeland.”115 Helle-Mai Reece-Salumets shared a similar experience during which, “all the stories I heard from my family about Estonia [were] all wonderful life experiences before the war and nothing could compare to that.”116 The growing sense of nostalgia experienced in the Toronto Estonian community certainly created an

“imagined homeland,” or in this case, an imagined Estonia. Reece-Salumets describes: “each year further away the Estonian society that grew from the ex-pats kind of…made your new

Estonia.”117 More importantly, this resonated with this group of women, the second-generation

Estonians, since “the Estonia that was in Toronto I found sometimes was even stronger patriotic[ally] than what was happening back in the original country. It’s all to do with feeling.

It’s all to do with emotion. It has nothing to do with reality.”118 The “pedantic patriotism” illustrated by Reece-Salumets explains the second-generation’s strong reception to Estonian nationalism and the political goals concerning Estonia’s independence in the Toronto Estonian

113 Werner, “‘German Only in Their Hearts,’” 212. 114 Tamberg, interview. 115 Ibid. 116 Reece-Salumets, interview. 117 Ibid. 118 Ibid.

Girl Guides.119 Since these women had to rely on second-hand information about Estonia, which was heavily nationalistic, many were drawn to the utopian image of Estonia and this “imagined homeland.” As a result, political and nationalistic messages, which originally were not as heavily promoted by the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides, were becoming more important to individual second-generation girl guides based upon their relationship to and perceptions of their

“imagined homeland.” This brought these women closer to their Estonian roots and helped them better relate to their Estonian identities in exile, emphasizing cultural continuity before assimilation into Canadian society.

Guiding & Nationalism: Remaining Distinctively Estonian

Since many of its members were born in Canada, the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides served as one outlet for expressing Estonian nationalism and this “imagined homeland.”

Particularly, the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides appealed to youth in the Estonian community in ways that other Estonian organizations, and especially Canadian organizations, in Toronto could not. Unlike other organizations, which specialized in specific areas such as dance, gymnastics, or solely language, the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides focused on the overall education of

Estonian culture: from Estonian traditions and customs, language, history, geography, literature, music, dance, and sport. With this in mind, the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides focused on incorporating an Estonian cultural component into every guiding activity and as a result, sought to remain a distinguishably Estonian organization between 1949 and 1972, particularly through the instruction of Estonian history, traditions and customs, and song.120

Estonian history was of great importance to the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides. Siiri Lepp explained that once she became a guide she:

119 Reece-Salumets, interview. 120 It is important to note that this goal remained after 1972; however, it is beyond the extent of my inquiry.

Learned about the Estonian history and the Estonian culture. And once you became a Ranger, which is Vanem guide, you had to learn how—what happened in Estonia, why did our people come to different countries, why did we escape, and what’s going on in Estonia right now.121

Lepp’s account is supported in the Katsed, or trial book, which instructs these young women to record, and later recite to their leaders, various significant dates, places, and people in Estonian history and their meaning to Estonia’s sovereignty.122 For instance, in their Katsed, Lepp, and many other guides, had to answer the following when tested:

a) Name three to five important historical events which proved to be historical turning points in Estonia between 1905 and 1918. b) Know the importance of Independence Day and the date. c) Know who were K. Pats, Laidoner, Postka, and Tonisson. d) Briefly describe the achievements of sovereign Estonia from two of the following topics: human and citizen rights, economy, education, literature, art, and sport. e) What was the ruling situation in Estonia following 1938? f) Name five important events in Estonian history, which were turning points after 1939.123

Although the requirements listed above were expected of the highest ranking girl guides, some of the nationalistic concepts were still expected of younger and newer members. For instance, the second requirement, which expected every girl guide to know the date and the overall significance of Estonia’s Independence Day (24 February 1918), remained in the Katsed of every rank, including the lowest ranking members.124 This was largely due to the fact that

Independence Day was highly significant to the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides during the Cold

War as a day for nationalistic pride and expression. On the anniversary of Estonia’s

Independence, the Toronto Estonian community, including the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides and Scouts, participated in a parade to celebrate a time in which Estonia was once free and also to honour those still living in Soviet-occupied Estonia. Kuutma explained that the Toronto

121 Lepp, interview. 122 Helju Kivioja, document, “Gaidi III Järgue Katse,” date unknown. 123 Helju Kivioja, document, “Gaidi I Järgue Katse,” date unknown. 124 Kivioja, document, “Gaidi III Järgue Katse.”

Estonian Girl Guides and Scouts played a significant role in this parade: “Any Independence

Day celebration or any big celebration, the Guides and Scouts were always there as the flag honour guard.”125 In addition, they would participate in “what they call kõnekool. It usually was a poem, a fairly long poem, that some had solo parts and others just sort of as a group repeated lines or whatever. And that was a big part of the celebration”126 In combination with the history and cultural component taught through the Katsed, the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides were well aware of the importance found in celebrating Estonia’s day of independence in the free world.

More importantly, it is evident that knowledge of Estonia’s current political and historical affairs, as well as their participation in them through these parades and nationalistic celebrations, were highly valued by the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides. For instance, girl guide leaders were instructed to teach their guides about the history of Estonia’s occupation and the state of its current political affairs, according to a five-page document written in the Instructor

Handbook.127 However, this was something that, according to Kutt, was not permitted by the

Canadian Girl Guides during this time period, since it was deemed too political.128 Yet, this cultural component remained in the Toronto Estonian Girl Guide mandate and Katsed with intentions of first: remaining separate from the Canadian Girl Guides, and second: educating the next generation of Estonian youth in Canada about the values of Estonian culture, nationalism, and history.

Although the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides engaged in traditional skills such as sewing and needlework, similar to many other girl guides around the world at this time, their practice of such skills differed. The Toronto Estonian Girl Guides were expected to learn traditional

Estonian skills and customs, which had been passed down by Estonian women, from one

125 Kuutma, interview. 126 Ibid. 127 “Okupataioonid,” date unknown. Last accessed at The Toronto Estonian Girl Guide Archives, 27 May 2013. 128 Kutt, interview.

35 generation to the next, for hundreds of years. Between 1949 and 1972, members practiced kesitööd, or handiwork, which not only required these women to sew and do needlework, but also expected these women to have knowledge of traditional embroidery motifs, patterns, and techniques most commonly used in traditional folk costumes and designs (Figure 1).129

Although kesitööd and the particular techniques associated with this activity would have been viewed as impractical or out-dated in contemporary Canadian society, they were still esteemed by the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides for the value it held in Estonian traditional culture. For instance, in the Guiding Instructor’s Handbook, there is an illustration to instruct the girl guides to use a spinning wheel to create traditional patterns and clothing (Figure 2). This illustration, among many other instructional diagrams, was used for section nine in the Katsed, which asked the guides to “prepare a culturally based handiwork, using Estonian patterns or motifs, for instance embroidery, woodwork, leatherwork, or using other materials.”130Although this information and these skills were not used by the girl guides in their daily lives, they still captivated their interest in Estonian culture and more importantly, served as one method to educate these women in Estonian cultural traditions and in skills that their Estonian ancestors practiced and cherished. As a result, activities such as kesitööd were nationalistic due to their attempts to preserve and sustain these particular skills and customs within the next generation, since those in Estonia could not themselves. More importantly, they distinguished these women from other girl guide organizations and the activities they practiced, to emphasize the value of

Estonian cultural traditions over those practiced in Canadian society.

The Toronto Estonian Girl Guides also maintained another tradition specific to guiding in Estonia: its traditional uniform. In a “Second Biennial Report,” written on 1 July, 1930 and

129 See Tamberg, interview, for her mention of kesitööd; Hilja Kuutma also explained the significance of Figure 1 and 2 off the record when I visited the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides Archive with her and obtained these images. 130 Kivioja, document, “Gaidi II Järgue Katse.”

