The Päts family in 1938, with our painting of Estonian President Konstantin Päts on the wall

Canon PowerShot S100

ƒ/2.2

5.2 mm

1/30

A topical toast to Estonia on Independence Day today. Vaba Eesti.

Seeing this, my father wrote: “Matti Päts is siting on the left, on the floor in the sailor suit, it was taken on his birthday April 10 1938, I was born 8 days later. (My Dad is in mom’s belly, to the right of the table, looking a bit ill =)

On the far left, the sitting pretty lady holding the kid with white stockings, is Liis Lass’s grandmother Ariadne, daughter of Marianne Pung (Päts), Voldemar’s sister. The third child, from left standing with the big ears, is Jüri Lass, Liis Lass’s father’s older brother. Her father was not born yet.”

8 responses to “The Päts family in 1938, with our painting of Estonian President Konstantin Päts on the wall”

jurvetson

Feb 24, 2014 at 8:09 pm

From these books about my great-grandparents:
Here is the painting of the President that you see in the background above:(I grew up seeing this hanging in my parents house, and it still hangs there today)

And a photo I took in Estonia of a lighter moment…Konstantin Pats, Voldemar’s brother, was the President of Estonia at the time.

…and my father and grandfather (far left) on the Pirita river crossing in Lagedi, 1944. The horse was named "Tiiu" (which is my Mom’s name too…. spooky). Voldemar built a house there and devised a novel water flow propelled barge crossing system. You could angle the barge, depending on which direction you wanted to cross, and the river’s flow would propel the barge across, perpendicular to the flow. In the photo the barge is parallel to the cable and not moving, to take the photograph. My Dad writes: "Granfather explained vector analysis to me and its uses, I was most impressed."

I am more used to the grumpy pose in these photos; here is the Pats family: My Dad wrote: "Voldemar is the one wearing the beret, Peeter is in the center, back. Wikipedia and all other sources have the names wrong. Voldemar was an artist, a bohemian and dressed with a flair. Kinda like Johnny Depp."

Speaking at the first Independence Day parade on Feb 24, 1919…
…and looking Churchill-esque in 1938, at the 20-year anniversary
On last year’s anniversary, they published a 544-page book on my great grandfather:

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gsikich1

Feb 24, 2014 at 8:25 pm

Congratulations – have you visited yet?

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Aris Jansons

Feb 24, 2014 at 8:56 pm

Congratulations! Hope you had nice celebration, as every year. President Ilves greeted Estonians in Parnu this year, you know.

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jurvetson

Feb 24, 2014 at 11:23 pm

[http://www.flickr.com/photos/26274943@N02] — Oh yes, several times… for Skype board meetings, family visits, and the singing festival (planning to bring my daughter and parents to that this summer). All Esto photos.

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jurvetson

Feb 26, 2014 at 9:17 pm

There are some wonderful photos in there that I have not seen before, especially of my father’s childhood….
As a baby in Estonia:On the top left, he is in the apartment with his mom, and we have now regained ownership (post Soviet occupation), and we stay in the same bedroom now when we visit Tallinn. Bottom left shows the Pats family at Lagedi, a summer retreat that my Dad remembers fondly from his youth. On on the right, showing an early interest in radios as a 3-yr old… Fast forward to 1966, and his first job in America was with Motorola (and that’s why I am a U.S. citizen)

and growing up with his sister Anne:My Dad and sister Anne Ole with their Mom (who we all called Mampsi). And on the right, my father with his Pats grandparents in the displaced persons camp in Geislingen at the end of WWII. His grandfather was the mayor of the makeshift town full of Estonians.

A poignant note… a friend from Canada sending food to my family in the US displaced persons camp after WW II
The back cover – an adorable shot of my Dad dancing with his grandmother:More Photos

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tonyjurvetson

Feb 27, 2014 at 5:47 pm

Tiiu and I were lucky to have her attend our wedding in Montreal in 1961. She was also able to meet Steve when visiting us in Arizona.

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jurvetson

May 27, 2016 at 3:16 pm

Some more details from an email from my Mom:

"Your grandfather, Arthur was born in Parnu, where his parents were prominent publishers. They published the Estonian Declaration of Independence in February 1918. A book has been written about your great grandmother who stayed up all night printing it by hand because the presses were broken. The rush for printing an Estonian Declaration of Independence was to avert Germany taking over the country. The Germans eventually handed political power back to Estonia.

Arthur was a good student and had degrees in both engineering and architecture from Vienna. He was a talented architect, though his major works could not bear his name because his credentials were not from Canada, so were built under the name of a renown Canadian architect.

Your grandmother, Silvia, was born in Tallinn. Silvia was a law student. Her father Voldemar was an artist and educator along with being brother of the President. He held many prominent positions in art education and organizations in Estonia along with being assistant Minister of Education. With his wife, Johanna, they founded the Estonian Red Cross. They also became publishers of all the text books for Estonian schools, owned a major office building in Tallinn and real estate. Johanna had been a teacher of mathematics. She also established the first orphanages in Estonia.

Your father’s family lived mostly at the Lagede home during the war because it was safer and less likely to be bombed. However, they were in the Tallinn apartment when during a chance meeting on the staircase a neighbor said now is the last chance to leave Estonia by ship. They quickly packed few things and took a taxi to the harbor. They were able to board the last ships leave the Tallinn port before the borders were closed. However, many of the last ships to leave were bombed by the Russians.

The family went to Dresden but left just before it was heavily bombed. They ended up in a displaced persons camp in Geisinglen where many Estonian war refugees were provided places to live by the allies.

Your father went to school there but got most of his education and his character formed from reading nonstop and mostly his grandfather’s books. They would then have discussions about how and why political and military actions had shaped the world they live in now. They both shared a love of reading and building stuff together. I think from his grandfather your Dad got his tremendous self confidence as he used to say: “from the earliest years he respected my thinking and supported my taking the initiative”.

Having been a former teacher, from his grandmother, Tonu learned mathematics. She also had the better business mind as she initiated the school book publishing company and the purchase of the large office building in Tallinn.

From there the family went to Gothenburg in Sweden and eventually Canada."

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