A lot happens in a span of 70 years. Halley’s Comet nearly completes its 7 billion mile elliptical cruise around the Solar System. In the east, the Sun rises over 25,000 times and sets with the same frequency in the west. Two generations of humans make room for a third. A child is born, grows, ages, and becomes content.
And in that same timespan the Lakewood Estonian House in New Jersey was built with sweat equity, inhabited, expanded, and filled with stories. In 2016 the meeting place for several generations of Estonians turns 70 and celebrates its platinum anniversary. The significance is elemental, for just like platinum, Estonians are rare, strong, and of course, sometimes dense.
Just as the physical structure was built from scratch, so too were the memories. Many of those reading this now are smiling and remembering times of merriment, Estonian style.
Maybe it was the Estonian School Christmas pageant, when the kids performed carefully choreographed recitals on stage while verivorstid crackled in the kitchen.
Maybe it was the Jaanipäev celebration when the sun set a little later and you went to bed a lot later, so as not to miss a joke or a conversation.
Or, maybe it was a collage of events spanning the Friday night open houses when locals gather to eat open-face sandwiches sprink-led liberally with dill, enjoy a beverage of choice, and keep a culture alive in a distant land.
And if you are thinking a 70th anniversary would be a wonderful reason to celebrate days gone by, and a pleasingly optimistic future, you would be correct. This is not a round-number occurrence to be squandered. As Estonia marches toward its 100th anniversary, significantly, this small enclave 4,000 miles from Tallinn will turn 70.
As such, the Lakewood Estonian Association invites all those with a connection to Lakewood to come home for a weekend. Branded Tulge Koju, or Come Home, the celebration begins Friday evening, September 2, 2016 with Andres Raudsepp on guitar playing your favorite folk songs. One should expect a healthy dose of conversation and laughter to accompany the music.
Then, on Saturday, the grounds will host a volleyball tournament, the New York Segakoor (mixed chorus), energetic folk dancing with the Saare Vikat dance group, and a memory lane. As the evening kicks in, get back on your feet to continue the party when Väike Mees arrives from Estonia to play their brand of folk rock.
Clear your calendars for Friday and Saturday September 2 and 3, 2016. Call your friends and get nostalgic. Come home for a weekend.
Andres Simonson
