Lögberg-Heimskringla - 01.08.1980, Side 2

Lögberg-Heimskringla - 01.08.1980, Side 2
2________________________ MAIDS OF HONOUR 16 year old Denise Johannson resides in Calgary with her parents, Alda and Douglas Johann- son. Her grandparents are Gudni and Adalbjorg Sigvaldason, Arborg, Manitoba,' and Thorsteinn and Anne Johannson, Riverton, Manitoba. Denise has completed grade 10. She takes an active part intrack and field and public speaking ac- tivities, modelling, and is completing her Life Saving in swimming. On completion of grade 12 she plans on going into the physical education field or the fashion area. In the past year Denise has travelled on a French Exchange trip to Quebec as~ she is bilingual, and has just returned from a modelling seminar in New York. Charis Deanna Johann- son, is the 15 year old daughter of Thor and Marilynne Johannson of Riverton, Manitoba. She is the granddaughter of Thorsteinn and Anne Johannson of Riverton and Kristrun Sigurdson and the late Sigurdur J. Sigurdson of Arborg, Manitoba. Charis will be attending grade 10 in the Riverton Collegiate Institute. Her hobbies include piano, swimming and sports of which her favourites are badminton and volleyball. Charis plans to pursue a career in architecture and interior decorating. Her father, Thor Johannson, principal of the Riverton Elementary School, heads the committee in charge of the teaching of Icelandic in the Evergreen School Division. TOAST TO ICELAND • Cont. trom page 1 ^ — / • graduated with honours. He was then hired by CBC in Toronto, for whom he prepared a number of radio dramas in the course of his work. While in Toronto he was also the director of several stage plays. He moved to Winnipeg in 1954, where he continued to work for the CBC, and later moved again, this time to B.C. where he was a teacher. He has now been a professor with the Faculty of Education, at the University of Manitoba for several years, and in addition has been on the editorial staff of the Icelandic Canadian and an enthusiastic and willing supporter of Icelandic activities of all kinds in the province. Mr. Kristjanson’s wife is Sylvia (Nora) and they have two children, a daughter Sharon and son Ronald. LÖGBERG-HEIMSKRINGLA, HÁTÍÐARBLAÐ 1980 The Happy Haylanders JONASTHOR This special Islen- dingadagurinn issue of Logberg-Heimskringla has been published with the assistance of a guest editor, Mr. Jonas Thor. Jonas is from Mosfells veit, in Iceland, which is east of Reykjavik. He holds a B.A. degree from the University of Iceland and has just completed his M.A. degree in Canadian History at the University of Manitoba, the title of his thesis being Religious Controversies in New Iceland.Currently he is working on writing a history of the Icelandic festival, and his articles in this issue give some idea of the breadth of his knowledge of the sub- ject. Jonas’ wife Anna Bara is also attending the University of Manitoba, where she -is studying Fine Art. They have two daughters, Katrin Sif and Elsa Maria. FJALLKONAN 1980 Cont. from page 1 V She has been involved in numerous committees and organizations in her com- munity such as being a member of the Framnes Ladies Aid and being a leader with the Vidir 4-H Club for a number of years. She has also been the secretary of the Esjan Chapter of the Icelandic National League since 1964. Gudni and Adalbjorg have three children: Oskar Thor, at present an international consultant with Acres engineering firm; lives at St. Catharines, Ontario. Hulda Signy Heid, R.N. came to an untimely death in a traffic accident four years ago. Ingunn Alda Johannson, homemaker and real estate salesperson in Calgary, Alberta. Gudni and Adalbjorg have three grandchildren, Denise and Leslie Johannson and Thor Sigvaldason. “Happy are the humble” is a maxim found in an old book. Many of our con- temporaries will challenge that statement and count it outdated and archaic. Our age does not consider humility a virtue or a way that leads to success; loudly spoken self-aggrandizement is the way of life that brings one to the attention of people, and eventually to power and prosperity. Meekness, gentleness and goodness appear to be largely’ ruled out in our competitive world. However, there still are remarkable exepctions. In the Hayland, Manitoba community situated on the north-eastern shore of Lake Manitoba, there lived a unique family on a farm for over sixty years of this century, practicing the old time virtues of meekness and goodness, enjoying the quiet, peaceful life in the bosom of nature, far removed from all bombast and braggadocio. The world paid little attention to this family, and the family in turn cared not a continental about the ways of the world. This family bowed down to the bosom of nature in honest toil and extracted their substance from her bosom and nature responded generously to their caresses and gave them an abundance