Lögberg-Heimskringla - 23.05.1986, Page 5
WINNIPEG, FÖSTUDAGUR 23. MAÍ 1986-5
The Icelanders in British Columbia
Editor's note: The following arti-
cle was written in 1967, so a few
numbers mentioned may be out-
dated. But itgives a verygood insight
into the Icelandic settlement on the
west coast of Canada.
by Gustaf Tryggvason and
Nina Jobin
The Icelandic ethnic group in
British Columbia has never been a
large one. The first official figures
available show that in 1902 there
were 177 persons of icelandic na-
tionality in the province. This figure
increased slowly over the next three
decades and by 1931 Census returns
show 858 persons of Icelandic origin
in the province. Thereafter the in-
crease in their numbers was more
rapid, as indicated by later census
returns. Their numbers increased to
I, 478 in 1941, 3,557 in 1951 and
5,136 in 1961. By now about 20% of
all Icelandic Canadians live in British
Columbia.
The migration of Icelandic Cana-
dians into British Columbia has some
general characteristics which are
worth mentioning. Firstly, the migra-
tion into the province has been a
secondary migration. Most of these
people had spent many years in other
parts of Canada and the United States
before coming to British Columbia.
Secondly, the majority of those who
have arrived have been Canadian or
American by birth. In 1961 only 8%
of the Icelandic Canadians in the pro-
vince had been born in Iceland.
Thirdly, the migration has been a dis-
tinctly individualistic migration.
There is only one instance on record
of a group arriving in the province
with the intention of setting up an
Icelandic colony.
The first Icelanders came in the
1880's and most of them settled,
either permanently or temporarily, in
Victoria. Among these were Olafur
(Oliver) and Gudrun Johnson, who
arrived around 1888. One of their
sons, Byron (Bjorn) Ingimar, born in
Victoria in 1890, later became a pro-
minent figure in sports, business and
politics in British Columbia. He was
first elected to the legislature in 1933.
In 1947 he became leader of the
Liberal party and in that capacity he
served as the Premier of the province
from 1947 to 1953. Another early set-
tler in Victoria was Christian Sivertz.
One of his sons, Bent, served in the
federal civil service, most recently as
the Commissioner for the North
West Territories. A third early settler,
who arrived shortly after the turn of
the century, was SigurdurjChristo-
pherson. One of the firSt llcelanders
to settle in Canada, he served the
government as an immigration agent
for many years before settling in
Crescent Beach.
The first Icelander to settle in the
Northern part of the province was T.
J. Davidson, who arrived in Prince
Rupert from Alberta in 1908. In 1913
a group of about ten families from
Manitoba arrived in Prince Rupert
enroute to the Queen Charlotte
Islands, where they planned to
establish an Icelandic colony. The at-
tempt failed and these people were
then urged to settle on Smith Island
in the Skeena River estuary. There
they established the village of
Osland. By 1925, when the popula-
tion was about 70 persons, the village
had its own school, post office, store,
a branch of the Farmer's Institute
and an oil station serving the local
fishing fleet.
This group tried to preserve some
elements of thcir cultural heritage.
"Glíma", an old Icelandic form of
wrestling, was taught in the school
house, which was also used as a com-
munity center where chess and card
games were played and the regular
Saturday night dances were held. A
library containing both Icelandic and
English titles was established in 1920.
The Anglican mission boat, "North-
ern Cross", was a regular visitör tö
the small settlement. ,
Salmon fishing was the main
joccupation of the settlers. Most of
ithem also kept small gardens and
rhised a few domestic animals. The
Farmer's Institute was of consider-
able help in clearing the land. The
settlers also made unsuccessful ef-
forts to grow fruit and to raise mink.
Osland survived the hard years of
the 1930's, partly due to the avail-
ability of fish and game. During the
war years however, people began to
move to Prince Rupert, where well-
paying jobs were available and where
their children could continue their
schooling. By 1944 the school had
been closed, the store and oil station
moved elsewhere and the Farmer's
Institute was dissolved. The post of-
fice was closed in 1952. Today the
village has no permanent inhabitants,
though some of the Icelandic families
living in Prince Rupert maintain their
old homes as summer houses.
At about the same time as Osland
was being established a man by the
name of Halldor Fridleifsson led a
small group from Vancouver to
Hunter Island, a large island forming
the western boundary of Fitz Hugh
Sound. By 1920 several families were
living in this new settlement and in
1922 a small school was opened. Sal-
mon fishing was again the main oc-
cupation. In the long-run, however,
the settlers were not successful and
by the end of the decade of the 1920's
they had all returned to other areas.
