Lögberg-Heimskringla - 23.04.1999, Blaðsíða 1

Inside this week:

neimsKringia
The lcelandic Weekly
Lögberg Stofnaö 14. januar 1888 Heimskringla Stofnaö 9. september 1886
Christian for a thousand years 3
A trip to Victoria 4
The lcelanders of Kinmount 5
Calendar of Events 6
The Saga of Guðríður
Þorbjarnardóttir 7
Memoirs of Guðmundur Jónsson
from Húsey 6
113. Árgangur “The oldest ethnic periodical still publishing in Canada” Föstudagur 23. apríl 1999 Númer 14
113thyear Publications Mail registration no. 08000 Friday 23 April 1999 Number 14
Arborg
Bent Gestur Sivertz
Left to right: Thorir Sigurdsson, artist,
Bent Sivertz, author, and Bill Valgardson,
author and administrator for the Richard
and Margaret Beck Trust, for the Beck lec-
tures on lcelandic Literature.
The picture above vra.v submitted by
Mattie Clegg and taken in Victoria, B.C.,
on February 6, 1999, at the home of Bent
Sivertz. Thorir Sigurdsson was visiting
from Reykjavík to give a series of three
talks at tlie Richard and Margaret Beck
Lectures at the University of Victoria. Bill
Valgardson kindly arranged for this meet-
ing.
Submitted by Mattie Clegg
VlCTORIA, BC
Bent Gestur Sivertz was born in
Victoria, British Columbia, August
11, 1905. His mother and father emi-
grated from Iceland in the late 1800s
and met in Victoria. Bent is the fifth of
six sons; the eldest, Henry George, was
killed in the first war. Upon graduation
from Victoria High School at age sev-
enteen Bent went to sea in square-
rigged sailing ships, crossing the
Pacific several times under sail. He
retumed home to attend the Victoria
Normal School, graduating with a
teaching certificate. He taught school at
Uclulet, on the west coast of Vancouver
lsland, and in the city of Vancouver. He
then began attending the University of
British Columbia when, just before
graduation, he was called to serve in
the second World War, as a result of his
affiliation with the Naval Reserve. He
was discovered to have an affinity for
navigation, and was asked to take over
some classes being taught at tlie Royal
Military College in Kingston where he
was training. He was then invited to
create a navigation school in Halifax,
which he did in the dockyard. The
school grew and relocated to the
University of Kings College, where it
Please see Bent on page 4
Þorrablót in
IHAD heard rumors of the Arborg
Þorrablóts being special, but “sjón
er sögu ríkari,” which came true for
my husband and myself when we
attended this year’s Þorrablót in Arborg.
One advantage of holding a Þonablóti
in the month of Góa is that milder winds
are usually blowing at that time, and
that was certainly the case on March 27
when we drove to Arborg for our first
taste of an Arborg blót.
The Arborg Community Hall is
open and spacious and this evening it
accommodated over two hundred peo-
ple who had come from far and near.
There were visitors from Winnipeg,
Gimli, Swan Lake, and other Interlake
communities, who obviously knew
what to expect at an Arborg Þorrablót.
The visitor who had come from farthest
away was Magnús Stefánsson, profes-
sor emeritus from Bergen, Norway, who
gave a most interesting lecture at the
University of Manitoba on March 25,
on the naming of Vínland (it will appear
in L-H later). Was it Vinland or
Vínland? Many of us left that lecture
convinced that Magnús’s theory was
correct and that it was called Vinland or
pasture land.
David Gislason, president of Esjan,
the Arborg chapter of the INL, wel-
comed guest and visitors and then hand-
ed the microphone over to Álfheiður
Björnsdóttir who was the evening’s
MC. Álfheiður wore an Icelandic
national dress (upphlutur), a fifty-year-
old heirloom which had been given to
her mother, and which suited Alfheiður
very well. Álflieiður did an excellent
job of introducing participants and com-
menting on the items on the agenda.
The evening began with the Þorri-
meal with a roast baron of beef as a
main course, accompanied by many
Icelandic delicacies. I thought I had
spotted some dark rye bread on the table
when I entered, but to my surprise it
was “blóðmör” which I must admit I
have not seen for many years. Hangikjöt
and lifrarpylsa were also offered as well
as skyr served with berries.
During the meal Álfheiður
Björnsdóttir introduced two young girls
wearing exceptionally beautiful
Icelandic national dresses, an upphlutur
and peysuföf. After the meal Neil
Bardal, Icelandic Consul General in
Manitoba, addressed those present on
behalf of the Icelandic govemment and
told us about the marvelous things hap-
pening in relation to the millennium cel-
ebrations and the Special Envoy of
Iceland who will manage those events
in Canada. Ray Johnson, president of
the INL, spoke to the gathering about
the many items on the INL agenda, such
as: the millennium events, the Heritage
Calendar, the upcoming INL
Convention, the promotion of the
Icelandic Sagas in English translation,
and the fundraising on behalf of the
University, as well as the growth within
the INL where new chapters are being
added.
Pastor Ingthor Isfeld was the
evening’s guest speaker and his topic
was “A Thousand Years of Christianity
in Iceland.” As we know, the celebra-
tion in Iceland in the year 2000 is
twofold with the land discovery by our
ancestors, Leifur Eiríksson and
Þorfinnur Karlsefni and others, as well
as the adoption of Christianity which
took place at Alþingi in the year 1000
(see elsewhere in paper). Next on the
Please see Þorrablót on page 2
Mr. and Mrs. Stefansson dancing
Photo: Linda Johanns