which in its magnitude was really beyond their com- prehension. The father of this family was Bjarni Helgason from a farm named Brunihvammur in Vopnafjordur, in the municipality of Northern Mulasysla. The mother, Bjarni’s wife was Halldora Bjarnadottir. Bjarni’s parents were named Helgi Jonsson and Gudlaug Bjarnadottir, farmers at a place called Arndisarstadur in Bardardal. The parents of Halldora were Bjarni Jonsson, a grandson of Rev. Jon Thorsteinsson of Reyk- jahlid and his wife Kristin Kristjansdottir from Illugastadir in the Fn- j'oskadal. This couple, Bjarni- and Halldora were blessed with six sons and one daughter. Their names are given as follows in the order of their ages: Paul, Bjarni, Benedikt, Helgi, Jon, Sigurdur and the daughter Solveig. In the Soldier’s Record of 1923, Benedikt is said to have been born at Brunahvammi on February 24th, 1885 and it seems safe to assume that the other sons were also born at the same place, while Solveig was born on January 18th, 1892 near Baldur, Manitoba. According to printed sources, Bjarni and his family came to Canada in 1890, or thereabout, and settled in the Argyle community. But for some reason he was not happy there, so he took off with his family and moved to an unchartered area on the eastern shore of Lake Manitoba, as previously noted, where he took a homestead near the present site of the Hayland Post Office. It is worthy of note that in this report of his migration to Canada a special mention is made of his extreme poverty. Poverty was hardly a strange Stiveig Hdgnson phenomenon to the Icelanders of that day, so that a poor man would not have a finger pointed at him unless his situation was unusual. It is mentioned that Bjarni had two animals in his possession at this time, a haggard horse and a nearly dry cow. He hitched the old horse to a rickety wagon, on which he seated his wife and the younger children together with essential bedding and cooking utensils. Then, he tied the cow to the wagon and started off for the Canadian wilderness with the older members of his brood trailing along the best they could. We can be certain that no red carpet was spread before those pioneers when they arrived at their destination. There is no record of the trials of these or other destitute people who made their homes in the Canadian wilderness. But, Bjarni and his wife ob- viously had the courage and stamina to meet all vicissitudes and overcame all obstacles of primitive pioneer life. It may truly be said of him and his generation of ground- breakers that they came, saw and conquered the land. As the family grew up, life became easier. None of the children married and none moved away. This was an unusually close knit family where one worked for all and all for one. They raised cattle and they fished; they prospered; they built a fine house, and they ac- cumulated a great deal of money. They became known in the community for their thrift and orderliness in all things. The mother, Halldora, died in 1911, and Solveig took over as housekeeper, and when Bjarni died in November 1923, she continued keeping house for her brothers. They willed their property one to the other in succession and finally, with all the brothers deceased, Solveig became the sole owner of their accumulated possessions. In 1966, Jon, Sigurdur and Solveig became residents of the Betel Home in Selkirk, where they all spent the remainder of their days. They appreciated the care and kindness they received at the Home and were very generous in their con- tributions to the building program there and in helping to purchase needed equipment. But, although they had changed their habitat, they did not change their habits. They were still the quiet, carefree, happy Haylanders. They rejoiced in the company of each other and let the rest of the world go by. They followed truly, the example of their father. Jon Jonsson of Soledbrjot was a keen observer of men and usually fair in his appraisal of them. He says of Bjarni: “Bjarni Helgason is a very intelligent man, bqt he does not make much of it. He is neutral in all community matters, buj often lends a helping hand to those in need and does not cry about it from the housetops. He is optimistic, witty and popular, but he has no interest in the affairs of the community.” It is said that the members of this family never travelled even so far as to Winnipeg, except Benedikt who served in the Canadian Forces in France during the World War I. He fought in five great battles in France and came back without a scratch in May 1919. He went directly back to the farm and never left it after that. He had seen ,all he wanted of the wonders of the world and its culture. The death of her last brother, Solveig wás a very lonely soul, not caring to fraternize with anyone. She was sick and tired of life Cont. on page 8

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