Lögberg-Heimskringla - 13.02.2004, Blaðsíða 1

LÖGBERG-HEIMSKRINGLA
............................... ■ — ■" - ~ -
Lögberg stofnad 14. janiar 1888
Heimskringla stofnad 9. september 1886
Sameinud 20. agust 1959
Jl__
ni— Friday, 13 February 2004 • Number 3 / Númer 3 • Föstudagur, 13 febrúar, 2004
Publication Mail Agreement No. 40012014, PAP # 8000
118th year /118. Árgangur
ISSN 0047-4967
In This Issue
• Volcanoes Inside and
Out: a Geological and
Landscape Documen-
tation Field Experience
to Iceland Page 3
8. Programmed the
Exploration Rover on
Mars Page 4
• Heimkoma - Coming
Home Pages 8/9
• Elves are Serious
Business for Icelanders
Page 13
The Leif Eiriksson
Icelandic Club
New Officers
by Margaret Grisdale
Calgary, AB
The Leif Eiriksson
Icelandic Club held their
Annual General Meeting on
January 18,2004. The meet-
ing was preceded by a Pot
Luck Dinner which was
enjoyed by all who attended.
Following the meeting,
Jennifer Lloyd, niece of
Eleanor Oltean, gave a
power point presentation on
her recent trip to Korea. She
was there for a year teaching
English. What a beautiful
country. She enjoyed her
time there very much as this
was her second trip.
The new officers for this
coming year are: President,
Carol Blyth; Past President,
Margaret Grisdale; Vice
President, Dr. Ron Goodman;
Treasurer, Ross Oddson;
Secretary, Gordon Ferguson
and Membership Recorder,
Jennifer Lloyd.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MARGARET GRISDALE
Jennifer Lloyd, Member-
ship Recorder on left with
Carol Blyth, newly elected
President of the Leif
Eiriksson Club
Three Icelanders on the List of Order of Canada Recipients
On January 27, 2004 the
Governor General of
Canada announced 102 new
appointments to the Order of
Canada. The new appointees
include five Companions
(C.C.), thirty-three Officers
(O.C.) and sixty-four Members
(C.M.). These appointments are
in effect as of October 30, 2003.
They will be inducted at a for-
mal ceremony that will take
place at a date to be announced.
Three were named from the
Icelandic Canadian community.
They are Roy E. Peterson as an
Officer of the Order, Tannis M.
Richardson and Betty Jane
Wylie as Members of the Order.
Roy E. Peterson is being
recognized for his contributions
to the arts, visual; Tannis M.
Richardson for voluntary serv-
ice; and Betty Jane Wylie for
her contributions to the arts,
writing.
For each the Governor
General lists a citation. These
read:
Roy E. Peterson, O.C.
West Vancouver, BC Officer
of the Order of Canada
Roy Peterson is one of our
finest editorial cartoonists.
Expertly blending humour and
satire, he has provided insight-
ful commentary on our political
landscape. His work has
V
»2*
»2«
Ofílcer of the Order of Canada Medal (right) and Member of
the Order of Canada (left)
appeared in the pages of the
Vancouver Sun for over four
decades and has been syndicat-
ed nationally and intemational-
ly. Many of his original illustra-
tions are in the collections of
Simon Fraser University, the
National Archives of Canada
and the Libraiy of Congress, in
Washington. Highly respected
by his peers, he has served as
president of both the Canadian
and American associations of
editorial caitoonists.
Iannis M. Richardson, C.M.
St. Germain South, MB.
Member of the Order of
Canada
Tannis Richardson provides
an inspiring example of com-
munity involvement. For
decades, she has been a dedicat-
ed supporter of numerous
health, cultural and social serv-
ice organizations. She has been
especially committed to the
Juvenile Diabetes Research
Foundation of Canada (JDRF),
serving at the community and
national levels as well as with
JDRF Intemational. In addition,
she has giyen both time and
funds to the Winnipeg
Symphony Orchestra and the
Manitoba Opera Association
and played an instmmental role
in the development of the
Winnipeg Art Gallery.
Betty Jane Wylie, C.M.
MacTier, Ont. Member of the
Order of Canada
Her career as a writer has been
diverse and enduring. A prolific
playwright, Betty Jane Wylie
has also written poetry, chil-
dren’s stories and non-fiction
books on numerous topics. As
well, she created several radio
plays and had a daily column
syndicated on radio stations
across the country. After her
husband’s death, she penned the
best-selling Beginnings: A Book
for Widows, which has comfort-
ed countless people and
launched her speaking career on
the topic of widowhood. She
has also given of her time to
professional associations, serv-
ing as chair of the Writers’
Union of Canada and in senior
positions with the Playwrights
Union of Canada.
The order was established
in 1967, Canada’s lOOth birth-
day, to recognize outstanding
achievement and service in var-
ious fields of hurnan endeavour,
including arts, business, educa-
tion, social service and public
service.
At one time honorifics such
as “Sir” and “Lord” were grant-
ed by the British govemment in
Canada, but that has not been
the case since 1919. The Order
of Canada is the highest honour
for lifetime achievement grant-
ed by the Canadian govemment.
Source and photos: Governor
General of Canada website. Ifthe L-H
has missed an Icelandic natnefrom the
list, please let us biow. Ivbmh
How Did I Ever Manage This?
Asks Betty Jane Wylie, B.A. (Hon.), M.A., B.I., D.Litt., C.M.
When Betty Jane read her
name amongst the list of
those appointed a Member of
the Order of Canada this year,
she thought “How did I ever
ntanage this?”
She managed it by being a
very successful free lance
writer. She managed it by writ-
ing thirty-five books on a wide
variety of subjects, and three
dozen plays. Of her works,
Betty Jane says her favourites
are Reading Between the Lines:
the Diaries of Women and
Letters to Iceland. She is very
interested in women’s diaries,
and has a large collection of
them. “I have a wall of them
now,” she says.
When Betty Jane’s husband
died, she was left with the
PHOTO COURTESY OF U OF M WEBSITE
Betty Jane Wylie was
awarded an honorary
Doctor of Laws at the 124th
annual convocation May 28
at the U. of M.
responsibility of raising four
children, one of them with brain
damage. She had to find a way
to eam a living. “Nobody told
me you couldn’t make a living
as a free lance writer,” she says.
However, she felt that she
“short changed rny artistic long-
ings” in order to put bread on
the table. “I was busy surviv-
ing.”
When John Hirsch was
awarded the Order, Betty Jane
wrote a letter of congratulations
to her old friend. With it she
included a copy of her book The
Book of Matthew, which is
about bringing up a brain dam-
aged child. And she said, “This
is my Order of Canada.”
She feels hers is the story of
many women. They do what
they have to do, and they don’t
usually get medals for it. Upon
hearing of her achievement, the
Women’s Caucus of the
Playwright’s Guild commented,
“Hey, we got a woman play-
wright in the Order of Canada.”
Like many women who
don’t get medals for all they do
to hold up the world, she didn’t
expect to be so honoured. So,
she said “I’m really thrilled. I
cried when I got the letter.”
These aren’t the first
awards she has received. On
September 20, 2002 Betty Jane
Wylie was honoured at Arts
Celebrating Arts as one of three
distinguished Arts alumni of the
University of Manitoba. On
May 28, 2003 she received an
honorary Doctor of Laws at the
university’s 124th annual con-
vocation. Betty Jane Wylie
graduated from the University
of Manitoba in' 1951 with a
B.A. (Hons.) in French and
English, and an M.A. in English
in 1952. Ivbmh
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