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June 1999 Fálkinn, the ICCT Newsletter
40th Year, Number 1
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY ICCT!A good time was had by all when the ICCT celebrated its 40th Anniversary and Rosa Vernon's 100th Birthday! At the Annual General Meeting, the slate of nominees for the 1999/2000 ICCT year was accepted as presented:
Picnic at Gimli Farm Cancelled.Unfortunately, our picnic at Gimli Farm has had to be cancelled due to an illness in the family. UPCOMING EVENTSEDITOR'S CORNERIt has been a very busy and very eventful time for ICCT members -We have hosted the INL Convention, celebrated our Thorrablot, held our Annual General Meeting and celebrated the 40th Anniversary of the club. Thus, this edition of Fálkinn has a few less pages than usual, but we will be back again full strength in late summer . In the next issue, you can look forward to details about the Kinmount Fall Fair, Parade and ICCT Picnic. We'll also have a full report from the INL Convention. ART SHOW -KATRINA KOVENAn open studio exhibit "The Rhythm of Passing" featuring new works by club member Katrina Koven, in oil on canvas, paper and glass will be taking place from June 5th through to the 8th.
ICCT SCHOLARSHIP WINNER - CONOR BEGLEYAs presented by Ellen (Sigurdson) Gilmore
"The Icelandic Canadian Club of Toronto presents a $500 scholarship each year. This year's winner is Conor Begley. I'd like to tell you a little about him. He has maintained an excellent academic record. He is a small business owner. He is in his school's stage bands as well as director organist of a church choir. He is on the school's reach team. He was last year's regional winner of the Ontario Bar Association' s Law Day Essay Contest. He has travelled extensively including Iceland, Australia, Hong Kong and the USA.
Conor is a member of the Icelandic Canadian Club of Toronto. Though not of Icelandic descent, he has had a passionate interest in Iceland which started with a book he read in elementary school. This interest grew and in 1996 he created Conor P. Begley's Iceland Homepage which was chosen link of the week by Iceland Review. Conor finally visited Iceland in July of 1998. He was able to practice his limited Icelandic, tour the country , take pictures and gather information to construct a travel guide booklet for an independent study for an OCA .'Writers Craft" course. Congratulations Conor!" THORRABLOT - WINNERS OF 1999 RAFFLECLUB NEWSThank you to the following members for donations:Kinmount: Helga Stephenson, Westleigh C. Heath (In memory of Olina Rosa Thorsteinsdottir And A VERY Special Thank you TO... Fran Moscall for her excellent organization of the 80th Annual Convention Lorelie Mitchell, our Thorrab1ot Convenor for the Icelandic goodies. Linda Lundström and her team, along with Leah Salt and our volunteer models: Rebecca Gilmore, Jennifer Helgason, Kelly Green-Innes, Lindsey Innes, Lois Macaulay, Margaret Britnell Van Hamme, Ann Wilson and Terry Wollenzien. All of our Members and contributors for desktop publishing, organizing, baking and helping in so many ways to bring about a successful convention and Thorrablot. Welcome to new members:Westleigh & Thomas Heath (Springfield, OR), Beatrice F. (Johnson) Stewart (Dundas), Holly Saba (Bush, LA), Dr. Grant & Dr. Julie Bjornson, Nathan & Andrea (Bobcaygeon). HONORARY MEMBERS AT INL CONVENTIONAt the convention, three ICCT members were presented as Honorary Membership of the Icelandic National League: Esther Johnson Broughton, Birgitta Guttormson Russell Gillis, and Sigga Johannson Moore. ESTHER (JOHNSON) BROUGHTONEsther was born in Tantallon, Saskatchewan and raised in Prince Albert, moving to Wynyard as a teenager; her parents, Thora (Asmundson) and Sigurour Johnson were originally from Iceland and married in Canada. Her father was a grain elevator superintendent, and there were seven in the family. Eldest was Val, who died recently in White Rock, next came Esther; then Herb of Oakville and Christine in Toronto. Ray lived in Vancouver and her youngest brother (Randy) lived in Toronto until his death in April 1996. Trained as a school teacher, she worked in small towns in Saskatchewan, and met Harold Broughton during the War when he was posted out there. They married and moved to Toronto, where he was a chartered accountant who became Secretary Treasurer of the Ontario Cancer Foundation. Esther continued to do some occasional teaching and raised three children, Catherine, a family doctor in Toronto, Thora, who worked for CIDA, currently on leave of absence in Bangkok, Thailand and Alan, a lawyer with the Department of Justice in Ottawa Esther and Harold joined the club soon after it started and worked on early Thorrablot, cooking many turkeys and other foods. They never missed an Icelandic club meeting. Although urged to become President, Esther preferred that her husband do so, and he served in that office in 1969/70 and 1970/71, during which time they hosted many meetings. Visitors from Iceland always found a welcome in their home, and their daughter Cathy remembers talking to many of them through the years. After Harold's death, Esther continued to support the club by hosting Icelanders, helping with organizing events, baking and attending picnics, musical evenings and other special occasions within the club. Also active in the wider community, she volunteered almost full time in classrooms in inner city schools; her special interest was primary age children, and later taught ESL to adults. Within her church community, she assisted in the church office and made coffee for choirs and elders. She and her friends from all over the city helped with mending for Scott Mission ...this activity was centred in her church, Timothy Eaton. True to her life-long commitment to helping both inside and outside the Icelandic community, Esther could always be counted on to provide whatever help was needed. The Icelandic Canadian Club of Toronto, was pleased to nominate Esther (Johnson) Broughton as an Honorary Member of the Icelandic National League. NAME OF PRESENTER: Carolyn I. Stinson. winner of the first ICCT Scholarship winner of 1990.
