Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.07.1988, Blaðsíða 3

LÖGBERG CENTENNIAL YEAR, FÖSTUDAGUR 15. JÚLÍ 1988-3
Cultural shock
The sun was rising above the oak
tree barren of leaves, for it was
winter, a day with clear skies and
considerable frost, otherwise a calm
stillness reigned over the environ-
ment. The school bell rang, we
rushed for the door to enter our lo-
cal institution of learning. Standing at
attention, from our lusty throats we
poured out "God Save The King,"
while outside the British Union Jack
fluttered slightly.
Our Loyalty to King and country
was sincere. Somewhere, too far to
comprehend, the King and British
Parliament ruled over us as a part of
the mighty British Empire which en-
circled the globe. Our dominion of
Canada formed part of the empire as
an independent country, yet closely
tied to the mother country in matters
of trade and foreign policy. All of this
was closely tied to our curriculum in
the one room frame school house,
that housed fifty kids, Grade I to VIII
inclusive. Our interest in such mat-
ters was at a low level and an excite-
able diversion would have been wel-
come. Little did we know it was close
at hand.
To the south of the village some
two miles distant, lived old Norbie
and his sons, Johnny, Harry and
Frank. They are likeable, kind fel-
lows, descended from the Metis of
Louis Riel, controversial in Mani-
toba History. With the arrival of
the Wolseley Expedition our Metis
friends were scattered far and wide.
Norbie's people had chosen Oak
Point.
Norbie related closely to his sons,
especially Johnny and Harry. The
threesome would, on occasion, join
together for what was known as a
spree, a drunken berserk orgy, that
caused the villagers to retreat in awe,
deploring such wild behaviour. It
was during the era of prohibition,
when it was illegal to be drunk or
even swallow any intoxicant, no mat-
ter how minute the quantity. Our
friends were not well versed with the
law and fun was fun, even if it had
to be achieved by drinking vanilla
and peppermint extracts or rot-gut
homebrew.
The word was out that the three-
some had arrived. We took off, to hell
with the British Empire, this was
more fun. Cautiously we looked over
the lay of the land, sure enough
there they were in a cutter, a form of
light passenger sleigh hitched to a liv-
ing obedient horse. They drove up
and down the main drag, laughing,
yelling, and generally having a good
time. As the build-up came, the horse
was urged to go faster, until at a gal-
lop, the horse would snort clouds of
vapour from its nostrils, and as the
perspiration "fíoze in the cold air, it
clung to the hair tips, until the poor
animal turned white with frost,
reminescent of a ghost-like horse
from Norse Mythology.
Tight turns caused the sleigh to
swing and skid in an arc-like fashion,
adding to the excitement. Eventual-
ly judgment became hazy and the
sleigh would roll over and spilled out
the threesome into the snow. The
sleigh would break up until all that
remained were the runners on which
Harry would ride much the same as
a Roman gladiator on a chariot, yell-
ing, laughing and cursing while the
horse galloped up and down the vil-
lage. Exhaustion eventually took over
and kindly citizens gave shelter to
our friends and their horse.
Other incidents happened which
we observed in detail. What other ex-
citement was there? None, not even
an outdoor skating rink. Our village
lacked a leader interested in recrea-
tional sports. Our school left much to
be desired. The top level was Grade
VIII with fifty children. A most
difficult task, with only one room.
The winds of change were about to
descend on me, and my life was des-
tined to experience an abrupt change.
My mother, upon returning from the
city, re-established contact with a
cousin who had disappeared in the
turmoil of World War I. Here he was
very much alive, comfortably estab^
lished in the Village of Warren, mid-
way between our Oak Point and
Winnipeg. Fortunately he had es-
caped the ravages of the battle fields
in Europe. He had been detailed as
a sergeant instructor, to take care of
the heavy influx of raw recruits
gathered in through the enactment of
legislation, compelling able bodied
men to become part of the armed
forces that fed human flesh into the
inferno, a holocaust referred to as
World War I. During the aftermath
of the armistice, the Spanish Flu epi-
demic left a legacy of death that in-
cluded many Canadians serving in
the armed forces. As a Sergeant in
charge of a funeral squad, he trav-
elled widely here in the west, attend-
ing funerals of deceased soldiers whq
were entitled to a cerempnial show of
arms. My cousin would line up his
ceremonial rifle squad on each side
of the grave, rifles at the shoulder,
barrels elevated at an incline to form
an arch over the coffin of the de-
ceased, about to be lowered into the
grave. On his sharp command a vol-
ley of blank cartridges would be
fired, symbolizing the armed might,
now departed from the bodily re-
mains of a former soldier, lying life-
less, about to return to the soil.
My mother, ever astute and forever
lending a guiding hand to my de-
Continuéd on Page 6
ISLENDINGADAGURINN
GIMLI, MANITOBA
July 30, 31, August 1, 1988
MONDAY
+ Icelandic Festival Parade Featuring
Khartum Temple Shrine Units (10 a.m.J
Floats • Clowns • Bands
Traditional Festival Program - 2 p.m.
•kFjallkona (Maid of the Mountain)
Mrs. Helga Sigurdson
+ Toast to Canada
Kristjana Gunnars
* Toast to Iceland
Murray Sigmar
Attend the Festival Dances
SATURDAY
Music by 'J.J. and The Comets"
SUNDAY
Moonlight Dance - Music by "Kilowatt"
MONDAY
Music by "Image"
Gimli Park PavUion
GIMLI FOLK
CONCERT
SUNDAY EVENING
"UNDER THE STARS" JULY
IN GIMLI PARK 31, 1988
FREE ADMISSION TO
GIMLI PARK GROUNDS FOR ALL EVENTS
Come and Enjoy the
99th Annual
Icelandic Festival
of Manitoba
THK BOAKI) OF DIRKCTOKS .OI- TlljvlCKl.ANDlC j -
résorves Ihe ri}>ht lo nller nný |>ortion oí tlie pro^raín if neeessiiry.