36 later modified on 30 June, 1932, the Estonian guiding uniform is described as a: “navy blue skirt and tunic, with two breast pockets; navy blue felt hat or school uniform cap; black shoes and stockings; neckerchief according to company colour; brown leather belt.”131 From this description, the dark navy blue tunic and skirt, as well as the white scarf, were the most distinct characteristics of the Estonian guiding uniform used by the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides

(Figure 3 and Figure 4). In fact, the image of the navy blue tunic and skirt to many of the

Toronto Estonian Girl Guides, served as one way to distinguish themselves from other girl guides in different guiding organizations. When asked about how the organization was particularly Estonian, Ene Lüdig replied: “Well, the uniform. The [Canadian] Brownies had brown uniforms. We were all in blue.”132 (Figure 5) . Since its formation in 1949, it was decided that the standard brown Canadian uniforms would not be used even though the Toronto Estonian

Girl Guides was still a Guiding organization in Canada. Instead, the Toronto Estonian Girl

Guides wanted to use the same uniforms originally worn in Estonia in order to preserve its ties and roots in Estonian guiding. Also, according to Lüdig the uniform held a greater meaning than mere image since it represented a completely distinct structure: “We had our own badges, our own recognitions, our—our whole structure was different. And I think that also helped us to build our esteem. To be proud of what you did and what you were,” as an Estonian.133 In this sense, the uniforms used by the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides confirmed and exhibited their allegiance to Estonia and Estonian guiding, and not to the Girl Guides of Canada.

The last cultural component under review in the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides was the organization’s incorporation of Estonian nationalistic and traditional music and song. In general, singing is, and has always been, highly valued in Estonian culture. Since the nineteenth century,

131 The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, “The Second Biennial Report 1st July, 1930 to 30th June, 1932: Estonia,” in Mälestusi Gaidirajalt: Eesti Gaidide Liit, ed., Siiri Puust, 434-436. (Toronto: Oma Press Limited, 1988): 436. 132 Lüdig, interview. 133 Ibid.

Estonians have participated in Laulupidu, otherwise known as the Estonian National Singing

Festival.134 During this event, thousands of Estonians travel across the country to sing national folk songs together, in the capital city of Tallinn.135 However, during the Soviet occupation,

Estonians were forbidden to sing Estonian national songs. In its place, Estonians were required to sing Soviet songs in honour of Lenin and Stalin, if the event was to be held at all.136

The Toronto Estonian Girl Guides carried on the tradition of singing rooted in Estonian folk culture and the celebration of Laulupidu. The use of singing in the Toronto Estonian Girl

Guides demonstrated the organization’s expression of Estonian nationalism, most especially during the Cold War, in which Estonian nationalistic songs were forbidden in Estonia. To the

Toronto Estonian Girl Guides, singing not only reflected its symbolic ties to traditional Estonian folk culture. It also reflected the strong sense of nationalism felt by the girl guides, since the songs themselves were very nationalistic, calling for the freedom of Estonia. Although many of the songs sung by the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides were not as overtly political, in terms of advocating for independence, most if not all subtly referenced liberty or freedom for Estonia:

For example, the “Gaidide Hümn,” which was sung by all Estonian Guides, begins with:

[Original Text in Estonian:] [English Translation:] Eesti, mu armas, kallis kodumaa! Estonia, my love, my dear homeland! Mu ilus maa, mu püha maa. My beautiful land, my precious land. Ma lähen läbi sinu eest, I go in front of you, su priiust kaitstes tulest, veest, to protect your liberty from wind, water, et õiststa sa võiks vabana! so that you can blossom into freedom!137

In this passage, Estonia is patriotically portrayed as the “dear homeland,” and “my beautiful land, my precious land.”138 The description of Estonia in these particular terms was typical of many nationalistic songs sung by the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides between 1949 and 1972. In

134 The Singing Revolution. directed by James Tusty and Maureen Castle Tutsy (New York: Sky Films Inc, 2007). 135 Ibid. 136 Ibid. 137 Türnpu and Grünfeldt, “Gaidide Hümn,” 4; See Figure 6 for the complete lyrics. 138 Ibid.

38 many ways, the portrayal of Estonia as “my dear homeland” in this nationalistic fashion was effective in inspiring those who sung along. First, by establishing a patriotic connection these songs contributed to the emotional connection or nationalistic feeling associated with an

“imagined homeland.” Second, these songs adhered to current messages for Estonia’s independence, even if the song itself did not directly discuss the current situation of Estonia during the Cold War. For example, in the “Gaidide Hümn,” guides are called upon to protect

Estonia’s “liberty” and “freedom” from forces such as “wind” and “water.”139 The terms “wind” and “water” are symbolically used to represent opposing forces to Estonia’s liberty. These terms also function as a metaphor for Estonia’s historical enemies: the Swedes, Danes, and Germans who, during the thirteenth, sixteenth, and seventieth centuries, travelled across the Baltic Sea by

“wind” and “water” to occupy Estonia.140 As a result, this passage is a reflection of Estonia’s history as an occupied country. In doing so, it calls upon the girl guides, as Estonians, to protect

Estonia and to help the country persevere: “Jää seisma sa, mu Eestimaa!” (“Stay standing, my

Estonia!”)141 The messages conveyed through songs such as the “Gaidide Hümn” and the nationalistic feeling portrayed by them were well received by the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides.

Silvia Hermann explained her overall experience singing similar songs with the Toronto

Estonian Girl Guides with great emotion:

You’re singing these songs for freedom and you—men, and women, and young people are singing these songs and they get to your heart. They pull at your heartstrings and you start to cry. And it’s because of the overwhelming feeling—and I can only say it’s a national pride. And I am very proud to be Canadian but I’ve never ever had that feeling—that nationalistic feeling the way I do for Estonia and fighting for independence.142

139 Türnpu and Grünfeldt, “Gaidide Hümn,” 4. 140 Ibid. 141 Ibid. 142 Hermann, interview.

The message conveyed by Hermann played a dynamic role in the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides.

These types of songs, and the emotions portrayed, were sung at every meeting, celebration, and every camp held. In addition, girl guides were tested on similar songs in their Katsed and were asked to recite them to their guide leaders.143 As a result, singing in the Toronto Estonian Girl

Guides was strongly used to inspire and educate its members in Estonia’s singing culture and tradition. Moreover, it served as one important method for the girl guides to passionately and openly express Estonian nationalism as part of the Estonian guiding mandate.

Guiding & Nationalism: Kotkajärve144

Camping emerged in North America in the 1860s, primarily as a means through which to curb the effects of modernity, particularly the perceived effects of urbanization, mass media, and consumer culture on North American youth.145 According to Sharon Wall in The Nurture of

Nature: Childhood, Antimodernism, and Ontario Summer Camps, 1920-55, camps created a space to isolate “nature from culture, country from city, the simple life from a host of urban complexities.”146 More importantly, this new space served as an escape from modernity by

“romanticizing nature, celebrating wilderness, glorifying the simple life, and espousing ‘the primitive.’”147 Camping appealed to the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides organizations in the twentieth century under similar circumstances: for their concerns over how to appropriately raise and educate the next generation of boys and girls amidst a growing urban populous.148 In this sense, camping developed as a way to isolate children from urban environments to allow for the proper development of character as well as the physical, emotional, and spiritual health of

143 Helju Kivioja, “Gaidi II Järgue Katse.” 144 Kotkajärve is Estonian for Eagle’s Lake. 145 Sharon Wall, The Nurture of Nature: Childhood, Antimodernism, and Ontario Summer Camps, 1920-55 (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2009), 9. 146 Ibid., 61. 147 Ibid., 14. 148 Ibid., 8.

40 youth as a result of their contact with nature.149 Did camping in the Toronto Estonian Girl

Guides follow this North American tradition?

