The Sun Chronicle_ Paper trail leads to Estonia (August 26)

26.08.2007

The Sun Chronicle (formerly The Attleboro Sun and the Evening Chronicle) is a daily newspaper in Attleboro, Massachusetts, USA. Most of its readers are in Attleboro and North Attleborough, Massachusetts, but it also covers nearby Foxborough, Mansfield, Norfolk, Norton, Plainville, Rehoboth, Seekonk, and Wrentham, Massachusetts.

ATTLEBORO - Elzear "Pitt" Sicard is 87 by chronology, but his hobby is completely timeless.

Sicard, a retired toolmaker by trade who ran Attleboro Tool & Development Co. for 30 years, has been a world-class collector of paper memorabilia and ephemera for 50 years.

Sicard returned recently from Estonia (just south of Finland in the Baltics), a country of endless history, where he and his son, Stephen, and grandson, Stephen Jr., attended an international convention and tour with fellow collectors of rare and one-of-a-kind paper goods - manuscripts, letters, notes, maps, photos and drawings from times long gone by.

"Pitt" - a distorted version of the name his French-Canadian mother used to call him "La Petite" - said it was the biggest and best trip of his life.

SUN CHRONICLE: Why did you go to Estonia, Pitt?

PITT SICARD: It was through The Manuscript Society, an organization used primarily to bring people together who like history, documents, papers. ... We have a convention every year and this is one area we hadn't been into.

The President of the Manuscript Society this year, Ivo Meisner, happened to be an Estonian, and he used his background to promote his country as a great venue.

But he also has a home on Cape Cod (laughs)!

SUN CHRONICLE: What cities did you visit?

PITT SICARD: We went to Tallinn, the capital city. The other city we toured, Tartu, is an intellectual town with universities.

SUN CHRONICLE: How did you pay for this, Pitt?

PITT SICARD: My son Stephen took me. He took care of everything and he took his son, Stephen, Jr. as well. There were three generations of Sicards walking the stone streets of Estonia.

SUN CHRONICLE: Do they share your hobby?

PITT SICARD: My son has been into it for 20 years. Stephen Jr. is a state trooper. No, he isn't into it. One of my other grandsons, Jimmy, is into it, but he's serving in Kosova now. He'll be home in November. He's got four children, not a lot of time.

SUN CHRONICLE: What are some of the most valuable pieces of paper you've owned? Signatures? Did you have Abe Lincoln's?

PITT SICARD: Abe Lincoln? Sure, but that's nothing. I had George Washington's signature. I had all the Presidents' signatures at one time. I had 36 signatures of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence at one time, you know, on letters, various notes.

SUN CHRONICLE: So what was Estonia like? What was the conference like?

PITT SICARD: It was a conference that connected us with other collectors. We were taken into the archives all over the country, universities, libraries. We saw all their records going back to 1600. But their history goes back to 6,000 B.C.!

Then, we toured the country. We went on a large canal barge, submarines. Estonia was a big port for Russian in World War II. There is so much history there.

SUN CHRONICLE: There were riots there in May. Any trouble for you and your sons?

PITT SICARD: There were riots there a week before we flew there, but they were over when we got there. No trouble for us, although riots continued near the Eastern border.

SUN CHRONICLE: What was the best thing you saw, your favorite thing?

PITT SICARD: I can't say any one thing that stood out, the whole place was so magical, especially a village from 1300 that was all completely restored. It was amazing. It made Disneyland look like a wasteland.

Everything was real and the people were so nice. The village was recreated, but the people were authentic. They were amazing. They made you feel so at home. There was no screaming, no hollering. And we saw some of the most beautiful women in the world. They all looked like models.

SUN CHRONICLE: Was this your best trip ever?

PITT SICARD: I've been to a lot of conventions, but this was the best by far. I recommend anyone looking for a place to go to consider Estonia. It's really a beautiful place.

DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE for this feature? Contact James A. Merolla at 508-236-0431 or at jmerolla@thesunchronicle.com.
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2007/08/27/news/news4.txt