Lögberg-Heimskringla - 06.12.1985, Page 4

Lögberg-Heimskringla - 06.12.1985, Page 4
4-WINNIPEG, FOSTUDAGUR 6. DESEMBER 1985 Ritstj órnargrein * Aldarafmæli Islendingadagsins Þótt enn séu nokkur ár í hundrað ára afmæli íslendingadagsins, en eins og menn muna var hann fyrst hal- dinn hátíðlegur í Winnipeg 1890, þá hefur núverandi islendingadagsnefnd þegar hafist handa við undirbúning væntanlegrar hátíðar. A aðalfundi nefndarinnar á Gimli á dögunum minntist forseti hennar, Glenn Sig- urdson, á afmælið og gat þess að íslendingadagsnefnd teldi eðlilegt að hefjast handa hið fyrsta. Urðu góðar umræður um málið og þótti öllum þeim er til máls tóku sjálfsagt að hefja undirbúning snemma. Kom þá í ljós að mikill vilji er fyrir hendi að saga Islendingadag- sins verði skráð. Gefur auga leið að það verður mikið verk en forseti nefndarinnar hefur augastað á völdu fólki í ritnefnd sem væntanlega hefst handa innan skamms. íslendingadagurinn er ein elsía hátíð sinnar tegundar í Kanada og á sér langa sögu eins og þegar hefur verið bent á að ofan. Hefur tilgangur hans verið að minnast sögu Islen- dinga í Vesturheimi og á Islandi á margvíslegan hátt. Þessi árlega hátíð íslendinga í þessari álfu hefur margt gott látið af sér leiða í gengum árin og svo mun áreiðanlega verða um ókomin ár. íslendingar flykkjast á hátíðina úr nærliggjandi byggð arlögum og svo koma sömuleiðis margir langt að. Hátíðin er því nokkurs konar tengiliður Islendinga í Vesturheimi. Þegar litið er yfir farinn veg kemur í ljós að ógrynnin öll af ljóðum og vísum hafa verið tileinkuð hátíðinni og því kannski athugandi að kanna möguleika á sérútgáfu í tilefni ald- arafmælisins. Öll helstu skáld Vestur-íslendinga svo sem Stephan G. Stephansson og Guttormur Gut- tormsson lögðu sitt af mörkum og þegar gluggað er í gömul eintök af Lögbergi eða Heimskringlu þa má þar einmitt oft finna ljóð eða vísu tilein- kað íslendingadeginum. Ræðumenn skipta örugglega fleiri hundruðum og nöfn fjallkvenna fylla fleiri síður. Síðast en ekki síst skal minnst á þátttöku einstaklinga og hópa af Islandi. Hún hefur ekki hvað síst skapað rammíslenska stemmningu og fært ísland nær okkur hér í Vest- urheimi. Ef eitthvað væri, þá mætti Islandinganefnd leggja meir upp úr þvó að fá hingað vestur góða gesti af íslandi því af þeim er aldrei of mikið. Nánar verður greint frá aðalfundi Islensingadagsnefndarinnar síðar en nú mál að linni. J.Þ. Letter to the Editor Dear Jónas, An editorial in L-H some weeks ago expressed concern over the apparent apathy of readers toward the paper's operation and content, as shown by the poor turnout to a board meeting in Winnipeg. It was, therefore, good news to hear of the interest shown by the Gimli Chapter of the Icelandic National League more recently. With regard to people expressing genuine concerns and ideas about the paper's content and operation, however, it has been my experience that such meetings do not really lend them- selves to serious discussion. Gen- erally, those present are exception- ally supportive of all endeavours such as L-H, which represent the Ice- landic heritage, and most would never venture to criticize or even of- fer suggestions for fear of offending. This loyalty and tact is an outstand- ing trait among the descendants of the Icelandic immigrants in Canada and the United States, who were raised not only with Icelandic cus- toms, but with the courtesies and manners of the Victorian era. For several years now, however, the editors of L-H have solicited the opinions and suggestions of its read- ership, and as a long-time subscriber, supporter, and one-time assistant editor, I would like to respond to this repeated request with a few observa- tions and ideas of my own — some positive, and some a little critical. I hope none will offend, and that some might stir a little interest or healthy controversy. With regard to the content of L-H, it is essential that there be variety — rnore short items on local events, 'iews from Iceland, letters, reports, olumns, and other brief articles — rather than long, low-interest "filler" tems reprinted from other publica- tions. Some issues of L-H have been excellent in this respect, with both good variety and good quality ar- ticles. Others, however, have been ittle else but reprinted articles lifted fronr Iceland Review and The Icelan- dic Canadian, which most readers have already seen in those respective lublications. This leaves the reader Aíith the impression that the paper has merely been "filled up”. It is recognized that there may somelimes be a shortage of "news” items for the paper, in which case items from the Icelandic papers might be summarized or translated in brief, or a particularly worthwhile ar- ticle might be reprinted. One sugges- tion in this regard, which would be appropriate on the eve of L-H's cen- tennial in 1986, is the introduction of a regular column in L-H entitled Lögberg - Heimskringla Published every Friday by LÖGBERG - HEIMSKRINGLA INCORPORATED 525 Kylemore Ave., Winnipeg, Manitoba R3L 1B5 Telephone 284-7688 New Office Hours: Monday through Friday 10:00 a.m. • 3 pv.m. EDITOR: Jónas Þór BUSINESS MANAGER: Caroline Darragh MAILING: Florence Wagar REPRESENTATIVE IN ICELAND: Magnús Sigurjónsson Umboðsmaður blaðsins á íslandi Skólagerði 69 Kópavogi, Sími 40455 Pósthólf 135 Reykjavík Typesetting, Proofreading and Printing — Typart Ltd. Subscription $25.00 per year — PAYABLE IN ADVANCE $30.00 in Iceland — Second class mailing registration number 1667 — All donations to Lögberg-Heimskringla Inc. are tax deductible under Canadian Laws. "Fyrir 100 Arum” or "L-H 100", which would feature one or two brief items, possibly in translation or in summary form, of events reported in Heimskringla or Lögberg exactly 100 years ago. This would be an added feature each week-which would in- crease the paper's variety, while at the same time drawing on an endless and easily accessible source of material. This suggestion has been made more than once already. Is there any reason why it cannot be implemented? A second concern is with regard to the masthead and front page of L-H. A few years ago, the masthead was changed to its present design, which supposedly presented a more con- temporary and modern image for the paper. Unfortunately, this new mast- head is not only without character (certainly none that reflects the iden- tity of the paper), it is also poorly designed from an artistic point of view and occupies too much of the paper’s prime space — its front þage. L-H is not a newspaper which sells from a street news stand, and it does not require such a large masthead as papers sold by attention-grabbing headlines. It is a cultural publication with a unique history and identity, and its masthead and front page should reflect this more effectively. The occasion of the paper's cen- tennial is an ideal opportunity to rec- tify this. How about a competition for a new masthead which meets the following criteria: — reflects the Icelandic heritage — is space efficient Finally, I would like to comment on the outstanding contribution made to L-H over the past few years by Einar Arnason of Winnipeg. His original articles have been among the best material published in the paper, and it is to be hoped that he and others will continue to contribute ori- ginal material of this calibre. Hoping this will be of some interest. N. GERRARD “Careful now, I don't like the looks of this."

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