When asked about the origins of camping in the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides, most members cited its roots in Estonian guiding during the early twentieth century. The Toronto

Estonian Girl Guides between 1949 and 1972 perceived camping as first a reflection of Estonian culture, including its more traditional roots in Estonian pagan culture alongside the more contemporary adoration for nature in Estonian society. When asked about the correlation between camping and Estonian culture, Kutt replied: “the Estonian part of camping was a respect for nature,” which had existed in Estonia “before Christianity.”150 Tamberg responded with a similar statement: “I think Estonians in particular have a real love of nature,” which

“goes back to their roots as a pagan culture. You know, that worship of nature, and rocks, and animals, and folk medicine.”151 Both Kutt and Tamberg recognized Estonia’s roots as a pagan culture, enriched with a repertoire of Estonian folklore and tradition, which spoke of a spiritual connection to Estonia’s wilderness and nature. Whether or not girl guides in Estonia recognized this connection in the twentieth-century, it was present in the Toronto Estonian Girl Guide’s understanding of Estonian camping and its cultural origins.

Camping also held a secondary, and perhaps more important, meaning to the Toronto

Estonian Girl Guides during 1949 and 1972. Camping, or the physical campground space, recreated a symbolic piece of Estonia in the Canadian wilderness; however, this space isolated these Estonian immigrants and their children from an urban Canadian society. In other words, the preservation of Estonian culture through camping involved the physical separation from

Canadian society as well as the symbolic recreation of Estonia in Canadian territory. In 1953, a

149 Wall, The Nurture of Nature, 33. 150 Kutt, interview. 151 Tamberg, interview.

41 group of Estonian immigrants in Toronto purchased four hundred acres of Muskoka woodland to establish Kotkajärve (Eagle’s Lake): the first Estonian Boy Scout and Girl Guide camp in

Ontario.152 At Kotkajärve, the Toronto Estonian community first sought to recreate a distinct and isolated Estonian space. Heino Jõe in an article, “Eesti Vabariik Kanada Metsas” (The

Republic of Estonia in the Forest of Canada) describes Kotkajärve as:

Although officially Toronto Estonian Scout Friends Group owns the property, Kotkajärve belongs to the Estonian people. It belongs to us all like a far away Estonian homeland beyond the ocean. It is all of ours—a small symbolic piece of the Estonian free republic in the Canadian wilderness. This thought has prevailed throughout the years.153

Jõe describes Kotkajärve as a “symbolic piece of the Estonian free republic in the Canadian wilderness.”154 This concept in itself was very important to the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides since Guiding and camping was forbidden in Estonia. Estonian camping in Canada was used to redefine spaces such as Kotkajärve as independent Estonian grounds in the free western world.

The Toronto Estonian Girl Guides who attended this camp were well aware of this message and its relationship to Estonian nationalism and Estonia’s fight for freedom. When asked about the recreation of Estonia in the Canadian wilderness through Kotkajärve, the Toronto Estonian Girl

Guides agreed with Jõe’s description. In fact, Kutt replied that’s “absolutely what we were taught and what we’re still taught.”155 This was because, according to Tamberg, Kotkajärve

“was really precious to them because” they could “build that community in nature,” and “build a piece of Eesti (Estonia) where they can have their food, and their culture, and you know, all their laulmine (singing), and everything else.”156 Marley also agreed with this concept; however, her response reflected Kotkajärve and its relation to the current state of Estonia’s occupation

152 Aun, A History of Estonians in Canada, 110. 153 Heino Jõe, “Eesti Vabariik Kanada Metsas,” in Mälestusi Gaidirajalt: Eesti Gaidide Liit, ed. by Siiri Puust, 276- 77. (Toronto: Oma Press Limited, 1988): 277. 154 Ibid. 155 Kutt, interview. 156 Tamberg, interview.

42 during the Cold War. She replied: “I think that by that time people had thought there’s no way we’re ever going to go back and it’s never going to be a free country so we had to keep the

Estonian culture here. So it was a part of Estonia.”157 In this sense, the redefinition of Canadian natural spaces in isolated Estonian Scout and Guide camps such as Kotkajärve symbolically kept Estonia free in the minds of those who attended. Also, it perpetuated messages for cultural continuity expressed through Estonian nationalistic activities and sentiments, further distinguishing the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides away from their Canadian identities.

Kotkajärve, as a symbolically designated Estonian space, allowed Estonian Guides and

Scouts across the world to collectively gather with one goal: the freedom of Estonia. Between

1953 and 1972, approximately 9,648 Estonian Boy Scouts and Girl Guides attended Kotkajärve from Estonian communities all over the world to collectively express Estonian nationalism while engaging in Estonian cultural activities: in Estonian badge or sport competitions, folk dancing, singing, kesitööd or handiwork, rifle marksmanship, as well as survival skill and orienteering activities.158 As a result, Kotkajärve not only allowed the Toronto Estonian Girl

Guides to symbolically experience Estonia in Canada, but it also connected these women with the larger Estonian diaspora and in turn, provided these women with a stronger relationship to

Estonian nationalism and its plea for independence across the world.

Guiding & Nationalism: The Estonian World Festival in Toronto, 1972

The Estonian World Festival in Toronto during 1972 was one of the most significant events to the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides. Similar to the Maailmalaager (World Jamborees or camps) held at Kotkajärve, the Estonian World Festival allowed these women to express their sense of nationalism on a global stage collectively with the Estonian diaspora. As the first

157 Marley, interview. 158 It is important to note here; however, that Kotkajärve was most regularly used by the Toronto Estonian Boy Scouts and Girl Guides; Aun, A History of Estonians in Canada, 112.

Estonian World Festival, it provided an important, and quite often the very first, opportunity for these women to act politically upon the nationalistic messages promoted within the Toronto

Estonian community, the Estonian diaspora, and the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides. In addition, it provided an opportunity for these women to openly exhibit their allegiance to Estonia in front of Canadian society, including the numerous non-Estonian spectators who attended, as well as to the rest of the western world, since the event was widely covered by the media.159

During the Estonian World Festival in 1972, 15,000 Estonians from across the world gathered in a week-long celebration of Estonian culture.160 Throughout the week, spectators from the Estonian diaspora participated in or witnessed over one hundred events including: a large parade at Nathan Philips Square, a veteran’s reunion at the Estonian House in Toronto, sports competitions, gymnastics, theatre, folk dancing, choir performances and concerts at the

Ontario Place, a beauty pageant, literary seminars, political and committee meetings, Boy Scout and Girl Guide conferences, as well as a Maailmalaager (World Camp) at Kotkajärve.161

The Toronto Estonian Girl Guides’ most notable participation during the festival included the parade to Nathan Philips Square and the Maailmalaager at Kotkajärve. During the parade, the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides, other Estonian Girl Guide groups, as well as other

Estonian-specific groups and organizations from around the world marched down Yonge Street with Estonian flags, banners, and signs carrying a specific political message: freedom for

Estonia. (Figure 7 and 10). To be specific, many of the participants during the parade carried large banners stating, “Freedom for Estonia.” (Figure 9.) From Yonge Street, the Toronto

159 See Globe and Mail articles for examples of Canadian media coverage: Suzanne Appel, “1,000 Gymnasts, 500 Dancers Help Estonians to Preserve Culture in Week-Long Festival.” The Globe and Mail (July 17, 1972), and Suzanne Appel, “A Culture in Exile.” The Globe and Mail (July 17, 1972). The CBC, staring broadcaster Ken Cavanaugh, covered the festival events extensively in a documentary: Esto ’72 (Toronto: CBC, 1972). Unfortunately, today it is inaccessible due to copyright laws. See for more information: Mart Pikkov, “The Estonian World Festival 1972,” Eesti Elu, October 18, 2008. 160Appel, “1,000 Gymnasts, 500 Dancers,” 1. 161 David Harriman, Ülemaailmsed Eesti Päevad 1972 (Toronto: Executive Committee of the Estonian World Festival, 1973), 13.

