Lögberg-Heimskringla - 04.02.1994, Blaðsíða 1

Lögberg
Heimskringla
The lcelandic Weekly
Inside this week:
Whaler attacked......................................2
Fun is Fun but Fishing is Serious....................4
Big Point gathering..................................6
Recipe Corner........................................7
Lögberg Stofnaö 14. janúar 1888
Heimskringla Stofnaö 9. september 1886
Upcoming Events
7
1108. Árgangur Föstudagur 4. febrúar 1994 Númer 3
108th Year Publications Mail Registration No. 1667 Friday, 4 February 1994 Number 3
lcelandic
News
An Earthquake
■ An earthquake with its epicentre
some distance from Kleifarvatn, on
the Reykjanes peninsula, was mea-
sured at 3.2 on the Richter scale on
December 23 with some 100 small-
er quakes following. The quakes
lasted until noon December 24th.
This is a rather unusual area for
earthquakes.
A blind student
receives top honours
■ Birkir R. Gunnarsson, a blind stu-
dent attending classes at
Reykjavík's Business College
received the highest marks on the
pre-Christmas exams, or 9.29.
Birkir used a special computer
that uses brail, but prints out the
answers. Birkir feels that his sucess
in school is related to his many
activities outside school. He prac-
tices swimming and has competed
on behalf of lceland in Intemational
meets for the handicapped.
0 20 40 M 80 10#%
hmmm: fwsTOfAlSLAMg Hlutdeild UndsvBða f mannfjðkía 1993
Population increase
of 2,700 in 1993
■ Population in lceland increased
by 2,729 or 1.04% in 1993. At the
present time there are 264,922
people living in lceland or 132,884
men and 132,038 women.
The population increased every-
where except on the east coast anc
the west fjords where there was a
decrease. About 2,600 people
moved to lceland whereas 2,700
emigrated from the country in
1993.
Gunnur Isfeld

Ambassador Einar Benediktsson (right) and wife Elsa Pétursdóttir with Lögberg-Heimskringla President Neil Bardal.
Envoy from lceland
Einar Benediktsson, Iceland’s
Ambassador to Canada and the
United Sates took advantage of a
recent trip to Winnipeg to fulfil, at least
in part, a long held-dream. The purpose
of the ambassador’s visit was to bestow
the Order of the Falcon on former
Manitoba Lieutenant-governor George
Johnson but he also took a couple of
days getting to know people and places
of the Icelandic community in Manitoba.
It is a common and deeply-felt dream
among many Westem Icelanders to visit
— or revisit Iceland one day. It is a feel-
ing that is particularly strong this year
when Iceland is celebrating the 50th
anniversary of its independence and
some tremendous and historic festivities
are planned around June 17th to mark
the occasion. This year, too, in July, the
Icelandic National League will hold a
special convention in Iceland to which
people of Icelandic descent from all over
the world are invited.
It is not quite so common to find peo-
ple bom and bred in Iceland who dream
of visiting New Iceland and other set-
tlements in North America. Einar
Benediktsson, however, says that he
wanted to do that for a long time. He
had read and heard much about it and
became intensely interested in making
the trip, but this was the first opportunity
he has had to do it.
It was a short visit, but a busy one. The
Friday was taken up with the ceremony
and reception for George Johnson, fol-
lowed by a private dinner. Saturday
began early with a meeting with Man-
itoba Finance Minister Erik Stefanson, at
which, presumably, affairs of state were
Contlnued on page 4

George and Doris Johnson with the Order of the Falcon presented to Dr. Johnson by
Ambassador Benediktsson on behalfofthe Government of lceland.
PMOTO COURTESY DAVE JOHNSTON/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS