Lögberg-Heimskringla - 20.03.1992, Page 5
lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 20. mars1992 • 5
This is the Jasonson home, about 1910, north ofFoam Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada. They
were some of the earliest lcelandic pioneers. Their home was a common meeting-place
°n Sundays after church, in the early days. My mother is standing on the balcony, with an
X marked over her hat. As a youngster, I spent many pleasant days in their home. Later,
after theymovedinto town, I stayed with them whilegoingto high school. On the veranda,
after church, summer of 1910: Young Inge, Mrs. Inge, holding a baby, two young girls,
Gebrún Gubmundsson, holdinga baby, Ella Bildfell, born where they settled when they first
settled in the wiiderness, Beena Jasonson, also born in the wilderness, Guörún Jasonson,
toember of the first settlement, and holding a baby, Hanna Jasonson, Anna Narfason,
holdingbaby, Rósa Markússon, holding baby, with child in front, Sylvia Halldórsson, Gróa
Skagfjord, Martha Haldórsson, two Bildfellgirls, Kristbjörg Bildfell, said to have been the
first child born in the new settlement, and Valgeröur Bildfell holdinga baby. Men standing
in front: Þorsteinn Markússon, Bjarni Jasonson, one of the first settlers, Mundi Jónsson,
John Bildfell, Beggi Jónsson, Gísli Bildfell, one of the first settlers, John Skagfjord, my dad,
Jón Bildfell, GísliBildfell'sDad, Rev. Onsmundur, LutheranMinister, GudbrandurNarfasson,
Bert Coupland, (taught school to many ofthe children ofthe early pioneers), John Janusson,
Sr., Sveinn Halldórsson, one ofthe first settlers, John Markússon, Kristjón Þorvaldsson, on
horse back (cattle buyer in the Churchbridge area).
June 28,1992, will mark the lOOth year since the founding of the Lake Settlement in Saskatchewan
Two, Who Made the Difference
by Bernard Skagfjord
Two young men, both bom in Ice-
land, but in different counties, were
destined to meet and lead the way to the
establishment of the Lake Settlement,
which would extend from Fishing Lake
and Foam Lake on the east end, to
Little Quill and Big Quill lakes on the
West; and from Foam Lake to Dafoe,
and from Wadeha on the north to the
9'P.R. line going to Saskatoon, and a
little south of the track. It was not only
an Icelandic Settlement, but among the
settlers were tho se who came from many
jands. Yet this came to be one of the
'argest Icelandic settlements in Canada.
, The two young men were Ingimundur
. lríksson (Ingi, which would become
his
surname,) and Kristján Helgason.
n8e, as he was later best known, came
Wlth his parents and his four sisters,
fnd wound up settling Thingvalla, Sas-
atchewan, formerly Thingvalla,
•^T., a short distance from
Lhurchbridge, N.W.T. This was re-
garded as the fírst Icelandic settlement
ln fhe N.W.T. About the same time,
nstján Helgason came there with his
Parents and settled with many others
who thought of this place as part of a
ew Iceland, and its popularity brought
n niany other people from Iceland. The
°Pulation grew and their livestock in-
creased. It was apparent that the land
was not going to produce enough to
take care of the needs of the ever-in-
creasing population. The year 1891
started with light snow, and the spring
with light rain. Drought was evident,
which meant not only a shortage of
water, but lean crops and shortage of
grass for hay.
In the Spring of 1891, Mr. Inge and
Mr. Helgason obtained a wagon and
two good horses and provisions for a
long trip into the wildemess. They were
told that there was plenty of grass for
hay and water some distance past
Yorkton, then a small town in the
N.W.T. Some distance past Yorkton,
they crossed the Whitesand River. This
place appealed to Helgason, but not to
Inge. They were now approaching the
wilderness that was considered “hos-
tile country”, as just a few years before,
a Northwest Mountie had been killed
there, around the east end of Fishing
Lake. The case was never solved. This
did not discourage Inge. It was as if he
had a feeling he was to go further on,
and this they did, until they came to the
east end of Fishing Lake. It was filled
with an abundance of water and plenty
of good fishing, but what impressed
him most was the large and tall, straight
Poplar trees which he visualized for
building a house and a bam and having
plenty of firewood to keep the house
warm. This was the place, and here was
where he was going to move and make
his home. This land was Sec. 32-32-11
N.W.T.
On the north half of this section, I
grew up to manhood. The northeast
comer of this section Inge’s Mother,
GróaÁsbjörnsdóttirhomesteaded. She
was the first Icelandic woman to fíle for
a homestead.
Chris and Inge returned to
Thingvalla. Chris prepared to move to
Whitesand River, which he did a little
later.
Inge’s father had passed away and
was buried in Thingvalla. Injune, 1892,
Inge prepared to move to the land in the
wilderness, that place which had im-
pressed him the most. He took with
him his mother, Gróa and two sisters —
Valgerður and her husband, Gísli
Bildfell, Guðrún andherhusband Bjarni
Jasonson, and one single man, Lafrans
Johnson, but being single, without any
family, there is no information to be
had as to what happened to him, or
where he went.
When they arrived, there were things
that needed to be done — a house and
barn had to be built. It was decided to
build one house and one bam. The
house would take care of the needs of
the group, and the barn was big enough
to house all the livestock for the coming
winter. Then there was the haying for
the livestock. There was plenty of grass,
so that was the easy part. The buildings
were built with logs with sod rooms.
Some lumber and windows they brought
with them.
When they were all set for the com-
ing winter — the surprise! Two more
families came just before snowfall. One
couple was without a family. They were
Sveinn and Guðrún Halldórson. The
second was Stefán and Guðrún Ólafson
and four small children, one just a baby.
Here came the challenge, how were
they going to solve this problem? They
had to be housed for the winter, with no
material to build another house. A lean-
to was made to take care of the live-
stock, but what about eight more peo-
ple? They found room for the couple,
but what were they going to do with the
family with the children; too late in the
season to go back. They took one stall
in the barn and fixed it up to be a one-
room residence for six people. The bam
was their shelter, the livestock gener-
ated the heat and their cooking they
shared. Rather crowded, but when there
is a will, there is a way.
With the coming of spring and sum-
mer, the different families started
homesteading and building homes on
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