Estonian Girl Guides gathered with 15,000 spectators at Nathan Philips Square to listen to notable figures such as John G. Diefenbaker and Michell Sharp, the Canadian Minister of

External Affairs, give speeches in support of Estonians in exile and their fight for Estonia’s freedom (Figure 8).162 For many of the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides, this event was monumental. It allowed many to distinguish themselves from Canadian society, as Estonian Girl

Guides actively participating with the Estonian diaspora: marching down Yonge Street and listening to nationalistic speeches, as one of 15,000 Estonian spectators (Figure 11). Also, the large amount of attention gained by non-Estonian spectators and the media amplified the sense of pride these women held as Estonian Girl Guides. Anne Agur participated in the parade and rally at Nathan Philips Square. Her general impression was that: “It was a very moving experience and I think it was important. It certainly created awareness in the Toronto community and further worldwide.”163 Ene Lüdig also described the march:

We had the freedom walk through the city where there were thousands of people. And we sang these patriotic songs as we were marching and we ended up in Nathan Philips Square. And we had the dignitaries there and they all welcomed us. And we had these huge signs—“Freedom for Estonia.” And this was all to build the pride. To build this something that we were fighting for.164

The political and nationalistic messages promoted by the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides and the

Estonian immigrant community in Toronto strongly resonated with these women, as evident in

Agur and Lüdig’s experiences during the parade. More importantly, it attracted these women to their Estonian heritage, by calling upon their participation in the parade, more than ever before in the organization.

The rally at Nathan Philips Square was followed by the Maailmalaager at Kotkajärve.

At this world camp, Estonian Boy Scouts and Girl Guides from around the world paraded

162 Pikkov, “The Estonian World Festival 1972,” 1; Harriman, Ülemaailmsed Eesti Päevad 1972, 100. 163 Agur, interview. 164 Lüdig, interview.

45 around the campground, sang songs, participated in badge and sport competitions, and campfire concerts, among many other activities (Figure 12).165 Most notably, the scouts and guides opened the camp with a particular song known as “‘Kotkajärve’ Maailmalaagri Laul,” which was written specifically for this event. The song ends with:

[Original Text in Estonian:] [English Translation:] Kui lahkume suurlaagri vallast When we depart from the great camp ja maha jab Kanada, and behind us we leave Canada, siis uus meie rinnus on lootus, then renewed in our hearts is our feverent hope, et ka näeme kord kodumaal. that we can see each other again in the homeland.166

The last two lines of this song unite all of its singers under the same cause: the freedom for

Estonia. By stating that they have first “renewed” their “hearts” and “feverent hope” in the cause, it motivates them to maintain this message. Secondly, by singing: “that we can see each other again in the homeland,” implies that these boy scouts and girl guides may one day reunite together in an independent Estonia.167 With this message, Anne Agur stated that the Estonian

World Festival in Toronto and the Maailmalaager at Kotkajärve: “brought the Estonian community together, I think, and a lot of more people who were probably more peripheral.”168

In other words, it made the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides more active and participatory in the nationalistic goals and messages promoted at large. By singing these songs and by participating in these Estonian cultural activities at camp with other Estonian Girl Guide members from around the world, these women had no other choice but to at least recognize the role they held within a larger movement, to engage with the nationalistic messages portrayed, and to truly feel proud to be Estonian.

165 Harriman, Ülemaailmsed Eesti Päevad 1972, 79. 166 Enn Kiilaspea, “‘Kotkajärve’ Maailmalaagri Laul,” in Mälestusi Gaidirajalt: Eesti Gaidide Liit, ed. Siiri Puust. (Toronto: Oma Press Limited, 1988): 259; See Figure 13 for complete lyrics. 167 Kiilaspea, “‘Kotkajärve’ Maailmalaagri Laul.” 168 Agur, interview.

Guiding & Gender: “The Estonian Woman”

Educating the next generation of “upstanding” Estonian women was an important goal for the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides and a key part of maintaining Estonian culture, language, and tradition.169 Although this goal was primarily a nationalistic one, it was also gendered.

Estonian nationalism during this time period can also be examined in terms of the gender roles and boundaries promoted by the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides through portrayals of masculinity and femininity in the organization. According to the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides between

1949 and 1972, these gendered perceptions were based upon Estonian traditions and norms.

More importantly, they were incorporated into the education of its members, and the promotion of their growth as young Estonian women. Therefore, by using a gender studies approach we can expand our understanding of Estonian nationalism: by analyzing the particular constructions of gender found in portrayals of the Estonian woman and Estonian Guiding culture in Toronto.

Portrayals of femininity in the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides upheld notions of the

Estonian woman in traditional Estonian culture and the Estonian woman in contemporary

Canadian society. In both contexts, the continuation of Estonian tradition and nationalism predominated.

In the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides, the traditional Estonian woman was depicted as rugged, “stubborn,” and hard-working with multiple roles both inside and outside of the household.170 According to Kuutma, this originated in Estonia’s historical role as an agricultural country: “our people came from the farming community, [and] I think the head of the house was of course the father but I think the mother had a big say in what went on in the home. That was her domain and nobody said anything about how to do things there.”171 According to

169 Hermann, interview. 170 Kivioja, interview. 171 Kuutma, interview.

47 interviewees the traditional Estonian woman managed the household, cooked, raised children, mended clothes, sewed, and embroidered or worked on kesitööd, but that was not her only role.

Tamberg stated: “You’d have your feminine duties at home but then you know, a lot of these women would have grown up on the farm so they would’ve taken care of all the animals,” in addition to other labour intensive duties associated with farming.172 Despite the obvious connections with rural and farm women from other cultural contexts, the connection to traditional Estonian femininity was strong in these women’s recollections. Throughout their roles as strong Estonian women, they worked to keep Estonia alive.173

This is well-illustrated in the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides organization. For example, in their Katsed, guides were expected to know how to set a table, clean a household, prepare particular meals, mend, wash, and iron clothes, as well as embroider and sew traditional clothing and motifs.174 While these skills were promoted by the Canadian Girl Guides, interviewees noted that in the Katsed the Estonian Girl Guides were required to have knowledge of a variety of skills, such as how to use a hunting knife, axe, and a saw.175 According to Tamberg, this was an “interesting mix,” of gender roles, which was something she attributed to the Estonian heritage of the organization.176 The Toronto Estonian Girl Guides also fostered another image: the Estonian woman in contemporary Canada. During the Cold War, portrayals of the traditional

Estonian woman were transformed as the next generation of Estonian women in Canada held a more vital role: to raise and provide for the next generation of Estonians in the free world. In

172 Tamberg, interview. 173 It is important to note that this was not particular to Estonian culture alone. Quite often the economic welfare of a rural household depended on the negotiation between gender roles and boundaries, which challenged patriarchal traditions rooted in Western cultural stereotypes. See for more information on this topic: Monda M. Halpern, And on That Farm He Had a Wife: Ontario Farm Women and Feminism, 1900-1970 (Kingston: McGill-Queen’s Press, 2001). So in this case, portrayals of rural women in Canada are comparable to the Estonian rural woman at this time. However, with this in mind it is still important to acknowledge that the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides cited portrayals of femininity to their own perceptions of the Estonian rural women, as opposed to those comparable in other Western cultures. 174 Kivioja, “Gaidi III Järgue Katse.” 175 Ibid. 176 Tamberg, interview.

