Lögberg-Heimskringla - 07.06.1991, Page 5

Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 7. júní 1991 • 5
by Rosa
Hermannsson
Vernon
I was bom in Selkirk, Manitoba, the
sixth child in a family of ten. When I
was two my father Hermann
Gudmundsson Hermannsson decided
to move to Winnipeg Beach and took a
homestead four miles west of the
‘Beach’.
While my father cleared the land and
built a log house we, mother, father,
and seven children moved into my
grandparentshome. (JónGunnlaugsson
Eiríksson and GuðnýMagnúsdóttir). It
was known as ‘Lundi’ and was one half
mile north of Boundary Creek; the di-
viding line between Manitoba and The
Northwest Territories. This area was
known as ‘New Iceland’. My grandpar-
ents had been there since 1882. The
house which my father built had a
kitchen and large living room down-
stairs and a large bedroom upstairs
which was separated by curtains.
We had a few cows, sheep and chick-
ens and a mare which my mother would
harness to a buggy in summer or to a
cutter in winter to take the older chil-
dren to school at Winnipeg Beach.
There was a small ‘tarn’ on our prop-
erty and we would sometimes see a
^oose swimming in it; and quite fre-
quently moose would be lying among
the cattle when my father went out in
the moming. At New Years we and a
ueighbour’s family would go out onto
the frozen lake where my older broth-
ers had prepared a pyre. As midnight
approached we would sing songs in
Icelandic and dance around the fire. At
midnight my oldest brother Magnus
would fire his gun in the air to ‘shoot
out the old year’.
Times were difficult and food was
scarce. I remember one time when my
mother had to wait for a hen to lay an
egg to complete a dozen eggs to ex-
change for sugar or flour.
My grandmother Eiríksson became
ill. My grandfather asked my parents to
move closer to them. He gave them two
acres of his land and we moved to
Lundi in 1905.
We had to walk two miles to school
to Husavik. Some of the other children
had three miles to walk and in extreme
weather would use our house as a half-
way house. My mother always had ex-
tra handmade mitts and scarves to loan
^he children. These were made from
^°ol from our sheep, spun and knitted
hy my mother.
ín 1909 my mother’s cousin, Johann
^a8nus BjamasonandhiswifeGudrun
P9id us a visit from their home in
Marshland, Manitoba. Hetaughtschool
there and has since been widely recog-
^ized as an author and poet. They of-
tered to take one child to help alleviate
the problems offood, clothing and other
expenses. (They had an adopted daugh-
ter who had moved to Winnipeg to
further her schooling). I was chosen to
Since JohannMagnuswasascholar
lrst and a farmer second, his wife
N.E.B, fílm “The Lake" narrated by DavidAmaSon; the síoiy of early setticment
childhood in Vidinesbygd,
1 ler childhood memories which
Rosa was
in 1899,
The Icelandic Canadian Club of Toronto invited Rosa Hermannsson Vemon
the söuthern part of ‘New Iceland' in
are
one i
recounted bere lent a pers
Grandmother Guðný Magnúsdóttir, Rosa
of Möðmveliir in Eyjafjörður,
As a young woman living in
in Toronto had ber own radio
Eíriksaon who homesteaded
Through both ber patemal Grandmother, Ingibjörg Sigfúsdóttir who came to Canada m 1883 ,and her matemal
ca.1375*1432.
Winnipegín
program on
continues to
Manitoba,
toucb to a
to
Cl
share the
memories of ber
meeting which featured the
on the shores of Lake Winnípeg.
Snjolaug
can trace her Ieelandic
hcritage back to
was
CFRB singing Scandinavian songs.
Loftur GuttOrmssOn 'TheRicb’
activc
inmusiC and singing, and
Gudmn was left to do much of the work
around the farm. It was there that I
leamed to gather eggs, catch the chick-
ens for Gudrun to kill for supper, and
milk a cow. I also learned to knit and
trade my knitted goods for trinkets in
the local general store. Magnus would
tutor students in Latin, German, Eng-
lish and Icelandic. Many a student re-
tumed to thank him for his diligence.
Alice, Magnus and Gudmn’s adopted
daughter, came home for Christmas.
She was really good to me playing with
me and taking me on visits. Unfortu-
nately, I neveragainsawher. Shemoved
to the west coast and even though she
visited her mother and father as did I,
we never crossed paths.
Whenever I visited the west, I made
a point of visiting Magnus and Gudrun.
We corresponded through the years
and his letters to me are in a museum in
Iceland.
In 1916,1 moved to Winnipeg where
I decided to study singing. My first
teacherwas Burton Kurth. He coached
me as a contralto. Other teachers with
whom I was to study in the next few
years guessed that I was a mezzo so-
prano, soprano or contralto. From time
to time I sang solos in church and at
concerts. During my holidays I went on
concert tours in Saskatchewan enter-
taining the Icelandic population in
Foam Lake, Leslie, Elfros, Mozart, and
Wynyard.
The Toronto Conservatory (now
The Hermannsson house at Winnipeg Beach, circa 1916.
(L-R) Magnus Björg, Herman (Dad), Snjolaug (Mom)
The Royal Conservatory) in Toronto
beckoned me, and in 1929 I moved
east. There I studied with Carl Hunter
for seven years. Specializing in Ger-
man lieder, I gave concerts in and
around Toronto. I had my own radio
program on C.F.R.B. singing Scandi-
navian songs.
Recognizing how much difficulty I
had had tiying to find the right teacher
I studied diligently before commenc-
ing to teach singing, voice production
and stage deportment. I still coach stu-
dents prior to impor-tant engagements.
From 1972 until 1989,1 conducted a
senior citizens’ choir and was the solo-
ist. We gave up to twenty concerts a
year in seniors’ homes, hospitals, and
at the C.N.E.
In my lifetime I have been fortunate
to see the evolution of the telephone,
radio, television, VCRplayers, cassettes
and compact disc players. I have seen
the moves from tbe mare and buggy
to the automobile; from candles to
electricity.
Þorrablót, Toronto Style
Cont’d. from p. 1
explained why they were in Canada.
Something to eat, something for the
small fry, and lots of dancing and
visiting...the buffettable was up to stand-
ard, the little ones had their own dance
contest with prizes, and, for everyone,
music was once again provided by John
Erlendson’s band, SPHERE, who man-
aged to keep the dance floor full all
evening.
Prizes, which included gourmetfood,
an Icelandic sweater, and a retum ticket
to Copenhagen, where donated by
Pederson Worldtours, William Hurst
Architects Inc., Bjarnason and Associ-
ates Interiors.ThorNicoIaison, andthat
busy and generous fellow, Anonymous”.
The buffet menu included lax
(salmon), turkey, hangikjöt, skinka
(ham), flatbread, síld, mysuostur,
rófustappa, salads, kæfa, rúllupylsa, and
liverpaste, and there was a generous
offering of dance music provided to set-
tle down the main course before the
desserts such as vínarterta, pönnukökur,
kleinur, ástarboliur, kaffi and te were
brought out.
(Left and lower left)
Never too old
or too young
to dance ...
Below
Dance contest
winner.