Poster design and production by Douglas Laxdal, The Gas Company Inc.
(Poster sponsored by Joseph E. Martin)EDITORIAL
After three years of editing Fálkinn, I am announcing that this
will be my last issue. The pressures of my role as President of a club
which is becoming more and more active necessitate my stepping down as
editor. Now it is someone else's turn.
I have enjoyed the challenge of putting together the Newsletter - flushing
out stories, interviewing members about their interests, following up leads,
scouring other publications for news of interest to our members, checking
facts, etc. Initially, I was rather daunted by the challenges of
dealing with desktop publishing, but with a lot of help from our former
editor, Kristinn Guđjónsson and our computer consultant Thorburn
Madden, among others, I managed to "tame the beast". Equally challenging
was the necessity to set a deadline and then adhere to it, regardless of
how much "midnight oil" needed to be burned.
Now all of that is behind me, and I am ready to pass on the torch.
Any applicant for the position will be heartened to know that a strong
structure is in place, with Youth Co-ordinator Leah Salt co-ordinating
the youth section, her committee member Katrín Jónsdóttir
writing stories and also Contributing Writers Katrina (Anderson) Koven,
J. Baldur Steen and Marilyn (Hurst) White happy to contribute stories.
I will stay on as part of an Editorial Board to help with the transition.
So, let's hear from those of you who have been anxious to have an outlet
for their creative editorial skills - call me (Gail) at (416)
762-8627!
HIGHLIGHTS OF ICELANDIC NATIONAL LEAGUE MEETINGS:
- There will be a charter flight to Iceland in 1998. The tentative
dates are July 29 to August 12. Details to follow.
- North American Citizen Exchange Program - a preliminary proposal was
tabled by Kendra Jonasson and Andrea L. McIntosh which envisaged exchanges
of people of all ages, starting with adolescents (12 - 20 years) and seniors.
- Icelandic Language and Heritage Camp - a permanent Board is being
set up to administer the Camp and ensure its continuation as a place for
young people to learn of their heritage.
- Next year's INL Calendar will feature the theme of artifacts from the
pioneer days - such as spinning wheels, carved or painted chests, etc.,
to be photographed with descendants of the pioneers.
NEWS FROM THE "INL LIST"
Elva Simundsson passes on the following information from the CNN Newsroom:
Below are the airdates for CNN Newsoom's fall stories concerning Iceland.
All shows air at 4:30 a.m. Eastern on CNN.
- 10/13/97 Icelandic History and People
- 10/14/97 Volcanoes, Glaciers, Earthquakes
- 10/15, 16 or 17/97 Comments from Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, President
of Iceland
So, set your VCR!
By the way, all sorts of interesting information comes your way if you
join the INL List. If you are interested, contact Elva_Simundsson@MBnet.MB.CA
ORIGIN OF OUR FÁLKINN SYMBOL
A few issues ago, we wondered where our Fálkinn symbol originated.
The answer comes from Dorothy Gislason,one of our newest Honorary Members,
who tells us, "My former husband Guy Gislason's father, Jón, had
given him a copy of the falcon symbol before he died. His mother,
Elin Eggertson, had it in a file. When Guy was President of the club,
he decided it would be a good idea to have a symbol, and had an artist
who worked for him reduce it to size. By the way, Guy's father was a friend
of Charlie Thorson, who subsequently worked for Walt Disney. Charlie
fell in love with a girl from Iceland and used her as a model for Snow
White."
The Icelandic Canadian Club of Toronto Newsletter
FÁLKINN -THE FALCON
- Editor: Gail Einarson-McCleery
- "Chatters" Editor: Leah Salt
- Contributing Writers: Katrina (Anderson) Koven, Katrín Jónsdóttir, J. Baldur Steen Marilyn Ragna (Hurst) White
ICCT EXECUTIVE
- President: Gail Einarson-McCleery
- Vice-President: Eric Einarson-McCleery
- Past President/Programs: Garry Oddleifson
COMING EVENTS:
RENOWNED ICELANDIC ART CRITIC TO TOUR CANADA IN OCTOBER
Ađalsteinn Ingólfsson, who recently resigned as Chief Curator
of the National Gallery of Iceland in order to write another book, will
be here this fall to tell us about landscape art in Iceland. His
tour is being arranged by the Icelandic National League, with generous
sponsorship by Icelandair, and the Icelandic Ministries of Foreign Affairs
and Education, Culture & Science, as well as the individual chapters
of the INL.
