Lögberg-Heimskringla - 31.10.1986, Side 6

6-ALDARAFMÆLISÁR, FÖSTUDAGUR 31. OCKTOBÉR 1986
The Healing Hand
by Caroline Gunnarsson
Oddny Bjarnason smiled a warm
welcome to the three who drove in-
to the yard that mellow autumn
evening shortly after the end of
World War I. For Oddny and Eiríkur
shared a joyful hospitality that was
part of the pioneer way of life in the
Thingvalla settlement, near Church-
bridge, Sask., hospitality that
couldn't wait for a knock on the door,
but liked to meet the visitor half-way
down the walk.
She didn't recognize the elderly
couple until they mentioned their
family name. They were from the
German settlement to the north,
where Mrs. Bjarnason's name was as
well-known and loved as in her own
Icelandic community and miles
beyond.
Could she place the young man
who was with them, the couple
wonderedf- Well, the boy had
changed a lot, they conceded, but she
had seen him before, for hers were
the healing hands that softened the
ordeal of his arrivai into the world for
him and his mother. They handed
her a bill, for they had come to pay
a debt that was twenty years old, and
to express gratitude cherished
through the years.
The lad was only one of the un-
counted children whom Mrs. Bjar-
nason had seen off to a safe start in
life since she and her husband settled
on their homestead, in November,
1888 — just two years after the first
Icelandic families established
themselves north of the site that was
later to become the village of Church-
bridge, and gave the new settlement
the proud name of Thingvalla.
Oddny Magnúsdóttir started early
to prepare herself for a lifetime of
usefulness. She was born at
Vilborgarstaðir, Vestmannaeyjar,
Iceland, on August 21, 1855, the,
daughter of Magnús Pálsson and,
Oddny Þórðardóttir. Her father died
when she was thirteen years old, but
she remained at home with her
mother and brother until she was
nineteen. Then she obtained employ-
ment with a Danish family and
learned to speak, read and write the
Danish language.
She yearned for further education,
and by the time she was twenty she
was on her way to Copenhagen
where there would be opportunities.
But she was alone and penniless, and
the year was 1875, an age of few
opportunities for young women —
except in domestic service. Fortune
smiled on her courage, however and
she found employment with a fine
family.In later years she recalled that
in their home she gained much
valuable knowledge and experience.
In Copenhagen she met Eiríkur
Bjarnarson, a handsome, tough-
fibred young Icelandic sailor. Of a
jovial, impulsive temperament, he had
courage and generosity tó match
hers. The fates must have been
píeased with themselves when they
matched that couple for a chosen task
Oddny Bjarnason
and marched them to the alter of a
famous church in the Danish capital,
on April 22nd, 1877.
Employed on merchant vessels,
Eiríkur spent long periods at sea. The
couple's first child died in infancy
and the grieving young mother was
alone with time on her hands. Those
were the years when the home of the
great Icelandic patriot, Jón Sigurð-
sson, and his wife Ingibjörg
Einarsdóttir, was ever open to
lonesome young Icelanders in
Copenhagen. The famous statesman
urged Oddny to train as a nurse. She
would never regret it, he assured
her, and in future years many people
would have cause to bless her for her
chosen mission.
Oddny graduated from the Royal
Hospital in Copenhagen in 1881, and
that year the couple returned to
Iceland, settling at Seyðisfjörður.
Oddny was appointed district nurse
and midwife, and filled that position
with distinction until they left for
Canada on October 15, 1888, with
four young children and Oddny's ag-
ing mother.
In Winnipeg, Mrs. Bjarnason spoke
to a doctor and learned from him that
they were going to a community
where conditions were still primitive
and no -medical help available at
within a radius of many miles. There
were practising physicians at Russel,
Man., 25 miles to the east, and at
Yorkton, Sask., forty-two miles to the
west. Winters on the prairie were
severe, and stormy, she was warned,
and she might be asked to drive
twenty or thirty miles in an open
sleigh, drawn by slow, plodding ox-
en. On long winter drives he advised
her to wear undyed silk stockings
under her heavy homemade wool-
lens, to keep her feet warm and pre-
vent frostbite.