48 order to adapt to their new lives in Canada as refugees and immigrants, these women could not sustain the contemporary North American image of the Cold War, nuclear family housewife.177

Or in other words, according to Kuutma, “people just didn’t want to be plain housewives.”178

Instead, these women recalled themselves as more independent, well-rounded, and in many ways, more equal to their male counterparts as a result of the organization.179 Although this specific portrayal corresponds to a wider shift in Canadian society during the 1960s and 1970s, it is interesting to note that these women attributed this emerging portrayal to the Toronto

Estonian Girl Guides organization and its roots in perceptions of the traditional Estonian woman. When asked about portrayals of femininity, most of the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides particularly stated that the organization specifically rejected the Cold War stereotype. For instance, Reece-Salumets explained, “I don’t think that we were so stereotypical. I don’t think so. I think we were much more hands on. We were much more of the vision of the Estonian tough I-can-do-it all kind of woman.”180 In fact, many of the interviewees stated that the

Toronto Estonian Girl Guide, because of her heritage, could be the daughter, mother, or wife, but “one step beyond” that.181 Or, as stated by Reece-Salumets:

177 The Cold War, nuclear family housewife promoted heavily in North American media during the 1950s and 1960s was portrayed as the dutiful housewife: who stayed at home and took care of the household, including cooking, cleaning, and childcare, and was the loyal mother, wife, and in the popular media, the consumer. This image was not readily available to all Canadians nor did all Canadian women embrace it due to lack of amenities, opportunities for employment, and financial necessity. For more on this portrayal see: Valerie J. Korinek, Roughing It in the Suburbs: Reading Chatelaine Magazine in the Fifties and Sixties (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2000); Veronica Strong-Boag, “Home Dreams: Women and the Suburban Experiment in Canada, 1945-60,” Canadian Historical Review 72, no. 4 (1991): 471-504. 178 Kuutma, interview. 179 It is interesting to note that all of these women aspired to various careers: Hilja Kuutma worked as a pharmacist supervisor at Toronto East General Hospital; Helju Kivioja was an accounting clerk at Silverwood’s Diary; Siiri Lepp was a dental nurse; Ene Lüdig was a teacher; Anne Agur was and still is an Anatomy professor at the University of Toronto; Helle-Mai Reece-Salumets was a teacher and later worked at a travel agency; Ingrid Kutt worked at the Toronto Estonian Credit Union; Reet Marley still runs her own practice as a family doctor; Silvia Hermann continues to work as a probation parole officer in Toronto; and Urve Tamberg held various jobs in sales and marketing, strategic planning and development, and health economics and business development in various hospitals. Currently she is a historical fiction writer. 180 Reece-Salumets, interview. 181 Kutt, interview.

Even though that was the role, you could do that, and you could give birth to a baby, and you could go fix the fire, and you could do this, and you could go tell your husband off in the meantime. You could do all that. You’re capable of all that. But yes, [there] was [a] part of a woman’s job too, not to take that away, but you were not only that.182

Reece-Salumets raised an interesting point: this portrayal of the contemporary Estonian woman did not imply that these women had to disregard their traditional feminine roles and norms. In particular, the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides did not reject traditional constructions of femininity. As one example, this can be seen in the ways in which the girl guides attended camp: dressed in skirts. Looking back, Lepp exclaimed: “And we were always, always dressed in our uniforms. Now when I look back at these old pictures I think good grief! We had pleated skirts. Pleated skirts in camp! Holy smokes! Who does that?”183 (Figure 14.) At the same time these women at camp, despite their attire, also constructed their own fires, cut down trees, used knives, axes, and saws, set up their own tents, put together their own campgrounds, and practiced rifle marksmanship, archery, and woodwork, among many other activities and tasks traditionally perceived as masculine.184 According to these activities, these women understood that they did not abandon their roles as women: as sisters, daughters, mothers, and even wives; however, they believed that they also were not limited to the gender boundaries and roles promoted in North American media during the time. If anything, these women understood themselves as feminine according to the traditional gender norms they followed. Yet, they also perceived themselves as more independent, compared to women in contemporary Canadian society, since they were self-sustaining Estonian Girl Guides.

Although many of the camping skills and standards practiced by the Toronto Estonian

Girl Guides were not revolutionary for its time, they still remained distinguishably Estonian

182 Reece-Salumets, interview. 183 Lepp, interview. 184 In fact, activities such as woodwork in Ontario during the twentieth-century were limited to Boy’s Camps. They were perceived as activities that only suited Boy’s interests and their abilities. See for more information: Wall, The Nurture of Nature, 181; Also for her discussion of activities such as woodwork and handicrafts that were practiced by the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides and not the Canadian Girl Guides see: Hermann, interview.

50 according to these women’s perceptions. Sharon Wall describes the camping movement experienced by girls and young women in Ontario. Specifically, she discusses the expansion of gender roles and boundaries for these young women at camp as they were exposed to more physical and rigorous activities.185 In this description, these women are still limited in ways which the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides at camp were not. For example, in the late 1950s an

Ontario camp instructor remarked: “[Girls] couldn’t do a [canoe-trip] sleepover. My God, there might be an animal or something.”186 In contrast, the first Toronto Estonian Brownie camp was held in 1953, during which their Brownies had to set up and sleep in tents (Figure 15).187

Toronto Estonian Brownies and Girl Guides continuously camped in tents since the 1950s, meanwhile the Canadian Girl Guides, particularly their Brownies, were restricted to camping in barracks.188 This contributed to these women’s recollection of the differences between the two organizations and their portrayals of femininity. Kutt remarked:

The Canadian Guides, when I was there [at] that age too, they were very much into badge work, which was sewing. And it seemed that they spent a lot of time sitting around indoors, whereas Estonian Girl Guides, we were doing all kinds of stuff outside, active, physically active, more hands on. We were making fires, chopping down trees, and going to all this stuff, like going on canoe trips.189

The Canadian Girl Guide camps may not have differed vastly as some may have been more hands-on or active than others. Yet, it is important that the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides recalled the Canadian Girl Guides and their camps in this way. The general consensus from the

Toronto Estonian Girl Guides was that their camping experiences were inherently different by the ways in which they were encouraged as independent, well-rounded, and self-sufficient young Estonian women. Their understanding of these perceived differences and portrayals made

185 Wall, The Nurture of Nature, 196. 186 Ibid., 195. 187 Kuutma, interview; “Toronto Hellakeste Suvelaager, 1953,” in Mälestusi Gaidirajalt: Eesti Gaidide Liit, ed. Siiri Puust. (Toronto: Oma Press Limited, 1988): 227. 188 Kutt, interview. 189 Ibid.

51 these women proud to distinguish themselves from other girl guide organizations as true

Estonian Girl Guides. In this sense, portrayals of independence in the Toronto Estonian Girl

Guides developed into expressions of nationalism and cultural continuity. Drawing upon these women’s understandings of the traditional and contemporary Estonian woman, the Toronto

Estonian Girl Guides were encouraged to aspire to this overall image and in the long run, engage and preserve Estonian culture as Estonian women.

Conclusion: Assimilation or Cultural Continuity?

At the end of their interviews, the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides were asked whether or not their own memories of the organization between 1949 and 1972 contribute to experiences of assimilation or cultural continuity. The overwhelming response from these women was that their experiences, as Toronto Estonian Girl Guides, illustrate cultural continuity alongside the organization’s push for a distinguishably Estonian program. Kutt raises this point in her statement: “[It was] very much [a] rejection in that Estonian Girl Guides—we were adamant that we wanted to be able to run the program in Estonian, we wanted to wear our own uniforms, we

[didn’t] want anybody telling us what to do.”190 More importantly, to Kutt, rejection to assimilation originated in the Toronto Estonian Girl Guide’s history. She described that as refugees:

You have nothing. You have whatever you brought in your suitcase. So your culture is all you have so they really—there was no way you could make them try to assimilate into something else because they had nothing else. And so that’s where that sort of desire to reject the broader thinking came from.191

190This comment was said in relation to an earlier discussion in the interview, during which she discussed the complications the organization faced when it was briefly associated with the Canadian Girl Guides Association. The Canadian Girl Guides did not want the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides to practice in Estonian and did not understand many of the Estonian cultural components required of its members. The Toronto Estonian Girl Guides decided to separate themselves from the Canadian Girl Guides due to this complication. See for more on this discussion: Kutt, interview. 191 Ibid.

