In the newest video of our series on Estonian community members with an affinity for Eesti Elu / Estonian Life newspaper, we visited the whimsical home of Ashley Lennox and Kalev Nisbet. Like our previous interviewees, the Colfords, they’ve kept numerous clippings of the newspaper from throughout their lives.
For Ashley, the paper was a constant presence during her childhood, when her vanaema (grandma) lived with her family and taught Ashley Estonian. She recalls, “I was very lucky to have my vanaema live with us… she only spoke Estonian. So if I wanted to communicate with her, that’s the language I used.”
“I always remember my vanaema saying ‘Eesti leht on tulnud.’ (‘The Estonian newspaper has arrived.’) [and] ‘Kus Eesti leht on jäänud?’” (‘Where has the Estonian newspaper gone?’)
(Ashley Lennox)
And, in turn, her vanaema’s connection to Estonia and the Estonian language was through Eesti Elu. Ashley describes how “It was so important for my vanaema who was older and not always able to go out to events herself, to receive this paper every week, to have this the summary of all the things going on in her community. And, I always remember [her saying] ‘Eesti leht on tulnud.’ (‘The Estonian newspaper has arrived.’) [and] ‘Kus Eesti leht on jäänud?’” (‘Where has the Estonian newspaper gone?’)
Joining them in their home, we look into how that connection to Estonia, its language, and the local community persists today through Ashley’s folklore-inspired art and Kalev’s work as a brewer. Kalev shares how his professional journey has been well-documented in the paper, right down to a very specific celebratory brew: “Right around the time that we were expecting our son, I actually did a small collaboration project… and we actually made an Oeselian’s imperial stout… Ashley made a beautiful label for it as well that’s just steeped in meaning.”
From documenting their professional milestones to announcing the birth of their son, the couple shows how the newspaper is a living archive of their family story. Watch the full video below to see their collection of clippings and hear how they are passing traditions down to the next generation.
If you care about these stories like this, subscribe to Eesti Elu today. Subscriptions start at just $2.30 per week.
Video directed by Kaisa Pitsi, shot and edited by Mikus Peirags.