In addition to his work at the National Gallery, Mr. Ingólfsson
has written two books of poetry and fifteen books on Icelandic art and
artists, including books on Kjarval, Eiríkur Smith, Kristín
Jónsdótttir, and Kristján Daviđsson. Earlier
in his career he was a lecturer in the History of Art at the Icelandic
College of Arts and Crafts, and worked on many art magazines and newspapers.
He continues to do frequent work for Icelandic TV and radio on arts programs.
The new book which he is working on is a commissioned monograph on the
works of sculptor Sigurjón Olafsson, who died in 1982.
The landscape plays such a huge part in the life of Icelanders that it
is no surprise that it's been a popular subject for artists and sculptors
throughout the ages. Mr. Ingólfsson has prepared a program
which features the best of these works of art and sculptures via
the medium of 35 mm. slides. It is called "A Vision of the Land" and is
a survey of the Icelandic landscape tradition from its nationalist beginnings
to its present day incarnation as a "field of activity". In this
lecture, Mr. Ingólfsson will also draw some comparisons to the Canadian
Group of Seven.
In connection with his tour, Doug Laxdal of Graphic Arts Services in Toronto
(the GAS Company) has produced a visually stunning colour poster which
will be used for promotion across the country. This is destined to become
a collector's piece, and we're fortunate that costs for it have been donated
by Joseph E. Martin of the ICCT. See the front cover for the black
and white version.
Be sure not to miss this event - Mr. Ingólfsson will be appearing
at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax, the Art Gallery
of Ontario, the University of Windsor, the University of Manitoba, the
Alberta College of Art, the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in Vancouver,
the University of Victoria and at INL clubs in Arborg, Gimli, Winnipeg,
Calgary, and Edmonton.
WED. OCT. 15 6:00 P.M.
ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO 317 Dundas St.W.
Lecture free with pay-what-you can Gallery Admission
Join us after for dinner - to book, call Lorna at 424-3313
THANKS TO:
Thorsteinn and Hildegarde Helf for our marvellous Viking Picnic on September
13th. Thanks also to their grandsons as well as to helpers, Peter
Fox and Katrín Jónsdóttir. Everyone enjoyed
the "old Norse" play, the displays of mock combat and martial arts, the
flatbread baking demo, the stories and the food!
MILESTONES
BIRTHDAYS:
A very special birthday is coming up for Katrín Jónsdóttir,
who turns 21 on October 12th!
Johanna Snydal was honoured on the occasion of her 95th birthday at a marvellous
party given by her daughter Marlene Mintz and the family. It took
place at the Dentonia Park United Church amid a veritable cornucopia of
memories of her life, including displays of her huge collection of dolls,
many of which she had dressed herself, scrapbooks from the communities
in which she had lived, many of the quilts she had made, and heritage Icelandic
pieces. In attendance were many friends and relatives, including
grandchildren from Alberta and Manitoba and members of the Icelandic community
from all over Ontario.
Johanna Guđrun Snydal was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on August 5th,
1902, the eldest child of J. W. Thorgeirsson and Kristín Guđrun
Kjernested, both of whom had immigrated from Iceland. She herself
only visited Iceland once, but went to the Íslendingadagurinnn in
Gimli every year. In 1920 she was one of the Princesses; that was
where her future husband, Jack Snydal, met and fell in love with
her. They had 6 boys and 1 girl, but Jack died in 1946 and she had
to raise them on their own. She still managed to keep active in the
community and has recently finished another quilt. With 27 grandchildren
and 32 great-grandchildren, she has been kept busy making quilts!
MARRIAGE:
Congratulations on the nuptials of Murray Simmons and Sharon Thomson on
September 27th at St. Phillips Church in Etobicoke. Murray, son of John
& Margaret Simmons (former Heritage Resources Director), works in the
family graphic arts business and is involved with the Heritage Cookbook
they are producing. Sharon works in the banking world.
DEATHS:
News has reached us that MARY JANETTE MacCORMACK of Lanark, Ontario passed
away in the autumn of 1996, at the age of 74. She was born in Great
Fall, MB to William Fraser and Ragnheiđur Thorsteinson who was born
in Iceland. Mary Janette was a homemaker and active in the United
Church as well as community service. She is survived by her husband
James MacCormack, children Jan Ragnheidđr Routh, Terry W. and Craig
Scott.
Our condolences to:
Our Librarian, Kathleen McDermott, on the passing of her mother, Ruth Lawrence,
of Thunder Bay.
Darla McKay, on the sudden tragic death of her uncle Dale Gustaf Johnson,
of Edmond, Oklahoma. He was originally from Selkirk, Manitoba and
spent 15 years in Pinawa, Manitoba.