Undaunted the Bjarnasons pro-
ceeded to their destination, and
always the young woman found
herself equal to the hardships which
she soon learned had not been
overestimated. At any time of the
night or day folks would come to the
homestead seeking her help. Cheer-
fully she would leave an unfinished
task, pick up her medicine kit and go.
Always she went with an ungrudging
"godspeed" from her husband, who
added the burden of caring for the
household and children to the trying
tasks of pioneer farming.
No thought was given to fees. If
there was money, people happily
paid her what they could. It was
seldom much, often nothing. All
through the early years she played
the part of doctor and nurse in many
an emergency. She was first to look
upon most native-born sons and
daughters of the Icelandic set-
tlements, Thingvalla and Lögberg,
and it has been said that she also
ushered into the world just as many
infants of other national origins.
But the Bjarnasons prospered and
were surrounded with affection and
respect. Shortly after the turn of the
century a large number of friends
descended upon their home in a sur-
prise visit. Mrs. Bjarnason was
presented with a gold watch and
chain and a gold signet ring. "To Mrs.
Oddny Bjarnason. A token of grati-
tude and respect from thirty-six
mothers”, is inscribed on the watch.
It is now the cherished possession
of her grand-daughter, Oddny Eiríka,
daughter of her son, Magnus, and his
wife, the former Jonina Gunnarsson.
Eiríka, who is the only descendant so
far, to choose her grandmother's pro-
fession, was given the watch by her
parents when she graduated from the
Winnipeg General Hospital School of
Nursing in 1952.
Oddny and Eirikur lived to mourn
three beloved members of their fami-
ly. Their son, Bjarni, was struck by
lightning at the age of seventeen; an
adopted daughter, Ingibjorg, died
during the 'flu epidemic in 1919, and
their daughter, Gudrun (Mrs. Robert
Moore) died in Winnipeg in 1926.
One son, Sigurdur, passed away after
the death of his parents.
Two of their daughters, Mrs. Sigfus
Joel, and Mrs. Herman Sigurdson,
reside in Vancouver and their son,
Magnus is postmaster at Church-
bridge, Sask.
Small in stature, Oddny had a tran-
quil dignity of bearing, and under an
outward calm beat a heart tender to
the pain and greif of others. A
woman whom she had often nursed,
once said of her that her very
presence seemed to bring peace and
comfort into a sick room.
Oddny and Eiríkur Bjarnason spent
their last years on the old homestead
with their son, Magnus and his wife.
Their lively interest in church and
community affairs endured until the
end. They remained gay and warm
in conversation and were stiff com-
petition to any bridge players who
would take them on.
Oddney died on April 25th, 1932,
a little more than three years after the
death of her husband.
That spring day she rose as usual.
Then, complaining of weariness, she
lay down to rest on her bed. Her
strength ebbed gently like a candle
that is spent, and her children were
all around her when she fell asleep
that afternoon.
She is well remembered too, by the
other children of Thingvalla and sur-
rounding district, — the little ones
who would not have fared so well
had she not been on hand to receive
them into the world.
Editor's Note: This article was first
published in 1953.
The Birthday Party
We are going to help celebrate the lOOth Anniver-
sary of the Icelandic weekly newspaper by sponsoring
a Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra concert on November
14 and 15, 1986 at the Manitoba Centennial Concert
Hall. The concert sponsorship has been underwritten
by a number of interested persons in the community
and partly by the Lögberg-Heimskringla.
To make this event the success that we all desire, we
want as many as possible to attend the concert on
November 14, 1986 (the Friday night performance),
and a special reception we are planning for November
15, 1986 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the piano no-
ble of the Concert Hall. It is our hope that we will be
honoured with the presence of the Mayor of Reykjavik,
David Oddsson who has been invited by the Mayor Bill'
Norrie to visit Winnipeg at that time. We will also have
in attendance the members of the various Icelandic
organizations in Manitoba to bring greetings to the
paper.
You may obtain tickets to the concert at any of the
usual outlets and the reception is open to all who wish
to attend.
It is our hope that this will be a memorable event
in the history of the lcelandic community and that it
will lead to further participation with the Winnipeg
Symphony Orchestra. This will be indeed a great op-
portunity for both the city of Winnipeg and whoever
is invited to participate from Iceland.
No party is any fun without people. Come, enjoy,
enhance our image by celebrating our heritage with
pride.
N.B.
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