As is evident in this paper, the history of many of these women’s immigration to Canada, and the impact of such stories on the following generation, played a significant role in defining the

Toronto Estonian Girl Guides. Through the Estonian Girl Guides assimilation was not evidently desired, especially since the Cold War amplified the value of these stories, messages, goals, attitudes, and beliefs. In fact, Reece-Salumets explained that from her own experience in the organization, assimilation was not even a concept that was considered. More importantly, the organization did not assist its members in finding a balance between their Estonian and

Canadian identities. Instead, Reece-Salumets found it was “pulling me apart.”192 She agreed that the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides allowed her to “get the full experience of what the Estonian side of it [identity] is, of you and your nationality, and your heritage.”193 But, in doing so, it did not provide the Canadian experience or identity, resulting in the confusion of some of its members. However, to others, the separation was quite clear. When asked about the balance between the two identities, Tamberg responded: “you wear one hat one day and you wear the other hat the other day. They don’t cross.”194 Regardless of these women’s varying perceptions of the two identities, it is evident that the organization kept the two separate by emphasizing the

Estonian way of life.

This reality does not mean that the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides resisted assimilation into Canadian society altogether. In fact, to do so would have been impossible since these women and their families needed to survive in Canada. It is nonetheless remarkable that after more than sixty years of living in Canada the narrative of Estonian nationalism remains strong in these women’s memories and understandings of the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides. This is evident in the organization’s support of Estonian nationalism through the education and

192 Reece-Salumets, interview. 193 Ibid. 194 Tamberg, interview.

53 preservation of Estonian culture and language, its association with political messages concerning Estonia’s independence, the coordination of guiding and Estonian cultural principles, as well as the instruction of constructions of gender in Estonian traditional and contemporary culture. Furthermore, their involvement in the goals, activities, and messages of the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides developed their own sense of Estonian nationalism and, as a result, shaped the ways in which these women engaged, promoted, and participated in their

Estonian identities.

This paper also contributes to the story of the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides to a broader understanding of Canada’s immigration history in the twenty-first century. In his 2012 book,

Beyond the Nation? Immigrants’ Local Lives in Transnational Cultures, Alexander Freund proposes that scholars should reconsider the traditional concept of assimilation, of the immigrant culture adopting the host culture. He claims that instead, processes of assimilation should be viewed through a term he refers to as “transcultural lives,” of “living in different cultures simultaneously and merging these cultures within oneself, one’s family, and one’s community.”195 The story of Toronto Estonian Girl Guides and their experiences of cultural continuity reinforce Freund’s portrayal of assimilation through “transcultural lives.” In fact, it is apparent, when we take into account Freund’s analysis, that the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides navigated and experienced “different cultures simultaneously.”196 Although the Toronto

Estonian Girl Guides had no other choice but to adapt to Canadian society, the organization’s promotion of Estonian culture and nationalism preserved ties to these women’s Estonian heritage and identities. By considering the dual forces that shaped these women, including pressures from Canadian society and the Toronto Estonian community, these women lived

“transcultural lives.” More importantly, the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides organization provided

195 Freund, Immigrants’ Local Lives in Transnational Cultures, 6. 196 Ibid.

54 a strong area of influence, which further enriched these women’s experiences of cultural continuity and their “transcultural lives,” as first Estonians, and second, Canadians.

When we return to Kuutma’s story it is evident that she has played an active role in both her Canadian and Estonian interests since her immigration to Canada in 1948. Today, she continues to engage in her Estonian heritage through her ongoing participation in the Toronto

Estonian Girl Guides as the organization’s Vanem. Retrospectively, she has pursued other interests in Canadian society by following her passion in medicine. Since an early age in

Toronto, education was her main focus.197 In 1960, Kuutma graduated from the University of

Toronto with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Pharmacy. Since then, she has worked as a pharmacist, and later pharmacist supervisor, at Toronto East General Hospital until her retirement in 1994.198 Through these two avenues, Kuutma developed a balanced sense of her

Canadian and Estonian identities as “transcultural.” Although she belonged to Canadian society, especially due to economic and personal interests, the cultural continuity of her Estonian culture in the organization was also essential to her life as an Estonian immigrant in Canada.

Particularly, when asked about how the organization made her feel as an Estonian immigrant woman in Toronto during 1949 and 1972, she replied: “Well it made me feel like I belonged somewhere, really.”199 I clarified: “Belonged to...Canada or just to the [Estonian] community?”200 Kuutma responded: “Ah, no in Canada. The Estonian community was sort of part of Canada. It was something within Canada so it made me belong to my Estonian roots, where I was also part of something bigger in a way.”201 Many of the other women’s responses to this question were the same, since they shared an appreciation of Canada as their new homeland and in doing so, maintained a strong sentimentality for their Estonian heritage and culture. In

197 Kuutma, interview. 198 Ibid. 199 Ibid. 200 Ibid. 201 Ibid.

55 this case, the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides experienced cultural continuity through the organization to maintain their Estonian roots; however, during this process, these women also lived “transcultural lives,” during which their Estonian culture became fundamentally integrated into their own understanding of their lives in Canada.

Figures

Figure 1. Traditional Estonian Embroidery Motifs and Patterns from the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides Leader Instruction Handbook, circa 1950s. Photo courtesy of The Toronto Estonian Girl Guide Archives.

Figure 2. Instructions on how to use an Estonian Traditional Spinning Wheel from the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides Leader Instruction Handbook, circa 1950s. Photo courtesy of The Toronto Estonian Girl Guide Archives.

. Figure 3. Diagram of the Toronto Estonian Girl Guide Uniform from the Leader Instruction Handbook, circa 1950s. Photo courtesy of The Toronto Estonian Girl Guide Archives.

Figure 4. “Avamine esimesel aastakoosolekul Kanadas, Torontos 1953,” (Opening the first meeting of the year in Canada, Toronto 1953) in Siiri Puust, Mälestusi Gaidirajalt: Eesti Gaidide Liit (Toronto: Oma Press Limited, 1988), 32.

Figure 5. Canadian Girl Guides Uniforms, circa 1950s. Photo courtesy of The Toronto Estonian Girl Guide Archives.

Figure 6. “Gaidide Hümn.” (“Girl Guide Anthem”)

Original Text in Estonian: English Translation: Eesti, mu armas, kallis kodumaa! Estonia, my love, my dear homeland! Mu ilus maa, mu püha maa. My beautiful land, my precious land. Ma lähen läbi sinu eest, I go in front of you, su priiust kaitstes tulest, veest, to protect your liberty from wind, water, et õiststa sa võiks vabana! so that you can blossom into freedom!

Koidu ja hämariku kodumaa! Dawn and dusk homeland! Mu sünnimaa, mu laulumaa. My birth land, my singing land. Kes oma maa ja merega Whose land and sea were freed said vabastatud verega by blood. Jää seisma sa, mu Eestimaa! Stay standing, my Estonia!

Jumal sind kaitsku, kallis kodumaa God protect you, dear homeland su rahvaga, su rahvaga! your people, your people! Kui juhib ta sing tõeteel If he leads you down the path of righteousness ja ustavaks jab sinu meel, and you remain believers siis seisad sa, mu Eestimaa! Then you will stand, my Estonia!

Türnpu, K. and P. Grünfeldt. “Gaidide Hümn.” In Mälestusi Gaidirajalt: Eesti Gaidide Liit, edited by Siiri Puust, 4. Toronto: Oma Press Limited, 1988.

Figure 7. The Estonian Diaspora Gathering at Nathan Philips Square for the Estonian World Festival in 1972. In David Harriman, Ülemaailmsed Eesti Päevad 1972 (Toronto: Executive Committee of the Estonian World Festival, 1973).

Figure 8. Nathan Philips Square During the Estonian World Festival in 1972. In David Harriman, Ülemaailmsed Eesti Päevad 1972 (Toronto: Executive Committee of the Estonian World Festival, 1973).

