‘Twas A Sunny Day to resist fascism with artist Arne Roosman

November 25, 2025

By Bill Kilpatrick

It was a day of firsts on Nov. 15 as the Canadian Peace Museum hosted their first official event celebrating the release of ‘Twas A Sunny Day a memoir of 93-year-old Wollaston resident artist Arne Roosman written by local award-winning journalist Nate Smelle. It was standing room only as people packed into the Canadian Peace Museum to hear excerpts from the book, view some of Roosman’s art, enjoy some snacks, mingle, and ask the author questions.

The book is a moving tale of Roosman’s trials, tribulations, and experiences as he and his family left his home country of Estonia during the Second World War and immigrated to Germany, Sweden, and eventually Canada. But as Smelle pointed out it is also a book where past and present collide. The book creates a narrative that connects the past to the present giving context to current events from someone who has experienced humanity at its worst and is seeing the patterns being repeated in the present.

The executive director of the Canadian Peace Museum Chris Houston was excited to be hosting such an event for local artists and journalists. “I’m delighted that people are coming here and asking questions,” he said. “We are running a museum to promote peace in all the different ways that it manifests itself — the absence of violence, war, and fear, the presence of democracy and a healthy planet, and a fairer society. We are delighted to promote a book that is all about a fairer society. We have a local artist and local journalist and it’s lovely.”

The event was attended by friends and family of Roosman and Smelle along with fellow artists, local dignitaries, and two filmmakers from Estonia. The brother and sister duo, Reet Mae and Tom Mae, who are recording people’s first-hand experiences from the Estonian diaspora during the Second World War, are particularly interested in Roosman’s story because, not only is Roosman a fascinating person, but his family left Estonia in 1941, three years earlier than the main diaspora.

“We have hundreds of hours of footage [from other people] but Arne is a particularly heart-felt person for us. He’s an artist. He’s so creative but he’s also so philosophical and thoughtful. He has all of that, he has a lovely connection to nature. He has a super interesting family that we couldn’t even put in here. He’s got an uncle who wrestled bears,” she exclaimed.

Reet explained that they have been meeting with Roosman since before 2017 and they are hoping to put together a 60-minute film of him telling stories narrated through his art. Reet made a plea to other artists and those who may own some of Roosman’s art to contact her as she is looking for more of Roosman’s work for the film. She said that she is also looking for artists who may be able to do some sketches in Roosman’s style.

While her film on Roosman’s stories is not yet complete, she was more than happy to be attending the launch party for the book about Roosman’s story. “I am super excited to be here at the revealing of the book because it also speaks to Arne, and eventually we will also get a film that will speak to Arne as well.” she stated.

The event began with the book’s editor Cameron Montgomery reading from the forward of the book, which she wrote. She stated, “Arne Roosman has lived a poignant and fascinating life so far, and he wears it in the sparkle of his ice blue eyes, the way he rolls his rrr’s, his fashionable self-styling, sitting at the kitchen table, listening to CBC Radio and painting scenes from Ragnarok. This man is one of the greatest I have ever known, an inspiration for my own art and the most clever conversationalist. The man cannot suffer from boredom, for his interests are deep and varied. He is not bogged down by trivial malaise; he has survived unspeakable horrors, and takes pleasure in the joys of good food, good company, and good books. And of course, art.” Montgomery added that it was a pleasure to have the opportunity to write the forward for a book about her “dear friend.”

Montgomery finished the forward by positing a question that is on many Canadians’ minds these days, pointing out that “Arne fled decimated Europe for the wilds of rural Ontario, moving to the most remote little place he could find to make a home with his love Liina, and a lifetime later, he faces yet another homeland endangered as [Donald] Trump threatens to make Canada the 51^st state of the U.S.A. Are we doomed to repeat the past? Or, can the good people of Earth forge a future that is for and by the people for real?”

Smelle also spoke intimately concerning his relationship with Roosman that began while completing an article for the local paper back in 2019. The relationship continued to evolve as Roosman and Smelle shared stories both past and present, explored different ideas, and of course indulged in libations.

“I noticed that the recordings that I did with Arne were always four to five hours long. For a story in a small town newspaper you’re in and out in 30 to 45 minutes, an hour tops. That was the time that we spent on the actual article, the rest of the time was just us sipping beer, talking about his past, his incredible stories, the things he’s lived through. And often the conversations would wander into today.” And this, according to Smelle, was what made Roosman’s perspective so unique. “We’re digging into the current moment by looking back at the past,” stated Smelle.

Smelle has deeply cherished the time that he has spent with Roosman whom he described as a “peace loving, anti-fascist artist” who taught him about what it truly means to be a “foreigner.” The time Smelle spent listening to his stories and revising the book was a constant learning experience. “I feel like every time I read the book over I learned something else about Arne and something about myself.” And learn Smelle did, as Roosman, who refuses to use the internet, but subscribes to multiple magazines, would always ensure that Smelle had plenty of reading to do. “I would show up at his house and he would give me this stack of magazines … he always sent me home with homework,” said Smelle. But for him this was just another rewarding aspect of his time with Roosman.

When Roosman began to speak the whole room fell silent as he spoke about his experiences during and after the Second World War in a German displaced persons’ camp where theft was commonplace and a matter of survival. He spoke about immigrating into Germany during the war and how his family had to scratch out the faces of family members on pictures to ensure safe passage when confronted by Nazi or Soviet soldiers. He explained that the story they would tell the soldiers about the erased family members would change depending on who he was confronted by. In one instance the faceless family members would be Nazi scum or they might also be communist traitors and this was how they managed to survive.

Roosman spoke about how black markets worked, what entertainment was like in the displaced persons’ camps, and he also described his train ride across Germany to Sweden. He spoke about passing through the bombed-out city of Hamburg stating “Ruins, ruins, ruins” and how when he arrived in Sweden he was surprised that they had no bread.

The one topic he continually circled back to was peace stating “We should be concerned about peace. Some things we never learn — one thing is peace.” Wise words from a man who has witnessed the worst of humanity and yet continues to smile, joke and, enjoy life, but that’s not to say that he is not concerned about the current state of the world. He left the crowd with this ominous warning: “There’s no escaping human nature’s bad traits. You’ve got to watch it.”

What made the occasion extra special for Roosman was that his daughter Rebecca Roosman-Mackay took a red-eye flight from Scotland to be with her father for the book launch. In what was the most touching moment of the celebration, Mackay, took her father’s hand stating in a trembling voice “I’m so proud of you and I’m so glad to be here for this.” Mackay then read several passages from the book including a passage from an incident when the Roosman family lived down on Monck Road. The passage was called “Wolves at the door” and it described when numerous wolves decided to visit the Roosman house and look through the windows. The Roosman’s had a couple of huskies at the time who merely stared back in eerie silence. No barking, only what Roosman described as an exchange of “genetic memory” taking place between relatives. “Quite fascinating,” said Roosman. “I’ll never forget it.”

Speaking of the many connections that Roosman’s story makes locally, nationally, and internationally, as well as connections from the past to the present, Smelle stated, “It’s these types of connections I think that make this story [special]. It’s a beautiful story in so many ways but then it’s also so relevant to today; and it’s so powerful the way he tells it. It has been a real honour to get to know Arne and tell his story.”

‘Twas A Sunny Day by Nate Smelle and Arne Roosman is available for pre-order through email at studiodreamsharepress@gmail.com.

To contact Reet and Tom Mae regarding Roosman’s art please visit https://eestilood.mpi.a2hosted.com/contact-us