STEPHEN GIBSON'S ART ON DISPLAY
Opening October 18th 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. is a one-man show of Stephen Gibson's
art - at SHOW Gallery, 978 Queen St. W. Steve is the youngest son
of Jim & Irene Gibson, our Social Convenors. Although he has
had little formal art study, other than one school year at Wexford
Art Centre, he has enjoyed experimenting with his natural skills.
"I paint on impulse", he says, and uses mostly watercolours. His
chance to exhibit his work comes through support of the gallery and sponsor
John Christmann and their interest in exhibiting and encouraging community
artists. The show will be on for a month; the gallery is open Tuesday
to Saturday from 12 noon to 5:00 p.m.
INL CALENDARS HAVE ARRIVED
1998 calendars are now available
- this year they feature Icelandic costumes photographed in settings representing
Icelandic settlements across the country. Cost is the same as last
year - $8 each, plus $2 for mailing one copy, $4 for mailing 2 to 5
copies -
Mail a cheque to John & Ellen Gilmore,
31 Wild Cherry Lane, Thornhill L3T 3T3 or
pick them up at one of our events.
NEW CHILDREN'S BOOK BY W.D. VALGARDSON
The author of the popular books Thor and Sarah of Sand River has
come up with another new children's book - a collection of eight
stories for children aged 8 - 12. Story lines include:
Rainbow lives in a squatters' colony by the sea. She wants to be
an artist, but how can she when her mother can't afford to buy her any
paper or paints? ...
Johnny and Marianne find a wolf pup trapped in a deep crevice. Its
pelt will help pay for the ice skates Johnny desperately wants, but Marianne
wants to keep the animal as a pet...
Richard hates it when he and his mom are forced to move to the city; having
to babysit their Chinese landlord's niece, who doesn't even speak English,
is like adding insult to injury...
The children in these funny, smart and thoughtful short stories live in
the city, on the beach and in the country. And they face situations
that every kid knows well - putting on a brave front, adjusting to a new
place, and buying their heart's desire.
The book will be for sale at the Christmas party (Nov.30).
ON THE MUSIC SCENE:
We had a note recently from Nina-Margrét Grímsdóttir,
the classical pianist who presented such a lovely concert for us last fall,
to let us know that she was one of the featured performers at Scandinavian
Fest ‘97 in Waterloo, New Jersey this summer. Two important upcoming
events are: October 7th, she will be performing in a Steinway Hall
debut presented by the American Scandinavian Society of New York; and on
December 7th she will be performing in a Brahms/Schubert festival concert
in Reykjavík. Then in February 1998 she will be appearing
as a soloist with the Bloomingdale Chamber Orchestra in New York. You can
find out more by visiting her new web site: http://www.cyberzone.net/nina-margret
We also received an e-mail from another musician - Sunna Gunnlaugsdóttir,
an Icelandic citizen living in New York City - she moved there to attend
the prestigious jazz program at William Paterson College in New Jersey.
She now leads a jazz trio, and hopes to bring them to Toronto soon.
You can visit her on her web site also - http//www.earthlink.net/~sunnascott
ICELANDIC FILMS FEATURED AT TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
The recent Film Festival in Toronto featured three Icelandic films:
Devil's Island by Friđrik Thor Friđriksson
(the Toronto Globe & Mail said "If you only see one Icelandic family
saga this year..." They gave it 3 1/2 stars! (see the interview
with the film-maker on page 7)
Gerrie & Louise by Sturla Gunnarsson - this documentary got good reviews
and was televised on CBC-TV September 16th. Sturla has promised to
come and speak to the club - the problem is simply finding a time when
he isn't busy directing a film!
Twilight of the Ice Nymphs by Guy Madden - his latest surreal film, already
popular with the "alternate" theatre-goers.
LETTER FROM ICELAND
Kristinn Guđjónsson and Helga
Ţorsteinsdóttir (our former Newsletter Editors) and
their son Guđjón returned to Iceland in August after seven years
in Canada, and Kristinn wrote Aug.20:
The first part of our long journey has come to an end; we have reached
Iceland. We started our drive from Toronto to Boston, on Thursday the 8th
of August, and it took only 10 minutes to process us on the border.
The 10 hour drive from Buffalo to Boston was a smooth one, if we skip the
fact that I managed to lock the keys in the U-Haul truck at a gas station
halfway down the route. One hour later the doors were opened by a locksmith
and we could continue our trip to Boston (after paying the locksmith US$45
for his trouble, certainly a lucrative profession!)
