Lögberg - 09.10.1958, Blaðsíða 1

71. ÁRGANGUR
WINNIPEG, FIMMTUDAGINN 9. OKTÓBER 1958
NÚMER 40
HON. ASMUNDUR BENSON, Disírict Judge,
State oí North Dakota:
A Pre-cminent Lawyer
On January 19, 1958, one of
the most famous lawyers of
Icelandic descent, the Hon.
Bardi G. Skulason, of Port-
land, Oregon, observed his
87th birthday in that great
city in the presence of many
friends, relatives and ad-
mirers.
This great lawyer was born
in Iceland on January 19,
1871. He came with his
parents to Canada when he
was 5 years old. The family
remained in northern Mani-
toba, Canada, for a period of
five years, and in 1880 came
across the line to Pembina
County, North Dakota. They
had heard the glowing stories
and the marvelous promise of
the Red River Valley. They
were able to take the train
to Pembina, North Dakota,
and from there a distance of
over 40 miles they came by
OV tonrr* gprí on too^ V/hcrc
they settled on unsurveyed
land in what is now the
Mountain, North Dakota,
area.
Like most other families
that came from Iceland or
other foreign countries in
those days, the Skulason
family was very poor, and
depended upon their own
ingenuity and ability to eke
out a living in a foreign coun-
try such as the United States
was to them at that time.
Bardi’s father had often told
him that America was the
land of opportunity where
men were self-made.
Bardi soon acquired a burn-
ing desire for an education,
and after attending the local
schools and learning every-
thing he could from them, he
obtained a permit to teach
school at the youthful age of
16. He taught at Akra, North
Dakota, for three months at
$30.00 a month in the winter
of 1887 and 1888. He taught
at Eyford in 1892 at $35.00 a
month; and also taught at
Mountain, North Dakota, for
$50.00 a month.
In 1888, having saved up
$90.00 or so from his teaching,
Bardi entered the University
of North Dakota; and by
working in the harvest fields,
threshing, teaching school,
and doing any and every
other job that he could get at
the University, he graduated
with a B.A. in 1895, and
earned a Phi Beta Kappa
key, plus a life certificate for
Hon. Barði G. Skúlason
teaching school. He secured a
job that fall in Tower City,
North Dakota, at $75.00 per
month, and the next year at
Hillsboro, North Dakota, for
$100.00 per month. During
these two years of teaching
he devoted every spare mo-
ment that he could to the
study of law; and in Septem-
ber, 1897 ,he was admitted to
the Bar in North Dakota.
Bardi Skulason started his
law practice in Grand Forks,
North Dakota, in the fall of
1897. For a time his younger
brother, Skuli Skulason, was
in partnership with him.
Skuli died several years ago
at the age of 77. Later on the
Hon. O. B. Burtness, who is
at present one of the First
Judicial District judges of
North Dakota, became the
junior partner of the firm of
Skulason & Burtness. Bardi
Skulason served for some
time as assistant state’s at-
torney of Grand Forks Coun-
ty; and for ten years he lec-
tured on private corporations
at the University of North
Dakota Law School.
Mr. Skulason married
Charlotte H. Robinson on
October 25, 1896, at Bismarck,
North Dakota. Two children
were born of this marriage,
Dagmar Skulason, now Mrs.
Eremeef, and Rolfe W. Skula-
son. At the tender age of only
17 Rolfe entered the army in
World War I. He served in
the infantry, finally in the
Rainbow Division, and was in
at least two major engage-
ments, at St. Mihiel and on
the drive later from the
Marne. Upon return from the
service he entered the Uni-
versity of Oregon and gradu-
Continued on Page 2
Courtesy of Winnipeg Tribune
Próf. Ólafur T. Anderson
great loves in the academic
field, and it is doubtful
whether this province ever
had an equal to him in teach-
ing of mathematics. He
worked his students hard but
was able to unlock mathe-
matical doors even to pupils
who had no natural affinity
for the su'oject.
Prófessor O. T. Anderson lótinn
Sú hörmulega frétt barst
yfir útvarpið á mánudags-
kveldið, að Próf. Ólafur T.:
Anderson hefði látið lífið í[
bílaárekstri nálægt Clande-
boe um 4 leytið þá um daginn.
Mun hann hafa verið á leið-j
inni til Selkirk á fund móðurj
sinnar og systkina.
Próf. Anderson var fæddur
og uppalinn í Selkirk. For-
eldrar hans voru Sigurður
Árnason (A n d e r s o n) frá
Breiðavaði í Norður-Múla-
sýslu og kona hans Ólína
Björg ólafsdóttir. Faðir hans
lézt árið 1902, en háöldruð
móðir syrgir hann. Ólafur
ruddi sér veg til mennta; inn-
ritaðist í Wesley College
1909 og lauk Bachelor of Arts
prófi 1913. Árið 1915 varð
bann fyrsti námsmaður við
Manitobaháskóla er lauk
meistaraprófi í stærðfræði.
Hann var skipaður kennari
við Wesley College (seinna
United) árið 1917 og 1927 for-
maður (Dean) Arts of Science
deildarinnar, og hélt hann því
embætti við mikinn og góðan
orðstír til dauðadags.