A few Icelanders also settled in
other parts of the province. There
were some in the Okanagan around
1890 and a small group in Princeton
during the 1890's though these
stayed only a few years. After the
turn of the century there were a few
families settling in various towns in
the interior, such as Vernon, Kel-
owna and Kamloops. Other areas in
which Icelanders settled include
Golden and Revelstoke (1940's),
Campbell River (1920's), the Alber-
ni Valley (1940's) and Kitimat
(1950’s). These scattered settlements,
however, were always quite small
and usually short-lived. Since the first
settlers came to Victoria the Ice-
landers moving into the province
have concentrated in the major urban
centers, first in Victoria and then,
beginning about 1900, in Vancouver.
Presently about 90% of all the Icelan-
dic Canadians in the province live in
the Greater Vancouver area.
Vancouver is not only the area in
which most of the Icelanders settled
after their arrival in British Colum-
bia. It is also the place in which
almost all of their clubs and organiza-
tions were established. The Only
Icelandic club set up outside of the
Vancouver area was the Icelandic
Women's Club of Victoria, estab-
lished in the early 1940's. That club
has been active in preserving some
elements of an Icelandic community
life in that city. It has also been a
good supporter of the Icelandic old
folks home in Vancouver.
The first Icelandic society estab-
lished in Vancouver was the literary
society "Ingolfur”, organized in
1908. The primary objective of this
society was the establishment of a
library of Icelandic books. The socie-
ty also sponsored social gatherings
and outings, at first by itself and then,
after 1917, in co-operation with the
Ladies' Aid "Solskin”. Ingolfur was
not a large club, in terms öf mem-
bers, but it was one around which
much of the life of the Icelandic com-
munity revolved. In the 1930's it be-
came one of the founding members
of the Scandinavian Central Com-
mittee. In 1946 it merged with the
social club "Isafold", which had been
set up in 1940, to form the social-cul-
tural society "Strondin".
The Ladies' Aid "Solskin" was
established in November, 1917, by a
group of Icelandic women. The
members worked to assist the needy
members of the Icelandic qom-
munity. During the 1920's these
women worked hard on a project to
build an Icelandic community center
in Vancouver. Property was purchas-
ed and money collected for this
center. However, during the hard
years of the 1930's there were many
families and individuals who were in
desperate need of assistance. The
money collected for the center, as
well as the funds realized from the
sale of their property, was used to aid
them. The ladies of "Solskin” gave of
their time and energy, ^s well as
money, to the old folks hbme which
was established in 1947. Since then
the members of "Solskin" have con-
tinued to support and work for the
old folks home and their contribu-
tions towards the success of the
home are deeply appreciated. Today
as they prepare to celebrate their fif-
tieth anniversary, the Ladies of
"Solskin" can look back with pride
on half a century öf honoured
achievements.
During the 1930s and 1940's there
were many other small groups and
clubs active in the Icelandic com-
munity. Among these one might
name the Icelandic Choir, which
later became the choir of the Icelan-
dic Lutheran Church; the Icelandic
Badminton Club, which was active
for many years, and the women's
social and charitable club
"Ljomalind", which was set up dur-
ing the 1930's and which was active
for many years. Another organization
of importance to the Icelandic com-
munity was the Blaine Committee,
set up in Í942. This Committee spon-
sored the annual Icelandic Day Pic-
nic, which is held every summer in
the Peace Arch Park in Blaine, on the
Canada-United States border.
In 1917 the minister serving the
Icelandic Church in Blaine began to
give service to a small congregation
of Icelanders in Vancouver. This con-
gretation did not survive, being dis-
banded during the early 1930's. In
1941 the Icelandic Synod sent the
Rev. Runolfur Marteinsson to Van-
couver to establish a new congre-
gation. His work met with success
and in 1944 the Icelandic Lutheran
Church of Vancouver was formally
established. In the early 1950's, dur-
ing the ministry of Rev. Eirikur Bryn-
jolfsson, a building program was in-
itiated and completed in 1956 with
the dedication of the Icelandic
Lutheran Church. During its history
the church has been served by many
dedicated ministers and laymen.
Mention must be made of the mem-
bers of the Women's Auxiliary of the
church who have worked hard and
successfully for their church. In
1963, when the Icelandic Synod
merged with the United Lutheran
Church of America, the local Icelan-
dic Lutheran church became the
Lutheran Church of Christ. But the
change in the name has not brought
about significant changes in the
membership of the congregation;
most of the members are still of
Icelandic origin.
Continued on Page 7.
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