February 1996 Fálkinn, the ICCT Newsletter

COMING EVENT - BETTY JANE WYLIE

Author Betty Jane Wylie has just returned after spending Christmas in Iceland, and will be addressing us in the spring. If her work on her new book goes well, we hope she will be available for our April meeting. She would particularly like to tell us about the new museum being established in northern Iceland which focuses on those who emigrated to North America.

In the meantime, you can catch her on TV - in a new series called Women, Lifestyle & Money. It started Monday, January 15 at 7:30 p.m. on Life Channel. You can also catch repeats at 8:00 a.m. Thursdays or 3:00 a.m. Friday

HIGHLIGHTS OF EXECUTIVE MEETING DEC. 5, 1995

• Calendar sales and membership renewals are going well
• Christmas party was successful; approx. 100 attendees
• ICCT commission on book and craft sales - $107.20
• Sunday aft. meetings (occasionally instead of Tues. night) to cater to families and elderly - do any members object?
• Thorrablót will be held Sat. March 30 - North York Memorial Hall; Garry Oddleifson to chair Committee; help needed
• New Exec. member Lynda Helgason (and husband Gunnar) volunteered to solicit raffle prizes.
• INL Convention - we can send 5 voting delegates, but there will be no subsidy. Decision - club will pay 1/2 of airfare.
• $50.00 donation to Pro Coro Canada of Edmonton to help pay for commissioning of music to accompany Stephan G. Stephansson's poetry. Members can also contribute.
• Icelandic-Canadian flag pins have been ordered. We will donate proceeds of sale to the Icelandic Chair at U. of Man.
• Garry was appointed contact person for the proposed new Icelandic National Museum at Gimli.
• Brandur Olafsson's mother may be bringing a choir from Iceland in June - we are interested, but need more details.
• E. Strang to organize record-keeping binders for Exec
• Our library - Fran to check to see if we can house it in the public library system; if not, perhaps store at Unitarian Hall
• Lynda Helgason volunteered to use one of her business lines as an official telephone listing for the club
• Donation of $500.00 to Flateyri Avalanche victims sent to Red Cross for forwarding to Iceland. Individual members are encouraged to contribute also and will get tax receipts.

MEMBERSHIP LISTS

In the past, copies of our membership lists were distributed to members for purposes of "networking". Copying costs now prohibit a free distribution; however, we would like to be able to sell copies at cost to interested members. We need to know if any members would want their names excluded. Please call John Briem at (905) 826-4165.

ICELANDIC CLASSES:

Thursdays, February 22 - May 23 (alternate weeks) 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. Cost dependent on number in class We are fortunate that Brandur Olafsson will be teaching - you may remember that he taught a couple of years ago. Katrina Koven has offered her studio as a venue - 210 Rose Park Drive, near Mt. Pleasant and St. Clair. Call Gail at (416) 762-8627 for details.

HELP - OLD NEWSLETTERS NEEDED

Please scour your basement and attic and see if you have any old Newsletters ... we are missing them for 1963,69,71-73, 75-76, 78-81 and 1991. We are trying to put together a complete set for our files and another to send to the University of Manitoba for their Dafoe Collection Archives. Fortunately, Erla Macaulay has given us her file, which is almost complete. So please let me know of any you have - there are many we need duplicates of, as well as those we are missing entirely. Call Gail at (416) 762-8627.

NEW ARRIVAL

Val and Jack Norman of Burlington are the proud new grandparents of Eric, who arrived in October. Eric's mom is their daughter, Wendy Norman; she and her husband Jan Blachut live in Sechelt, B.C., where both practice medicine. Val spent two weeks with them at the Coast just after he was born. Also very pleased about the new arrival is Jack's dad, who is now 91 - this is his first great-grandchild. The whole family, including Wendy's 3 siblings and their mates, got together at Christmas this year at the family log cabin on the Bruce Peninsula. They had a marvellous time, especially since this is the first Christmas together since 1981.

MY LIFE AS A DOG

You may have heard about the television series which was being filmed in Gimli, Winnipeg and area this summer and fall. It is based on the Swedish book and movie, and is a coming-of-age story about a young boy. The producers re-set it in Gimli, and have adapted it to an Icelandic-Canadian context, using many local stories in their episodes. We hope to have an interview with the producer in an upcoming Newsletter. Telecast is slated for The Movie Network, starting early in April. An interesting sidelight is the Casting Call which Erla Macaulay noticed in the Toronto papers last summer - it was calling for a child 11 or 12 years old of Icelandic descent, who would be willing to relocate to Winnipeg with a parent or guardian during filming. It seemed strange to her that they wouldn't look in Gimli or Winnipeg, where there are so many Icelanders!!