Figure 9. March down Yonge Street towards Nathan Philips Square. In David Harriman, Ülemaailmsed Eesti Päevad 1972 (Toronto: Executive Committee of the Estonian World Festival, 1973).

Figure 10. The Toronto Estonian Girl Guides March to Nathan Philips Square during the Estonian World Festival in Toronto, 1972. Photo courtesy of Ene Lüdig.

Figure 11. The Toronto Estonian Boy Scouts and Girl Guides at Nathan Philips Square during the Estonian World Festival in Toronto, 1972. Photo courtesy of Ene Lüdig.

Figure 12. Kotkajärve Maailmalaager during the Estonian World Festival in 1972. In David Harriman, Ülemaailmsed Eesti Päevad 1972 (Toronto: Executive Committee of the Estonian World Festival, 1973).

Figure 13. “‘Kotkajärve’ Maailmalaagri Laul.” (“‘Kotkajärve’ World Camp Song”)

Original Text in Estonian: English Translation: Meid igapool leidub siin ilmas, We’re found throughout this world, kui laevu, mis kandnud torm. like ships blown by a storm. Ent siiski me purjed on kindlad, But still our sails are sturdy, Neid karstand saatus karm. strengthened by harsh fate. [Refrään]: [Chorus]: Sa kaugelt tulid Kotkajärvele, You have come far away to Kotkajärve, kus kõik Eesti noored koos. where all Estonian youth are together. Jälle seob meid sõprus kallis, Again tied by precious friendship, nagu oli see muinasloos. as in legend. Siin näha void säravaid silmi, Here you can see shining eyes, nüüd ulgemaks sammud sea. now bravely you step ahead. Veel tunneme kõik seda rikkust, Yet we’re feeling all of the riches, mida kaasnud meil isamaa. which were gathered in the homeland. [Refrään] [Chorus] Kui lahkume suurlaagri vallast When we depart from the great camp ja maha jab Kanada, and behind us we leave Canada, siis uus meie rinnus on lootus, then renewed in our hearts is our feverent hope, et ka näeme kord kodumaal. that we can see each other again in the homeland. [Refrään] [Chorus]

Kiilaspea, Enn. “‘Kotkajärve’ Maailmalaagri Laul.” In Mälestusi Gaidirajalt: Eesti Gaidide Liit, edited by Siiri Puust, 259. Toronto: Oma Press Limited, 1988.

Figure 14. “Külalised ‘Alatskivi’ õuel. ‘Põhjala,’ 1954,” (“Visitors to the ‘Alatskivi’ yard. ‘Põhjala,’ [camp] 1954”) in Mälestusi Gaidirajalt: Eesti Gaidide Liit, ed. Siiri Puust. (Toronto: Oma Press Limited, 1988): 238.

Figure 15. “Esimene iseseisev hellakeste laager Eesti gaidluse ajaloos—‘Tibutara’ Jõekäärul, 1953,” (“The first independent Estonian Brownie Camp in Guiding History”) in “Toronto Hellakeste Suvelaager, 1953,” Mälestusi Gaidirajalt: Eesti Gaidide Liit, ed. Siiri Puust. (Toronto: Oma Press Limited, 1988): 227.

Appendix A

Participant Information Letter and Consent for Identified Participants

You are asked to participate in a research study entitled “‘Jää seisma sa, mu Eestimaa!’: Voices of Nationalism and Cultural Continuity in the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides, 1949-1972” conducted by Kristi Kukk from the History Department at Nipissing University. The results of this study will contribute to a Masters Research Paper.

If you have any questions or concerns about the research, please feel free to contact the research supervisor, Dr. Katrina Srigley at or ( or myself, Kristi Kukk at .

The purpose and objectives of this study are to document the experiences of the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides between 1949 to 1972.

Participation Procedures

If you volunteer to participate in this study, we would ask you to:

Participate in one to three meetings, including a one-on-one interview. With your permission, I will digital video or digital voice record the interview.

You may determine the length and frequency of our meetings. Interviews typically take between 1 to 2 hours to complete. We will meet at a location determined by you. This might include your home or the Toronto Estonian House.

Before any particular comments or answers are used in this study, you will be able to participate in an approval stage during which participants will be able to review their interviews to either approve or decline statements that may be used in the final research paper. Participants will have access to the outcomes of the research, through contact, to receive either a digital or transcript copy of the final paper. Participants will also be further requested for consent if there are any foreseeable secondary uses of the data in other studies or publications.

This is a minimal risk study. In event that our discussion poses cultural or social risks, or raises issues that are difficult for you emotionally or otherwise, I will help you connect with support services of your choice. This may include: The Toronto Distress Centre (416) 408-4357 or www.torontodistresscentre.com

Or simply, if you do not wish to answer any questions that you consider to put yourself at risk, you have the right to disclose or withdraw any or all questions in the study. Accordingly, you will also be able to withdraw yourself from the study at any time.

By participating in this study you will contribute your voice and experiences to the writing of an untold chapter in immigration history and the history of the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides Association.

With your participation, this study will help to broaden our understanding of the role of organizations such as the Girl Guides in Canadian immigration experiences. Through a specific gender and oral history approach, this study will provide a unique and valuable narrative to the small Toronto Estonian community that remains determined to preserve its history and identity in contemporary Canadian society.

No financial or other compensation will be offered for your participation.

I will respect your wishes with regards to confidentiality. Please check any of the following that apply to you:

You may use my name and the stories I have shared with you without restriction.

Please do not use any information that could be used to identify me in presentations or publications.

Please destroy my interview when research is completed.

Other (please outline your specific wishes)

This study has been approved by the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides Association.

CONFIDENTIALITY PROCESS Information obtained in connection with this study, that can be identified with you will remain confidential and will be disclosed only with your permission. Participation in this study is voluntary and you are free to withdraw at any time. You have the right to refuse to answer any question(s) that you find objectionable or which make you feel uncomfortable. You may withdraw your consent at any time and discontinue participation without penalty.

INFORMED CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH As a participant in this research project, I clearly understand what I am agreeing to do, and that I am free to decline involvement or withdraw from this project at any time, and that steps are being taken to protect me. I have read this Participant Information Letter and Consent Form and have had any questions, concerns, or complaints answered to my satisfaction. I have been provided a copy of this letter.

Name (print) Date

Signature

This study has been reviewed and received ethics clearance through Nipissing University’s Research Ethics Board. If you have questions regarding your rights as a research participant, contact:

Ethics Coordinator, F309 Nipissing University North Bay, ON P1B 8L7

Appendix B Interview Questions: First Generation Toronto Estonian Girl Guides

Biographical Questions: 1. Where/when were you born? 2. How/when did you arrive in Canada? 3. What was your first destination? b) When did you come to Toronto? c) Why did you or your family choose Toronto? 4. Did you travel with your family or alone? 5. Which family members travelled with you? b) When did other family members arrive? c) How did they arrive? d) (alternate) If they were not able to travel, what were the causes? 6. What did your parents do for a living? 7. What was your initial experience in Canada as an immigrant child/woman? 8. What were your/your parents’ initial goals or aspirations after arriving in Canada? 9. Where did you go to school? 10. What did you do for a living in Canada?