Auk móður sinnar, Mrs. O.
B. Christianson lætur hann
eftir sig þrjá bræður, Harold,
Samúel og Carl; fimm systur,
Margréti, Anne, Björgu, Mrs.
J. S. Johnson og Mrs. M. D.
Verhage.
Dagblöð Winnipegborgar
hafa minnzt þessa frábæra
kennara vel og maklega. Með
leyfi ritstjóra Winnipeg Tri-
bune endurprentar Lögberg
ritstjórnargrein, er birtist í
því blaði á þriðjudagskveldið:
DEAN O. T. ANDERSON
tragically killed in a highway
collision Monday, was United
College personified. Man and
boy he had been associated
with the college for nearly
half a century.
O.T., or “On Time” Ander-
son as he often was called,
entered Wesley College as a
student in 1909, and began his
teaching career there in 1917.
Since 1927 he had been dean
of arts and science.
The dean came from the
good Icelandic stock which
has meant much to the intel-
lectual life of Manitoba. His
grandmother came to Selkirk
from Iceland more than a
century ago, and it was in
Selkirk that Dean Anderson
was born. His whole life was
spent in the heart of Mani-
toba.
Mathematics and physics
were Professor Anderson’s
The test of his great ability
as a teacher was in the num-
ber of students who sougþt
him out when they had sup-
plementals to write in al-
gebra, analytical geometry or
some kindred subject. By per-
severance and kindly teach-
ing he could make a scholar-
ship winner out of an indi-
vidual who normally would
get only 14 marks out of 100
in a mathematics exam.
United College and two
generations of students will
miss Dean Anderson’s influ-
ence.
Þessi fallega og maklega
kveðja var rituð af aðalrit-
stjóra blaðsins, Mr. Carlyle
Allison.
Útför þessa vinsæla kenn-
ara og mæta íslendings verð-
ur gerð frá Young United
Church í dag, fimmtudag, kl.
3 e.h. Forseti United College,
Dr. W. C. Lockhart, flytur
kveðjumál; ennfremur for-
maður guðfræðideildarinnar,
E. G. D. Freeman. — Jarðað
verður í Brookside grafreit.
Miklar og góðar gjafir til Betel
Það eru ekki liðin nema
þrjú ár síðan fyrsta greinin
birtist í Lögbergi varðandi
áætlun um endurbætur á
Betel byggingunni á Gimli og
um viðbót nýrrar byggingar
til þess að hægt væri að veita
móttöku hinum mörgu öldr-
uðu íslendingum, er á bið-
lista voru og leituðu þar at-
hvarfs. — Margir þeir, sem
heimsótt hafa Betel í seinni
tíð hafa látið svo ummælt, að
það gangi kraftaverki næst
hve miklu hafi þar verið
hrundið í framkvæmd á þessu
tímabili.
Þetta var stórt nauðsynja-
og mannúðarmál, og svo giftu-
samlega tókst til, að valið lið
manna undir forustu Dr. P.
H. T. Thorlakson, fékkst til
að beita sér fyrir fjársöfnun
og framkvæmdum. Nefndin
hafði lítið fé handa á milli til
að byrja með, en hún treysti
því, eins og sannast hafði svo
oft áður, að þegar mikið ligg-
ur við, er hjarta landans jafn-
aðarlega á réttum stað. Ein-
staklingar víðsvegar og félög
sendu fjárframlög og aðrar
gjafir, og hefir þeirra verið
getið hér í blaðinu.
Nýlega bárust nefndinni
þessar stórgjafir: „Islendinga-
dagurinn“ á Gimli $400.00 fyr-
ir húsgögn í eina íbúð heimil-
isins. Áður hafði nefnd Islend-
ingadagsins greitt $1000.00 í
byggingarsjóðinn, svo nú hef-
ir þessi íslenzka stofnun styrkt
Betel með $1400.00 alls. Er
þetta mjög þakkarvert; arði
þessara íslenzku hátíðadaga á
Gimli gat ekki verið varið
betur.
Þann 30. september síðast-
liðinn meðtók nefndin þessa
höfðinglegu gjöf:
íslenzkir Good Templarar í
Winnipeg $1200.00 fyrir hús-
gögn í þrjár íbúðir Betels. í
apríl 1957 gáfu Good Templar-
arar $10,800.00, sem borga
skyldu kostnað við byggingu
þriggja íbúða (units). Þannig
hefir þessi íslenzki félags-
skapur lagt alls $12,000.00 til
Betel. Er þetta drengileg að-
stoð við göfugan málstað.
Kostnaður við endurbygg-
ingu Betels hljóp töluvert
fram úr því sem áætlað var,
og enn er þörf á um 30 þúsund
dollara fjárstyrk til að greiða
áfallnar skuldir og til að full-
komna verkið. Væntir nefnd-
in þess að íslenzkur almenn-
ingur hafi Betel í huga sem
fyrr og aðstoði nefndina við
að ljúka þessu nauðsynja-
verki sem fyrst.
Virðingarfyllzt,
GRETTIR EGGERTSON,
formaður fjársöfnunar-
nefndar Betel.