PROFILE - KATHLEEN MCDERMOTT DIRECTOR AT LARGE:

A woman who holds her Icelandic heritage close to her heart. A voracious reader of Icelandic literature and sagas. A woman whose passion for travel took her to Iceland's western fjords where she rather unintentionally began investigating her Icelandic roots. Kathleen, although she dons an Irish last name, is an intriguing member of Toronto's Icelandic community. Her grandfather, Skuli Jonatansson (later changed to Johnson) was one of a group of five Icelanders to immigrate to Canada via New York in 1886. The Jonatansson ancestry can be traced back to 1680 and includes as one of its members, the well known poet Samson Sigurdsson (1750-1830) whose works are still part of the school curriculum in Iceland. Skuli and his wife Nanni Dalquist raised four children in Allegan, Michigan. Among the children was Kathleen's father, one of the first pair of twins to be born in the Allegan hospital. The family eventually moved to Toronto and then to Sault Ste. Marie where Kathleen spent her childhood. She remembers fondly, the sound of her soft-spoken "Afi" Skuli's voice as he told over and over, stories of racing to the seashore to meet the whaling ships where the sailors would hand out bits of whale blubber to eat like candy. In 1949 Kathleen moved to Toronto and five years later married a Lands & Forest aircraft engineer. She spent many years of her married life stationed at various bases in the most northern regions of Ontario - Lake Caribou, Golden City, and Moonbeam. "I spent eight months of my pregnancy in bush lands that are on the other side of the map. The nearest medical clinic was 500 miles away. I felt like a real pioneer woman." Today Kathleen, a retired insurance broker, spends her time as a volunteer worker at Bereaved Families of Ontario. This coming July, she will become an "Amma" for the first time to her daughter Alice McKenzie. Kathleen became a Director in October. It was her first trip to Iceland in 1990 that inspired her to look for some sort of Icelandic Club to join. She searched for two years before accidentally finding ICCT information on the back of a borrowed Heritage Calendar.

PREVIOUS SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS - WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

MARK JOHNSON (1994/95 WINNER)

Mark attended Erindale Secondary School in Mississauga. His extra-curricular activities included co-ed baseball, bike riding and swimming and tennis. He was an Ontario Scholar in his graduating year. He graduated at the end of August from Wilfrid Laurier University, with an Honours degree in Business Administration, and a minor in English. While at Laurier, he was a volunteer tour guide for their Liaison Office and also a member of the business students association TAMIAE. He recently started out on his business career with Wood Gundy. There, he is involved in the Marketing Department of Private Client Investments, dealing with financial consultants from all across Canada. Mark's great, great grandparents, Thorgrimur Jónsson and Steinunn Jóhansdóttir, emigrated from Skagafjörður and settled at "Akri" in Riverton, Manitoba. The family remained at Akri, and Mark's father, "Melvin" Lloyd Jón Johnson was born there. Mark's mother, Angela Pistawka, hails from Gimli, Manitoba. During his job search, Mark was surprised to find that every one of his interviewers noticed the reference to the Scholarship on his application form and knew of the Club! He was very appreciative of the honour of receiving the ICCT scholarship and the practical value of the money involved.

ROBERT VALDIMAR SWANSON (1991 Winner)

