Lögberg-Heimskringla - 09.07.1993, Blaðsíða 6

6 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 9. júlí 1993
MESSUBOÐ
Fyrsta Lúterska
Kirkja
Pastor Ingthor I. Isfeld
1030 a.m. The Service followed by
Sunday School & CofTee hour.
First Lutheran Church
580 Victor St., Winnipeg, MB
R3G1R2 Ph. 772-7444
Fred Sigmundson: Life as a work of art
W’innipeg’s original Bardal Funeral Home since 1894.
843 Sherbrook Street in Winnipeg Telephone 774-7474
always stayed about two
net lengths behind me to
make sure the fresh fish
were not frozen hard. His
teeth weren’t that good, I
guess. We became good
friends. I never bothered
him; he never bothered me.
I fed him, and he just went
and curled up in among the
rocks. He was my only
company.”
The book also includes
Fred’s story of building his
first home and moving it to
Gimli called “The warmest
house in Gimli.”
Fred’s second wife Laura
Lambertson (originally
from Baldur, Manitoba),
provided another daughter
and two grandsons, who
affectionately called him
Afi. These two lads were
included in the fishing trips
at the dock much to their
delight. Other children
who also had this pleasure
were grandsons of Fred’s
good friends, Eric
Stefanson and Dr. George
Johnson.
Fred’s time was always
full and his home open to
local and far away visitors,
as well as, all his family
and many relatives. His
humour continued to come
forth in different carvings,
such as, the loon bank, the
tax shelter (a tack under a
roof shelter to take the
edge off the GST), and his
bird feeders he called
Chickedee Delight.
He was a kind and gen-
erous person and he helped
many people in his own
unique way.
m
BARDAl'H#*
plete story of commercial
fishing on Lake Winnipeg
for both summer and win-
ter. This he felt should be
his gift to the community so
he donated the carvings to
the Gimli Museum where
they are on display for all to
enjoy. Later he added the
Armstrong Fisheries build-
ing at Gimli and the fish
freighting boat Goldfield. It
took a whole winter to
complete, working diligent-
ly to include all detail like
the weathervane on the
Goldfield and allowing for
the drying after gluing of
each individual shingle for
the building. It has been
noted that visitors from
Iceland are most intrigued
by this display. It is of great
interest to them to see how
the first settlers adapted to
fishing in this new land and
especially the winter fishing
through the ice which of
course was never a method
required for fishing off the
coast of Iceland.
Fred also completed
paintings of all the boats
that worked Lake Win-
nipeg. These hang in Ted
Kristjanson’s Museum in
Gimli. To depict history
correctly, Fred even painted
the Goldfield three times,
showing the two changes to
that vessel from the original
structure. Other paintings
have been of scenery, espe-
cially scenes along the lake.
One picture from memory
was of the old timber wolf
who he fed tullibees to dur-
ing his first winter fishing
job at age 17. Fred’s story
of this experience was cap-
tured and authentically
produced by Yva Momatiuk
and John Eastcott in their
book “In a Sea of Wind,
Images of the Prairies. ” The
wolf picture accompanies
the story
which Fred
ended by
saying, “He
By Dilla Narfason
Fred Sigmundson will
be missed by all who
knew him. His friend-
liness, his humour, his
helpfulness will live on in
our memory.
Fredrik Gisli was born
73 years ago at Hnausa,
Manitoba. He was the son
of Olöf and Gisli
Sigmundson and brother to
Guðrun, Jonina, Fjola,
Sigrun, Daniel and Marino.
He took his early schooling
at Hnausa and later, high
school at Riverton, and
began his working career in
fishing at age 17 when he
was left on an island in
Lake Winnipeg by himself
in October to fish all winter
until he was picked up by a
fish freighter in March of
the next year.
At an earlier age, Fred
was confined to bed with
rheumatic fever for some
time. Although he had
learned to read and write
Icelandic before this time, it
was during this confine-
ment that he continued to
read books in Icelandic. He
put this knowledge of the
language to use many years
later to translate the song
“When it’s Springtime in
the Rockies” from English
to Icelandic.
Over the years, Fred
worked at many occupa-
tions. Running an Esso bulk
station brought him to
Gimli in 1939, with his wife
Heiða (nee Helgason of
Riverton), who predeceased
him in 1973. They had three
children Fred, Phyllis and
Larry. Other work for Fred,
included the experience of
being a meteorologist and
fish inspector but his great-
est love was being a fisher-
man. He fished for many
years on Lake Winnipeg
and for a time, at ocean
fishing off the Pacific Coast
from British Columbia. At
the time of his retirement in
1975, he was employed by
the Manitoba Health
Services Commission.
Fred also loved Gimli
and took an active part in
his community. His involve-
ment included, Secretary of
the Gimli Board of Trade,
forerunner of the Gimli
Chamber of Commerce,
President of the Skating
Rink Committee and the
Skating Carnival Com-
mittee. He was a member of
the Icelandic Festival
Committee for a number of
years and became a Charter
Member of the Gimli
Kinsmen Club. He was also
a member of the Lisgar
Masonic Lodge in Selkirk,
Manitoba, and later, a
Charter Member of the
Viking Masonic Lodge in
Gimli. Another example of
Fred’s willingness to help in
his community was during
the 1944 flood through the
middle of town. He and
Beggi Helgason got a row-
boat and helped people
move from the east or the
west side of town both to
get to work or to go home.
Fishing became a pas-
time for Fred upon retire-
ment. Now as an angler, he
could be found out on the
dock casting his line and
sitting there enjoying the
lake. Because of his keen
interest in people, he fre-
quently engaged in conver-
sation with tourists and
answered questions about
the town, as well as, giving
a historical perspective on
commercial fishing and
other ways of life in the old
days.
At this time, Fred’s artis-
tic abilities blossomed. He
now had time to carve and
to paint, as well as continue
his joy of reading and play-
ing bridge. The lake and
fishing were naturally a
focus for his art. In minia-
ture, he carved the com-
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