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The Seedrioru logo: who made it and what does it mean?

Land is a central component of Estonian cultural values. Land is a sustaining force. Land allows us to celebrate our identity. Land is a manifestation of freedom. It’s where we can learn and grow in peace. We sing about the land of our ancestors. We also create emblems that represent lands we have made into new homes.

And we might overlook those emblems, even when they adorn printed programs, flags, hundreds of shirts, tickets, books, buildings, videos, and websites. Yet, at some point, someone had to conceptualize them and probably draw them by hand.

The Estonian-Canadian community has a number of well-known and well-loved youth organization and camp logos — such as those used by Põhjarada Gaidlipkond, Skautlipkond Põhjakotka, Jõekääru, and Seedrioru — but where did they come from?

Copies are found in Rahva Raamat’s used book collection, the collection of the Estonian Archives in the US, off-campus storage for Stanford University, and through Estonian community members if you know who to ask.

We do in fact have historical records that answer this question. With Seedrioru Estonian Summer Camp in mind, you can find the story behind the logo in the book Seedrioru, 1955-1980 (published by Oma Press Ltd. / Sihtasutus Lõuna-Ontario Eestlaste Suvekodu in 1980). Copies are found in Rahva Raamat’s used book collection, the collection of the Estonian Archives in the US, off-campus storage for Stanford University, and through Estonian community members if you know who to ask. In this case, we have valued Eesti Elu contributor Merike Koger and a friend of hers in Guelph to thank for enabling this investigation.

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