Robert graduated with honours in Environmental Biology from McGill University on June 9th, 1995. He is currently enrolled in a 2-year Masters program in Environmental Biology at Carleton University in Ottawa. Throughout his attendance at McGill, Rob retained his Canada Scholarship and the Lara Drummond Scholarship as well as his eligibility for the Canada Scholarship Trust Fund. He also received the J.W. McConnell Award for academic excellence and the 1994 Governor-Generals Award in Environmental Sciences, which was presented by Governor-General Ray Hnatyshyn at an elaborate ceremony at the Citadel in Quebec City. Robert is the son of Marvin and Sydney Swanson of Gloucester Ontario. He traces his Icelandic heritage to his great-grandparents Jon Thorvardarson and Ingidora Sveinsdóttir, formerly of Icelandic River (Riverton) Manitoba and his grandmother, Björg Swanson, formerly of Riverton and Gimli, Manitoba. Rob has always been keenly interested in his Icelandic heritage. After spending two summers (Umeo, Sweden '93, Thompson, Man. '94) on "green-house gas" research, Rob declined an offer to continue that research in Fort Simpson, NWT and instead opted to spend the summer in Riverton, getting to know the other Icelandic descendants of his great-great grandparents. Rob is very appreciative of that opportunity and the hospitality extended by Sigmar and Hulda Johnson. Rob was especially appreciative of the opportunity to visit with his great-uncle Kris Johnson to learn more about his grandmother, Björg, and to visit the old homestead. Scholarships have been immensely helpful in providing a university education for Rob and his two brothers. The ICCT scholarship not only helped defray costs but provided further stimulus for all family members to look more closely at the role of Icelandic heritage in Canadian society. (Our informant, Rob's father, adds the following note: "Incidentally, the other recipient (Mark Johnson) being featured is, I believe, the son of Melvin Lloyd Johnson. Melvin and I were friends and school mates throughout our primary to high school years in Riverton Manitoba. I haven't seen Melvin for over 35 years but I recall reading an article on Mark in Logberg-Heimskringla. I'm impressed with his son's accomplishments)

JÓLATRÉSSKEMMUN

It was a rainy and cold December day when the Christmas party took place, although as soon as we entered, we all forgot about the weather. There were plenty of activities to do. You could decorate the Christmas tree by making your own ornaments. My dad, my sister, and I all tried that out. My dad drew funny monster faces on the ornaments and complained to the other children about the dull crayons. I coloured in a poster of the "spoon-licker" (Jolisveinner Christmas elf), while we all watched the other children sing Christmas carols in Icelandic. Soon the food was put out. All of it was brought by the families who had come. There was coffee and tea for the adults and a whole assortment of cookies and cakes, plus even some peanut butter bees. Don Gislason made a fruit soup (sætsuppa) and Georgina Rayner accompanied him and showed how to make vinarterta. We were all invited to taste after they were completed. Carol Karlsdóttir McGirr told us all about the Jolasveinner, and read the story of the Gimli Huldufolk who were there to see us. To end the afternoon, we looked at the books, crafts, t-shirts and sweatshirts that were for sale. Finally we had a visit from Santa Claus and he had a special treat for all of the children. (Julia is the daughter of Ross and Jennifer Madden of Mississauga; Ross' mom Herdis lives in Winnipeg).

CALENDARS STILL AVAILABLE:

We still have some of our INL Heritage Calendars available. The theme this year is "At Work and Play". $8.00 each, plus $2 for mailing; $4.00 mailing for 2 to 5 calendars. Send your cheque to: Irene Gibson, 8 Midcroft Drive, Agincourt, Ontario M1F 1X1.

OBITUARIES:

Our condolances to Membership Chairman Don Gislason on the loss of his mother just before Christmas. Dagmar Margret Stéfansdóttir Nicholson was born in Akureyri, Iceland and spent her life in Minneota, Minnesota, Wynyard, Saskatchewan and B.C.; she died in Chilliwack just after her 91st birthday.

EGGERTSON, ERLINGUR KARI After a lengthy illness, Erling died on Christmas Eve, his favourite night of the year. He was 66. Beloved husband of Donna, loving father of Bruce Barnett-Cowan, Laura and Gunnar Eggertson. Proud grandfather of Michael, Catherine and Francesca Barnett-Cowan and Stephanie Eggertson. Brother of Gunnar, Asta and Diane. Many thanks are extended to Sheridan Villa for their outstanding care. A Memorial Service in celebration of Erlingur's life was held at St. Paul's Anglican-Lorne Park in Mississauga on Dec. 30th.

RUBY LOVINA (SVEINSON) DAVIDSON KEARNS Born in Lundar, Manitoba April 19, 1918; died in Toronto Dec. 12, 1995. Her parents, Hermann and Gudrun (Oddson) Sveinson, were both from Canadian prairie pioneer families. Her mother's parents (Sigursteinn and Stefania Augusta Oddson) and grandparents came to Canada in 1883 from northern Iceland. She was pre-deceased by her husbands Charles Davidson and Duff Kearns. Survived by her children, Bonnie Russell, Melodie, Charles, Daniel, Michael and Sylvia Davidson, and 8 grand- children. She became involved with the ICCT about ten years ago, first attending various meetings and programs, and later becoming Social Convenor and member of the Executive for over two years. The following is her favourite among the many poems she wrote:

NEWS FROM ICELAND: ICELAND SAYS "NO" TO KEIKO, THE WHALE

Icelandic authorities have made it clear that they will not welcome Keiko ( the three-ton male whale made famous by the film Free Willy) back to his home waters off Iceland because he may carry contagious diseases. In January, he was transferred to a larger tank in Oregon from his previous home in a Mexican amusement park. He had been there since he was caught 12 years ago in waters off Iceland. After he became famous for his leap to freedom in the film, a group was formed whose aim is to return him to the wild so that he can breed. They wanted to return him to his original home. But, they will have to think again, now that Iceland has said "no". (Source: Reuters, Toronto Globe & Mail)

MORE THAN HALF OF ICELANDERS USE COMPUTERS

51.4% of Icelanders aged 15-75 use computers, with most using the machines at home. The revealing figures were collected in a Gallup survey. A survey breakdown along gender lines found practically no difference in the level of computer use between men and women, with 53.5% of men and 49.4% of women using them.

WHO WILL BE THE NEW PRESIDENT OF ICELAND?

The Rev. Pálmi Mathíasson, a Lutheran priest, led a recent poll, receiving 18.7% support. Despite having announced that she will not be seeking a fifth term in office, the current president, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, still won the backing of 15.9%. (She won a third term in 1988 with 95% of the vote, a landslide nearly unheard of in democracies). Next came Gudrun Agnarsdóttir, a physician and former MP with the Women's Alliance, with 14.3%. Prime Minister David Oddsson was backed by 7.2%. Only 35.7% of the 1,200 people approached expressed a preference, and nobody has to date publicly announced a candidacy in the forthcoming election.

BJÖRK GAINS MORE HONOURS:

Pop sensation Björk was named "Woman of the Year" by the Icelandic monthly magazine Nytt Lif in late December. The singer accepted the award in person, fresh from a dip in the local swimming pool, with her hair still wet, face free of make-up, and by her own account "smelling of chlorine". She was also named Female Vocalist of 1995 by MTV (Music Television) which is the world's largest music channel. The European award was handed out at a Music Festival held in Paris.

CANADA 3000 PLANS FLIGHTS VIA ICELAND

The Canadian airline, Canada 3000, is requesting permission from Iceland to sell tickets for scheduled flights between mainland Europe and Canada, with a stopover in Iceland. The airline serves Vancouver, Calgary and Winnipeg thus offering the only direct flight to Iceland from the west coast/prairies of North America.

NORDIC HERITAGE DAY FEBRUARY 19TH

Heritage Canada is sponsoring this celebration of Canadians of Nordic descent. They commissioned a wonderful painting entitled A Nordic Saga by Pat (Guttormson) Peacock of British Columbia for their Heritage Day Poster, which has been sent, along with a teacher's guide, to schools, Guide and Scout leaders, heritage groups and community service organizations throughout Canada. It was unveiled at a special ceremony in Winnipeg in the fall, and our Assistant Editor, Katrina (Anderson) Koven persuaded her mother, Sylvia (Anderson) Koshyk to represent the ICCT. She reported back that it had been a lovely event. For more information, poster, or Guide contact: Doug Franklin, Heritage Canada, P.O. Box 1358, Postal Station B, Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5R4 Tel: 613-237-1066 ext. 228. If you would like a poster, call Gail at 762-8627.

THE ICELANDIC CONNECTION - RED DEER COLLEGE OCTOBER 20-22/95

"Excellent speakers" "What a great conference" "This has opened my eyes to my rich heritage" "A success" "Coming together was very important - something more will come of it" These are just some of the comments which I heard at the close of the weekend. It truly was a marvel to experience Icelanders and Icelandic-Canadians coming together to explore common themes.

The literary works of farmer-poet Stephan G. Stephansson were the focus of the conference and the justification for holding it at Red Deer - half an hour from his restored home and the village of Markerville. Stephan G., as he referred to himself, emigrated from Iceland in 1853 with his family, homesteading three times - in Wisconsin, the Dakotas and finally near Markerville. He was a self-educated man who made himself an expert in the Icelandic language, learning not only current usage but also the more archaic forms. He didn't remember when he first started writing poetry, but it was a life-long obsession - after a gruelling day homesteading, he would often spend most of the night writing; mostly poetry, but also letters to colleagues and friends. His published works include hundreds of poems, all originally written in Icelandic. He was known in Iceland as "the poet of the Rocky Mountains", and considered to be the greatest Icelandic poet since the 13th Century. His status is not as great in Canada, probably owing to the difficulties of translating the thoughts behind poetry. We heard about the sources of his creativity, his philosophy of life, analysis of the meaning of some of his poems, and much more.

