Lögberg-Heimskringla - 01.08.1980, Page 2

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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