BIRGITT A (GUTTORMSON) RUSSELL GILLISBirgitta, who turned 85 on February 22nd, was born in Winnipeg Beach, the eldest often children of Holmfrida Johannson and Einar Guttormson. The family moved to Poplar Park near Libau, Manitoba where Birgitta grew up, going to a one-room country school at Sheffield until she left at the age of 15 to go to school in Winnipeg at the Jon Bjarnason Academy, staying with her aunt and grandmother. After attending Business College, she worked in Winnipeg until the age of 23 when she moved to Toronto for better work opportunities with The Canadian Underwriters Association. In 1941 she married Kitchener Russell and they made their home in the east end, where she raised her four children. Later, she worked in real estate for ten years. Her three boys are all engineers; the eldest, Steve, is a consultant who lives in Guildwood; Kitchener lives in Newmarket and works for the Bank of Montreal in Toronto; Frederick is a nuclear engineer with Ontario Hydro in Whitby. Her daughter Signy teaches at Centennial Community College in the Nursing Program. Birgitta has eleven grandchildren, five girls and six boys. In one of those coincidences of life, her grandson Scott has recently bought a home in Kinmount and is working with the ICCT on putting up the memorial to the Icelandic settlers. Going back in time a little, while she was a young woman in Winnipeg, Birgitta had a boyfriend named Sigfus Gillis. However, she moved to Toronto, and he moved to Vancouver. He never married, and following her husband's death, they re-met and after a whirlwind courtship, married in 1972. He always said, "she looked like Sonja Henie". One of the founding members of the ICCT, Birgitta served as President in 1980/81. She was always active in the club, but with her second husband, who was also Icelandic, that activity was stepped up. Countless executive meetings were held at their home; they were instigators of many colourful events within the club, and of course worked hard at Thorrablots. Sigfus served on the executive as Treasurer. The whole family would go to picnics at Erla and Cam Macaulay's farm, as well as taking part in Scandinavian "dos" and dances. After Sigfus' death, Birgitta continued her association with the club, and most years would bring family members to Thorrablot. Because of her interest in education, she did a lot of volunteer work with the Home and School program and became president of the Norway School Home & School group. She also worked with the Ladies group at the church and with the Ladies Auxiliary of the Boy Scouts. A great supporter of her children, she took a leadership role in all the organizations the children were associated with. In keeping with the spirit of pioneering Icelandic women, Birgitta was always there to lend a hand, both within the Icelandic community and outside it. The Icelandic Canadian Club of Toronto, was pleased to present Birgitta (Guttormson) Russell Gillis as an Honorary Member of the Icelandic National League. NAME OF PRESENTER: Mark Johnson, who won the ICCT Scholarship in 1995.
SIGGA (JOHANNSON) MOORESigga was born at Big Point on the western shore of Lake Manitoba, of Icelandic parents who were themselves born in Churchbridge, Saskatchewan. At age 3 she lost her mother and was raised by her maternal grandparents, Gudrun and Bjarni Ingimundson, who spoke Icelandic only. She grew up to be a schoolteacher and taught near Gladstone, at Asharn and at Flin Flon, where she met and married Bob Moore. During WWII he was seconded by the Technical Services Division of the Canadian Government to build algerine boilers for the Navy in Galt. After the war, he returned to mining, working with Falconbridge Nickel Mines for 18 years. Later, he was transferred to Toronto, where they made their home until his death 26 years ago. Sigga recently moved to Cambridge to be closer to her daughter, JoAnn (M.S.W.) and son David (E.E., MBA), who both live in Kitchener. Her daughter Loreen, who is a kindergarten and music teacher, lives in Edmonton. Sigga has six grandchildren, five boys and a girl. She loves to take her grandchildren on holidays with her, to places nearby, like Ireland! Her first experience with the Toronto Icelandic community was a coffee party at the home of Fanny Peacock; she soon became active in the club. Through the years she has always been very supportive, helping with organizing, baking (kleinar are her specialty), teaching and hosting Icelandic classes, serving on the Scholarship Committee, attending most events and always being there when needed. During the Northern Encounters Arts Festival, she billeted two members of the Hamrahlid Choir and drove them everywhere. As with many Icelanders, books have always meant a great deal to her, and more than once she has read for us at club meetings, including this past February, as well as serving as Assistant Librarian. She has been to Iceland seven times and always enjoys using her knowledge of Icelandic. A community-minded person, Sigga has been involved in many other activities in her neighbourhood -such as mending for Scott Mission with her friend Esther and driving for Meals on Wheels. In addition, she is a member of both the the Order of the Eastern Star and the Women's Mining Association -she served on its Scholarship Committee for many years. Sigga is a woman who had incredible energy all her life and thinks nothing of driving alone across the country to visit her far-flung family even in her eighties ..this is just one example of her indomitable Icelandic spirit. The Icelandic Canadian Club of Toronto was very proud to nominate Sigga Johansson Moore as an Honorary Member of the Icelandic National League -and presented her with a plaque on behalf of INL President Ray Johnson at the Annual General Meeting May 18th. THE ICELANDERS OF KINMOUNT"The Icelanders of Kinmount" by Don Gislason is now available in booklet form (8 112 x II inch, 44 pages, with 12 maps and photos). This is the story of the ill-fated 1874-5 Ontario settlement which led to the founding of New Iceland on the shores of Lake Winnipeg. The booklet also contains an extensive bibliography as well as the S.S. St. Patrick Icelandic immigrant ship's list. *** An ideal gift for relatives and friends ***
Price is $14.00 per copy, direct purchase at meetings.
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