In addition to the focus on Stephan G., we enjoyed hearing from W.D. Valgardson and David Arnason who gave very humourous readings from their own works. Among other topics, Christopher Hale from the University of Edmonton provided an overview of Icelandic immigration; and were treated to a delightful sample of "rimur" (forms of rhyming games popular in Iceland at the time of emigration). Red Deer College students provided readings; we also had a surprise reading from Stephan G's grand-daughter, Iris Bourne, one of the highlights of the weekend.

And that wasn't all - on the visual arts side, the students of Red Deer College had put together a show of pottery sculptures on Icelandic themes; J.P. Hammond, an artist from Vermont, brought the evocative works she had done in Iceland and two Icelandic artists sent works.

For music, we were treated to a toe-tapping concert by Bill Bourne on guitar and accordion and Shannon Johnson on fiddle. Bill is a great-grandson of Stephan G., and he told the story of being taken to Stephansson House to meet the President of Iceland while very young; finding out that way how famous his ancestor was. On Sunday, the Fanatullen Dancers from Red Deer and the Saga Singers from Edmonton worked their magic on the audience, which gave another dimension to the event.

Also on Sunday, Kristjana Gunnars addressed the issue of the difficulty of translation - "If God can be translated, why not Stephansson?" Her conclusion was that instead of "thin" translations, "thick" ones were needed - rich annotations to accompany the translations. Prof. Ted Dyck wound things up by picking up on this theme. "The Icelandic Connection is not a thick or a thin one, but a living entity as we see in this conference".

All of this, set in the magnificent prairie landscape, provided a memorable weekend, and a true chance for each of us to appreciate and learn more about our Icelandic Connections.

LOCAL SKATERS HEAD FOR CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

Icelandic-Canadians have made their mark in many cultural fields, most notably writing and the performing arts. On the surface, figure skating might not seem to be an art, but it could be called "art on ice". We have in our midst a young practitioner of this art - Michael (Sigmundson) Pollard. He and his partner Kara Rijnen will be competing in the Junior Pairs Category at this year's Canadian Figure Skating Championships in Ottawa February 7th and 9th.

Michael is no stranger to the world of competition - he has been skating since he was three years old and began competing at the age of six. Of course he comes to it naturally - his mother Phyllis was a skater in her youth. By the time Michael and his sister Heather came along, mom was a coach and thought she'd try them out at her favourite sport. They both loved it and have been at it ever since. The two skated as a pair in the dance competition for a number of years; then when Heather "retired" to concentrate on her university courses in environmental science, Michael teamed up with Kara, who at 15 is a bundle of energy. They make a handsome pair.

I saw them skate recently at the Eastern Canadian Championships in Woodbridge, where they placed third, and I was very impressed with their grace and technical ability. This is a sport which requires a great deal of dedication, time and energy; but also gives back a lot in the excitement of appearing before an audience, camaraderie amongst their peers, and the chance to show off their skills. Michael enjoys the thrill of competition, the feeling that the audience is behind you and helping you on.

Not as glamorous for Michael are the hours of practice which are necessary. This varies according to the season and the school load which he is carrying, but most of the time he is on the ice three hours a day and does another hour of running and weight-lifting, off ice. This doesn't leave much time for other things in his life, but he is taking five full courses this year in his 3rd year as a Physiology Specialist at the University of Toronto. As far as the future is concerned, Michael would like to skate for a few more years, especially if he can make some money doing something he loves; eventually, he would like to study medicine.

Figure skating is not only beautiful to watch; at times it can also be dangerous. Pairs is probably the most dangerous form of the sport - a great deal of trust is involved in allowing someone to lift you ten feet above the ground while travelling liked greased lightning - what if they catch an edge and fall? The trick is to make the performance look easy and artistic, when it is in fact complex and athletic. The popularity of the sport has exploded in the last few years because of exposure at the Olympics, as well as the fact that our current skaters are more marketable - people like the charming and intelligent Kurt Browning have done a great deal for its image.

In the meantime, Michael and Kara practice and practice and practice ... all for those few minutes of performance which they hope will be picture perfect and become their ticket to a chance at the World Championships. We wish them well.

(Michael Pollard is the son of ICCT members Phyllis (Sigmundson) Pollard and Michael Pollard. Phyllis's parents were Fred ("Bobo") Sigmundson and Heiða (Helgason) Sigmundson and she was raised in Gimli, Manitoba)