Lögberg-Heimskringla - 26.03.1999, Page 12

12 » Lögberg-Heimskringla » Friday 26 March 1999
Icelanders of Kinmount
Continued from page 9
William Hartle, Crown Lands
Agent, was assigned to help them
choose lots. A few had inspected free
grants in December, which were of poor
quality, unattractive, and covered in
heavy bush. Nothing came of this
inspection, until early spring when seri-
ous interest ensued.
After several delays,
the school which had
been promised was
opened during the winter,
likely by February, with
Jonasson as teacher. It
continued to operate for
about eighty children, as
long as he was available.
Mastering the English
language was a priority.
According to earlier local
reports, the parents also
were eager to learn and
“some of the young peo-
ple were picking up won-
derfully.”
From the beginning,
the Icelanders had envi-
sioned living in a colony,
a sufiiciently large parcel
of land where they might
live as a body and sustain their culture
while integrating into the larger society.
As an inducement, the Dominion gov-
emment had promised them this in writ-
ing. But this was not to be at Kinmount.
They were an easy target for persuasive
stories of greener pastures in places like
Nova Scotia, Manitoba, and Alaska.
As the winter dragged on at
Kinmount, those who couldn’t find
work on the railway hired out as farm
hands in retum for board for their fami-
lies. Road construction wasn’t an alter-
native as it had shut down for the win-
ter. Others began seeking possibilities
at sawmills in the surrounding area. A
skilled craftsman, Benedikt Arason did
odd jobs, as well as carving spoons,
which fetched between twenty to thirty
cents apiece. Many single women locat-
ed in Lindsay as domestics, and as sim-
ilar positions opened in Toronto, a few
retumed there. Some girls may have
hired out as housekeepers for local
farmers.
During this period, John Taylor, a
Baptist lay preacher, came into the pic-
ture. He was supervisor of the Shanty
Men’s Mission of the British-Canadian
Bible Society in the lumbercamps of
Haliburton and had influential contacts
in Ottawa. Legend has it that his niece,
Caroline Taylor, encountered the
Icelanders by chance and brought their
plight to his attention.
“In 1874, eighteen-year-old Carrie
Taylor was a teacher in southern
Ontario. The school term was out and
she was travelling home to her uncle’s
house when her stagecoach stopped at
Kinmount for lunch. Carrie noticed a
young girl at the town well. The girl had
long, fair hair and blue eyes, and wore
a costume unlike anything Caroline had
ever seen before... ” (Elva Simundsson)
Carrie inquired about the girl and
found that she lived in a shanty with
other Icelanders in the forest, not far
from the town. The innkeeper added
that her people were suffering greatly
from illness, overcrowding and high
infant mortality. Carrie’s uncle, a man
of strong principles and social con-
science, was very interested in her
story.
“Deeply impressed by the Icelanders he
had met, aware of their fervent desire to
establish a colony in Canada and sym-
pathetic to their plight in Ontario, he
suggested to Sigtryggur Jonasson that it
might be worthwhile to investigate the
possibilities of the Red River Valley in
Manitoba. ” (George J. Houser)
By March, things remained much
the same and were not about to get bet-
ter. In an attempt to raise public con-
cem, Jonasson submitted a news item,
emphasizing that if outside assistance
was not immediately forthcoming, the
unemployed Icelanders would simply
have to starve. That would generate
negative impressions for prospective
immigrants to Canada. He conceded
that many of the old settlers in the area
were poor as well, stmggling to survive,
and in no position to be of much help to
foreigners.
Suddenly, work on the railway
came to an abmpt halt. Costs had far
exceeded previous estimates and fund-
ing was urgently needed to carry on.
The govemment grant of $3000 per
mile allotted for the line between
Kinmount and Lindsay proved inade-
quate for a twenty-three-mile extension
over mgged territory to the town of
Haliburton. Further assistance had to be
negotiated with the province,
Haliburton county, and the Canada
Land & Emigration Co. before opera-
tions could resume. The falling-off in
timber revenues for the land company
had a sobering effect on its sharehold-
ers. In fact, a year would go by before
work was restarted, under the' direction
of Chief Engineer James Ross, later a
Montreal millionaire. The Icelanders
could not wait.
“In March disaster
struck. The Victoria
Railway Co. ran out of
funds and was forced to
suspend operations. The
Icelanders were thrown
out of work. They were
suddenly destitute and
desperate. Many who
could afford to, moved
away in search of work.
Others gallantly took up
land and began to clear
farms. They hired them-
selves out to local farm-
ers and tried to make
ends meet. William
Hartle, Crown Lands
Agent, helped out as best
he could, employing
[eight] Icelanders as
road workers in the sum-
mer of 1875... ” (Guy Scott)
Jonasson recorded that by the end
of May, 1875 thirty-one persons had
selected lots in adjacent Snowdon and
Lutterworth townships, with several
more intending to locate. They had
taken up over four thousand acres of
average quality land, mostly within a
nine-mile distance of Kinmount. One of
them, Johann Jonsson, along with his
wife and parents, rented a farm six
miles north in Snowdon township for
forty dollars a year:
“There were good buildings on the
farm with 70 acres cleared. Johann and
his family moved there during the sum-
mer of 1875. He planted in the spring
two acres ofbeans, and hisfather grew
six acres of oats, also a lot of pota-
toes... ”
The lcelanders of Kinmount
will be continued in the next issue.
mrWkr- J
Above: The trestle bridge over Crego Creek near Kinmount.
Icelanders worked on this structure as a railroad bridge in 1874-
75. The railbed is used as a hiking trail and ski-doo path today.
Right: Railway trestle and foundation of the bridge.
Pholos courtesy Don Gislason
SV\c\rt thí Culturé
ICELANDIC FESTIVAL - GlMLI
August Long Weekend
ISLENDINGADAGURINN

f"
zLíl
Poetry and Short Story
CONTEST

The Icelandic Festival of Manitoba invites you to submit poetry (three entries
per person limit) and/or a short story (one entry per person). Prize money will be
awarded and successful entries will be published in the festival booklet. Categories
are as follows:
Poetry
Junior (12 and under) lst prize $25
Intermediate (13-18) lst prize $35
Open lst prize $50
2nd prize $25
Open lst prize $50
[U
Short Story
Submissions which contain material reflecting Icelandic or Icelandic culture will
be given preference. Entries will not be returned. Send your material
before May 26,1999 to:
FESTIVAL WRITING CONTEST
c/o Helga Malis
Box 2153 Gimli, MB ROC 1B0