It is a sad but inevitable situation that the generation that had the courage to purchase and build the place that Seedrioru has become is rapidly disappearing. Those hardy Estonian immigrants, whose great escape 80 years ago was recently celebrated, are now precious few in number. Fortunately, there exists an amazing print source for facts and figures chronicling the first 25 years of Seedrioru’s history, simply named Seedrioru: 1955-1980. It has never been translated from the original Estonian into English. This is unfortunate as it renders the information inaccessible to many second and third generation descendants. I will attempt to summarize the rich historical details in the book in this first of a two part article about Seedrioru’s history.
“Jüri, see on see koht!”: this is the place. Those words were uttered by a soaking wet Arnold Voltre after a two hour trek in the woods through high grass after recent rain on the 62.5 acre plot of land known as Pilkington Township Concession C Lot 3 on May 22, 1955, to Jüri Juurand.
The desire to have a summer camp for Estonian children recently settled with their families in Southern Ontario, started to take shape in 1951, when the Kitchener Estonian Society organized a local camp experience. The first one organized by the Hamilton Estonian Society followed in 1952. By 1953, St. Catharines children participated in the Hamilton camps. London did not organize camps at this time. It soon became obvious that renting space, carting supplies there and the lack of permanent storage space was not financially feasible or practical. The four societies decided to pool their resources to purchase a plot of land together that they could call their own.
A committee was formed and the search began. After exploring and rejecting many places on their own, a real estate agent was contacted, who offered possible sites. Interestingly, one of the sites was where the African Lion Safari now resides. But when the agent called about a possible suitable place that had just hit the market on the outskirts of Elora, that one proved to be the unanimous choice. And what a great choice that turned out to be.
The asking price was $8,200. After apparently intense negotiations, the final offer of $7,900 was accepted. Funds were expected to be raised by all four societies. However, in a rather dramatic turn of events, the seller suddenly insisted on immediate payment in cash. The story of how the funds were raised is a fascinating one, perhaps meriting a future article, but suffice it to say that the purchase agreement was finalized on Oct. 3rd, 1955 and officially registered on Oct. 11th. Seedrioru was ours!
What followed was the transformation of 62.5 acres of land with a single very modest brick farmhouse into a summer camp and gathering place for Estonians with, ultimately, a main hall, 3 sleeping cabins, a sauna with change rooms, sports facilities, outdoor natural pool, an open-air theatre, a gallery for target-practice and much more, in an incredibly short amount of time, with limited resources.
Plans for the transformation were already considered before the purchase was finalized. When members of the four societies, Hamilton, Kitchener, London and St. Catharines, met with the search committee on June 19th, 1955, a temporary Board of Directors was elected, the purchase was approved and a summer camp with a start date of Aug. 1st was decided upon. To this end, the existing farmhouse was to be readied and two buildings with sleeping quarters for 12 children each were to be built. This proved to be overly optimistic, as the sale wasn’t finalized until October. The first camp took place in the summer of 1956. That 70th anniversary will merit an article of its own next year, to be sure.
It was further decided to hold a song festival on June 23rd, 1956, the first of many mass choral events at Seedrioru. A main hall with kitchen and two sleeping cabins were to be built and the grounds prepared for the song festival. And so the great era of building projects began.
To this end, funds of course were required. A bank loan couldn’t be considered in the name of Seedrioru without it being an incorporated entity. This was accomplished by the by and the Estonian Summer Camp Society, Inc. came to be a legal, incorporated entity with a constitution dated April 18, 1956 (By-law #1) when registered with the province of Ontario on June 28, 1956. Prior to this, the organizational structure of the Society was developed as well as the main land use directives. They were, in order, 1. a children’s summer camp, 2. guide and scout summer camps, 3. summer festivals for organizations, 4. family outings and 5. rental lots along property borders. (to be continued)
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Kallis Lover of Seedrioru,
In June of 2025, SEEDRIORU will officially turn 70 years old! Can you believe it? So many memories have been made at Seedrioru over the years: summer camp experiences, friendships made and solidified over decades, and too many Suvihari celebrations that live on in our collective psyche to count!!!
Seedrioru is thriving as the third and fourth generations of Seedrioru campers move in and enjoy the same place that so many of us did so many years ago.
As with most grand old facilities, Seedrioru is beginning to show its age. We are in the thick of renovations and repairs of our kallis property. Pau Tare, Oru Tare, upstairs of Koldetare, the Mudimaja and the Sauna have received beautiful upgrades in the most recent years. So much has already been accomplished but there is so much more to do and we can’t do it without help from generous donations and countless hours of volunteer time.
Over the next 5 years, there are a few projects that are on the horizon as well as some much needed repair work to existing buildings and infrastructure. The Seedrioru Board has created a to-do list of projects we have yet to fulfill along with the rough estimate of costs below:
- Koldetare – update the main floor of the building including insulation, new windows, flooring, fixing up the bedroom/first aid room and bathrooms $12,000.00
- Roads – regrading, drainage, proper gravel, culverts $15,000.00
- Kitchen – new cabinets, replace walk-in refrigerator and flooring $55,000.00
- Main Hall – replace flooring, new stackable tables and chairs $40,000.00
The total approximate cost is $122,000, which may seem overwhelming but we know from the past with your generosity we have been able to bring other projects to fruition. We hope that you will consider donating once again to Seedrioru in honour of our 70th Birthday. Every donation made before June 15th will be entered into a draw for a Family Pass to attend Suvihari for Seedrioru’s 70th Birthday party celebration on June 27-29, 2025.
Please forward donations via e transfer to treasurer@Seedrioru.com or transfer/deposit directly to Seedrioru at Northern Birch Credit Union. If you would like a tax receipt, please donate directly to The Estonian Foundation of Canada, directing funds to ‘Seedrioru’ The EFC has been a constant champion of Seedrioru over the last 55 years and we are so grateful for their continued support.
There is no place like Seedrioru and we want to keep it in good repair and be able to enjoy the community our parents and grandparents built for many years to come.
Elagu Seedrioru!
Seedrioru 2025 juhatus
