Lögberg-Heimskringla - 11.09.1992, Síða 5

Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 11. september 1992 • 5
lceland on the West Coast
The first schoolhouse, built In 1909.
The school year of 1908-1909
showed enrollment of 83 pupils, 39
grammar grades and 44 primary
grades. Of the total 47 were
Icelanders.
As the years passed, the Icelandic
people became more involved with
education at Point Roberts. By the
spring of 1918 there were again four
teachers at Point Roberts with salaries
that ranged from $65.00 to $95.00 per
month. B. A. Samuelson had become
principal, Kolbeinn Simundson was
the clerk and H. B. Hansen was the
director.
In 1932 school enrollment seemed
to expand enough so that the possibili-
ty of adding a tenth grade was dis-
cussed. But there was no room!
A Runa Thordarson story follows:
The old school building needed
repairs and painting so the School
Board, John Solomon, Dora Culp and
myself wrote to Senator Edwards to
ask for W.P.A. funds for making
repairs. A man was sent to examine the
old building and in a short while a let-
ter was received from Senator
Edwards, Quote, “We cannot send
W.P. A. funds on repairing old build-
ings, but we would be glad to build you
a new school.” It didn’t take the school
Board long to decide to accept this
offer.
In 1937, the Works Progress Ad-
ministration (WPA) came to the rescue
and built a sturdy, new brick five-room
school building. It is still standing.
In the early years of Caucasian set-
tlement at Point Roberts, the Icelandic
community did much to foster and pre-
serve their Lutheran heritage. Trinity
Community Church, the only such
structure ever built at Point Roberts,
serves the spiritual needs of the resi-
dents to this day. Runa Thordarson has
outlined the history of the church.
Here are excerpts from her account:
On January 19, 1913, a church ser-
vice was held in the Town Hall, Which
later became the Grange Hall. The pas-
tor was Rev. H. Leo of Winnipeg. He
had been sent by the lcelandic Synod
to the West coast to organize congrega-
tions among the Icelandic people in
Seattle, Blaine, Vancouver and Point
Roberts.
After the service a meeting was
called and the Trinity Lutheran
Congregation was formed with 22 con-
firmed members and 33 young people
and children. The first officers of the
council were Paul Thorsteinson,
President, Ingvar Goodman, Secretary
and Jonas Swanson, Treasurer.
Rev. H. Leo served as temporary
pastor until Rev. Sigurdur Olafson was
called for the Blaine-Point Roberts
Parishes. He also preached occasional-
ly in Bellingham, Crescent and Van-
couver. All services were conducted in
Icelandic.
By 1915 services were being held in
the School House with Sunday School
in the homes. The first confirmation
class was held in May, 1915.
At a meeting of the congregation in
November, 1916 an offer was made by
Jonas Swanson to donate 100 feet of
land for a church site. Mr. and Mrs.
Solomon offered a half acre. This was
considered more central and was grate-
fully accepted. The property was
cleared and leveled mostly by donated
labour.
In 1920, after many meetings and
much discussion, it was decided to
build a church 30’ x 46’ and rough
lumber was ordered from Mr. Lar-
gaud’s mill on Mill Road. He also
made a generous donation.
Plans were drawn by Gunnlauger
Johannson, who was a carpenter and
Helgi Thorsteinson, the treasurer. Mr.
Gudbranson was hired as head carpen-
ter and S. P. Scheving, J. S. Johannson,
S. Myrdal and Jacob Jackson, all
skilled carpenters, worked with him
and other members as carpenter’s
helpers. The women served lunches
and coffee. All had to walk long dis-
tances from their homes.
The church building was completed
in 1921 at the cost of $2,291 and an
organ was purchased for $136. The
church was dedicated on January 12,
1922 by the Rev. K. K. Olafson.
Services and Sunday School were
conducted in Engtish by 1937, with an
occasional service in Icelandic for the
older people. Regular services were
twice a month and extra services were
held by visiting pastors.
Toward the end of her account
Runa Thordarson described how the
little church underwent a change in
organization. A new association was
formed in 1972 and the trend toward
ecumenical outreach was emphasized.
The Icelandic population had grown
smaller over the years and the new res-
idents representing many denomina-
tions had moved into the community.
The church, which had been known as
Trinity Lutheran Congregation was
renamed Trinity Community Church.
People from all faiths were thereby
encouraged to attend and to use the
building for baptisms, weddings and
funerals.
Regular weekly services are now
limited to the summer months. Pastor
Wilton Emst of Benediction Lutheran
Church at Tsawwassen, British
Columbia, conducts the services.
Point Robcrts Cemetery Records
reveal the burial of 169 people. Of
these there were 121 with Icelandic
names and included were 68 who were
bom in Iceland.
A final note:
The old wooden schoolhouse built
in 1909 is gone and the brick school
building that replaced it in 1937 is now
the Community Centre, but there is
good news for some. Beginning in
December of this year, 1992, the Pre-
School, Kindergarten and First Grade
pupils will be getting their lessons in a
new Point Roberts school building.
The rest will continue their trek to
Blainc each school day.
P. S. My thanks to the Julius family
for their assistance.
Home of first lcelander to settle at Point Roberts, Kristjan Benson.