Our belongings were loaded onto a ship on Friday (August 9) and we
had the opportunity to monitor the process until the pallets were placed
in a container. After this we spent time sight-seeing in Boston. This is
truly a great city with a long history. I do, however, recommend that you
pick a different time of year to visit. The city was crowded with tourists
and accommodations were hard to find. We did find a broken-down motel some
50 km north of the city. They proudly advertised "a satellite TV" in all
rooms. At first I thought this meant that the TV monitors received their
signal from satellites in the sky and that they would offer hundreds of
channels for our viewing pleasure. Once in the room we realised that this
meaning was more literal, the TV obviously had been in orbit around earth
and had a rather harsh re-entry into the atmosphere. No viewable channels
were found!
Our flight to Iceland was booked on Tuesday the 12th and having seen most
of the interesting places on Friday, we decided to try to get an earlier
flight to Iceland. All three of us booked in as standby passengers on Saturday
but there was only room for Helga and Guđjón on that flight!
All our bags went with Helga, except for a cooler that contained my tooth
brush and a box full of zip-lock bags. Armed with this cooler with its
strange contents I started the task of finding a room for the night, only
to learn that none were to be had. At 3 a.m. I finally rented a car and
drove out of town hoping to find vacancies in the motels along the highways
leading out of the city. After 200 km of driving and 20 unsuccessful attempts
I gave up and went to sleep in the car. I took comfort in the fact that
my wife and son were safely on their way to Iceland and did not have to
suffer through the difficulties of sleeping in a car in the middle of nowhere.
I started worrying that I would spend the next two days sleeping in these
conditions. Luck smiled upon me on Sunday, though; they had a seat free
in SAGA class. So I got to enjoy a fantastic meal and as much free cognac
as I could drink.
I will remember the look on the Icelandic customs officers' face for many
years to come, when he opened up my cooler and looked at its contents.
"And you say that you are returning to Iceland from Canada after living
there for 7 years?", he asked. "Yes this is true", I replied. He took another
look at the box with the zip-lock bags and became even more puzzled. "They
are exactly 90", I declared with pride in my voice. "I got them for a very
good price", I added convincingly. "I see", he replied.
During the first week in Iceland the weather was fantastic. The temperature
has been between 20-25 here on the SW corner, and in fact all over the
island. The sun has been shining for most of the time. Certainly a fantastic
home-coming. We have taken time to visit friends and relatives. I went
fishing with Guđjón one day and he caught his first fish! Truly
a fun day.
The biggest problem was to find an apartment to rent. We had originally
intended to rent a 4 room apartment, but it was difficult to find one for
a reasonable price. In fact, it was difficult to find anything in Reykjavík.
This is due to the fact that around this time of year thousands of students
move to the city to do their studies at U of I and smaller colleges (like
the one I am teaching at). Finally we were lucky and managed to get a 2
room apartment that was big enough for us (this was yesterday). The price
is also reasonable. This buys us time to find a good apartment at our leisure.
If we are lucky and are able to sell the one we have in Keflavik, we might
actually buy one in Reykjavík in the months to come. We can now
start looking for day-care for Guđjón (one needs to have an
address to be able to do that since he will be placed in a day-care near
the place we live). Everything is full but he has priority since he has
been living in another country for so long and needs to get better control
of his Icelandic before school starts.
Helga started work today and I will start work at the end of August. I
went yesterday to have a look at the college that I will be teaching at
and was impressed with the facilities. It is however, a new college and
my first task is to set up a chemistry lab! That means that I need to make
a list of equipment and materials that need to be bought, starting from
zero. This is what we call a technical college and amongst other things
will be responsible for training all the mechanics in Iceland in the coming
years. The facilities they have for those purposes are fantastic. State
of the art computers and equipment. Everything donated by companies like
TOYOTA, VOLVO, SAAB, BMW and BENZ. In addition, these companies have also
donated cars for the students to work on. One of the tasks the students
will have this winter is to rebuild the first presidential car (it was
found in an old barn last winter in bad shape). Once restored to its old
glory it will again serve as the official car of the current president,
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson. They published an interesting photograph
of this car in the papers last winter. It shows Ásgeir Ásgeirsson,
one of our former presidents, visiting Isafjördur in NW-Iceland. In
the background of the picture is the old car and standing beside it is
a group of boys 6-8 years old. One of those boys is Ólafur
our current president (he was born and raised in Isafjördur).
The weather this second week has been more typical. Rain and drizzle, but
we have always had a break in the rain at least part of each day. In fact,
we just came in after a 2 hour walk.
Miđ kveđju to all our friends in ICCT!