Organization Specific Questions: 11. How were you first introduced to the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides? b) When did you first join? c) When did you leave the organization? 12. What were your initial impressions of the organization? 13. How did you participate? What was your role in the organization? 14. How many children participated in the organization? b) Can you describe this group to me? (here I will draw out questions about the age range and class background of participants) c) What were the qualifications? How were girls admitted into the organization? 15. What did the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides mean to you? 16. How was the organization particularly Estonian? 17. How did the organization reflect the Toronto Estonian community and its ties to Estonia? 18. What were the goals of the organization? 19. What kinds of activities were you involved in as a Girl Guide? 20. I understand that rifle practice was included in these activities, please tell me more about this. Why was rifle practice important to the Estonian organization? 21. Did the organization have any specific cultural goals? 22. Did the organization have any political goals? 23. Did the organization have any specific religious goals? 24. Did the organization have any specific educational goals? How important was education to the organization and its focus on future Toronto Estonian generations? 25. Did the organization have any specific gender goals? b) Did it teach you about how to be a woman from the organization’s perspective? [In other words] How did the organization portray femininity? c) [If the organization had a specific portrayal] Did the organization’s portrayal confirm or reject the 1950s and 1960s stereotype of the North American woman or housewife promoted in the media at the time?

d) Did any of the activities or lessons promote or prepare for motherhood? 26. Were there any goals that especially interested you? b) Were there any goals that you disagreed with in the organization? 27. How did the organization make you feel as an Estonian immigrant woman in Toronto during the 1950s and1970s? 28. Do you remember the Estonian World Festival in Toronto in 1972? b) Did you participate in this event? c) What was your role? d) How significant was this event to you? e) How significant was your participation in this event to you? 29. In your opinion, do you think there is a relationship between camping and Estonian culture? Does camping reflect Estonian tradition or do you think it is more or a North American cultural activity or a Guiding-specific activity? 30. Did you ever attend Kotkajärve? b) What were your impressions of the camp? c) In your opinion, how important is Kotkajärve to the Estonian Girl Guides? To the Estonian community? To the preservation of the goals discussed earlier? 31. [Also in light of our previous discussion about gender and femininity] during your participation at Kotkajärve, did you ever encounter or recognize gender divisions, specific gender roles, or portrayals of femininity (ie. The Estonian camping woman)? 32. Did the organization have a positive or a negative impact on the Estonian community? b) On the city more generally? 33. Is there anything you would like to add to our discussion?

Appendix C Interview Questions: Second Generation Toronto Estonian Girl Guides

Biographical Questions: 1. Where/when were you born? 2. Can you describe your family and ancestry? b) Where were your parents born? c) [If immigrated] Where were they from? How did they arrive? 3. What did your parents do for a living? [in Estonia and in Canada] 4. Did any of your parents or relatives participate in the Estonian community in Toronto? b) [If so] What was their role? 5. Did any of your parents or relatives participate in the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides or Scouts? 6. When was your initial contact with the Estonian community in Toronto? b) Can you explain what your first contact it was? What was it like? 7. What was your initial experience of Canada as a second generation Estonian? b) How did you balance your Estonian and Canadian identity? [This question can both pertain to perceptions of identity during 1949 and 1972 and their current perceptions today] c) How important was your Estonian heritage to you as a child? d) Did the Girl Guides play a role in shaping this identity? 8. What did you do for a living in Canada?

Organization Specific Questions: 9. How were you first introduced to the Toronto Estonian Girl Guides? b) When did you first join? c) When did you leave the organization? 10. What were your initial impressions of the organization? 11. How did you participate? What was your role in the organization? 12. How many children participated in the organization? b) Can you describe this group to me? (here I will draw out questions about the age range and class background of participants) c) What were the qualifications? How were girls admitted into the organization? 13. What did being a Toronto Estonian Girl Guide mean to you? 14. How was the organization particularly Estonian? 15. How did the organization reflect the Toronto Estonian community and its ties to Estonia? 16. What were the goals of the organization? 17. What kinds of activities were you involved in as a Girl Guide? 18. I understand that rifle practice was included in these activities, please tell me more about this. Why was rifle practice important to the Estonian organization? 19. Did the organization have any specific cultural goals? 20. Did the organization have any political goals? 21. Did the organization have any specific religious goals? 22. Did the organization have any specific educational goals? How important was education to the organization and its focus on future Toronto Estonian generations? 23. Did the organization have any specific gender goals? b) Did it teach you about how to be a woman from the organization’s perspective? [In other words] How did the organization portray femininity?

c) [If the organization had a specific portrayal] Did the organization’s portrayal confirm or reject the 1950s and 1960s stereotype of the North American woman or housewife promoted in the media at the time? d) Did any of the activities or lessons promote or prepare for motherhood? 24. Were there any goals that especially interested you? b) Were there any goals that you disagreed with in the organization? 25. How did the organization make you feel in relation to your Estonian heritage? 26. Do you remember the Estonian World Festival in Toronto in 1972? b) Did you participate in this event? c) What was your role? d) How significant was this event to you? e) How significant was your participation in this event to you? 27. In your opinion, do you think there is a relationship between camping and Estonian culture? Does camping reflect Estonian tradition or do you think it is more or a North American cultural activity or a Guiding-specific activity? 28. Did you ever attend Kotkajärve? b) What were your impressions of the camp? c) In your opinion, how important is Kotkajärve to the Estonian Girl Guides? To the Estonian community? To the preservation of the goals discussed earlier? 29. [Also in light of our previous discussion about gender and femininity] during your participation at Kotkajärve, did you ever encounter or recognize gender divisions, specific gender roles, or portrayals of femininity (ie. The Estonian camping woman)? 30. Did the organization have a positive or a negative impact on the Estonian community? On the city more generally? 31. Is there anything you would like to add to our discussion?

Bibliography

Primary Sources: Newspapers Eesti Elu

Newspaper Articles Appel, Suzanne. “1,000 Gymnasts, 500 Dancers Help Estonians to Preserve Culture in Week- Long Festival.” The Globe and Mail, July 17, 1972. Appel, Suzanne. “A Culture in Exile.” The Globe and Mail, July 17, 1972. Mirka, Killi. “Hilja Kuutma ja Asta Piiliga läbi Gaidlipkonna Põhjala Tütred 60-aastase ajaloo.” Eesti Elu, March 20, 2009. Pikkov, Mart. “The Estonian World Festival 1972.” Eesti Elu, October 18, 2008.

Archives Toronto Estonian Girl Guide Archives

Interviews Conducted by Author Anne Agur, Toronto, Ontario, 24 May 2013. Ene Lüdig, Toronto, Ontario, 22 May 2013. Helle-Mai Reece-Salumets, Toronto, Ontario, 28 May 2013. Helju Kivioja, Toronto, Ontario, 30 December 2012. Hilja Kuutma, Toronto, Ontario, 13 October 2012. Hilja Kuutma, Toronto, Ontario, 27 May 2013. Ingrid Kutt, Toronto, Ontario, 31 May 2013. Reet Marley, Toronto, Ontario, 5 June 2013. Silvia Hermann, Oak Ridges, Ontario, 3 June 2013. Siiri Lepp, Toronto, Ontario, 4 January 2013. Urve Tamberg, Oakville, Ontario, 30 May 2013.

Personal Documents Kivioja, Helju. “Eesti Gaidide Malev Kanadas Lipkonna/Uksuse Kodukord.” Kivioja, Helju. “Gaidi I Järgue Katse.” Kivioja, Helju. “Gaidi II Järgue Katse.” Kivioja, Helju. “Gaidi III Järgue Katse.” Date unknown. Kivioja, Helju. “Gaidi Katsed.” Kivioja, Helju. “Juhi Isik ja Omadused.” Toronto: 1959. Kivioja, Helju. “Laagrivarustus.” Kuutma, Hilja. “Estonian Guiding in Exile.” Toronto: 1977. Kuutma, Hilja. “Gaidlipkond ‘Põhjala Tütred’ 45 Aastapäevaks.” Toronto: 24 April, 1994. Kuutma, Hilja. “Important Events in the History of Guiding in Estonia.” Toronto: 12 August 1977. Kuutma, Hilja. “Keskmine Arvigal Teguusaastal.” Kuutma, Hilja. “Structural Organization of Estonian Girl Guides.” Kuutma, Hilja. “Toronto ‘Põhjala Tütred’ Lipkond.” Kuutma, Hilja. “Toronto ‘Põhjala Tütred’ Raamatu Omaniku Allkiri.” Lepp, Siiri. “Abruka Valss.” Lepp, Siiri. “Eesti Lipp.” Written by Enn Kiilaspea.

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