Lögberg-Heimskringla - 11.02.1994, Blaðsíða 1

I Lögbergl
neimsKringia
The lcelandic Weekly
Lögberg Stofnaö 14. janúar 1888 Heimskringla Stofnaö 9. september 1886
Inside this week:
Einar's Anecdotes.................................2
Playing for high stakes...........................3
Upcoming Events...................................4
Canada's oldest female physician..................6
Recipe Corner.....................................7
1108. Árgangur
108th Year Publications Mail Registration No. 1667
Föstudagur 11. febrúar 1994
Friday, 11. February 1994
Númer 4
Number 4
lcelandic
News
Haraldur Bessason
stepping down
■ ln a letter to the min-
istry of Culture and
Education, Dr. Haraldur
Bessason has asked
that his name be with-
drawn as applicant for.a
second term as the
President (Rektor) of the
University at Akureyri,
that he helped to
establish and has
directed since its foundation seven years
ago.
Haraldur gave two reasons for his sud-
den decision. One, that it pleased him to
see that other applicants for the position
were young people with experience in
teaching at University level and that had
been extensively involved in publication of
scientific joumals. Secondly, hesaid, "I may
not have given thought to the time I have
been the President of the University these
last seven years and that is a long time. I
took a second look at my earlier decision
and decided that I would not let my name
stand for a second term." So he said in an
interview with the Morgunblaðið January
25.
Haraldur was, as many readers of L-H
are well aware of, Professor and head of the
Department of lcelandic Studies at the
University of Manitoba for some thirty years
leaving only to build up the University of
Akureyri. That he has done with such suc-
cess that it has grown to be a respected
institution of higher learning.
All of Haraldur's friends wait to see what
he might do next. We in North America
hope that he will have more time to visit
with us. We wish him and his wife Margrét
all the best. BiRGiR
Glacier on the move
■ The ice cap on top of Siðujökull which is
a Valley Glacier and a part of Vatnajökull is
moving about 12 meters a day. But the
bulge which is moving down the center of
tbe glacier is moving about 20-25 meters
a day. According to Magnús Tumi
Guðmundsson, a geophysicist, the bulge
looks much like an ocean wave as it moves
wder the top layer of the glacier and gets
it moving. So far the glacier has moved
about 1km. The speed will most likely pick
UP and may well take from 4-6 weeks. This
ls the third such move that we know of, the
others being in 1934 and 1963.
Icelandic water
• The lcelandic Water Company in co
operation with the Creamery in Borgarnes
will begin exporting water on a larger scale
to countries such as Brazil. The Creamery
wili look after filling the containers with col-
•apsible plastic bags inside. The water com-
pany has had these containers made in 3, 5
and 10 litre sizes. In these containers the
water will keep for up to nine months..
Negotiations are under way with coun
tnes such as Brazil and the company
expects to export about 250,00 - 300,000
3-litre containers a month to begin with.
GUNNUR ISFELD J
YOU
HAVE
THE
Right!
If you have been read-
ing the masthead that
appears on page 2 of
Lögberg-Heimskringla, or,
for that matter, if you have
just been reading the
paper itself, you will have
noticed that there were
some changes made over
the Christmas break. With
the annual meeting com-
ing up on February 23, we
thought it might be useful
to explain them to you
and offer a brief “state of
the paper” message.
The main change is that
involving Birgir
Brynjólfsson. In
December, Birgir went on
a visit to Iceland. Until his
return, we expect that he
will continue to write arti-
cles for L-H allowing us to
bring you more news and
more up-to-date news
about what is going on
there. In the meantime,
Gunnur Isfeld has joined
us as an Icelandic Editor.
Gunnur is married to
Pastor Ingthor Isfeld of
First Lutheran Church in
Winnipeg and is a familiar
figure in the Manitoba
Icelandic community.
Bom in Iceland, she is flu-
ent in both Icelandic and
English and will help to
ensure that we don’t stray
too far from the norm in
either language. The paper
has already benefited from
Gunnur’s talents, her
industry and enthusiasm
and keen intelligence. We
are fortunate that she has
agreed to join us and look
forward to her continuing
help. Perhaps she will
even have a beneficially
sobering effect on the edi-
tor.
Another name on the
masthead is that of Fred
Isford. Fred is a promi-
nent member of the
Icelandic community and
has been involved in many
activities over the years.
He takes over Birgir’s
duties as advertising direc-
tor so if you are a poten-
tial advertiser, you can
expect to hear from him
soon, if you have not
heard from him already.
In fact, you might as well
just get your cheque
books ready right now, as
he can be a very persua-
sive man and the ads that
he dings you for are essen-
tial to the survival of the
paper.
Elsewhere, Laurie
Oleson continues as
Assistant Editor and
Office Manager with her
customary charm and effi-
ciency. Barbara, Ray and
Dan Gislason of Keystone
Graphics continue to pro-
duce the paper, with
Barbara doing the graphic
design, which means that
she takes the dog’s break-
fast handed her each week
by the Editor and tums it
into the attractive and
professional looking prod-
uct you receive each
week. (Barbara also, by
the way, creates most of
the Icelandic games and
puzzles for Children’s
Comer.) Tom Oleson, for
better or worse, continues
his attempts at being
Editor.
Financially, the paper
continues to stumble
along. Birgir was remark-
ably successful last year in
raising the amount of paid
advertising and another
year like that would be a
big help. That is our tar-
get, anyway. Circulation at
the end of last year was up
slightly from the previous
year but we still have a
long way to go to meet
our first target, which is to
increase it by one-third.
You who already sub-
scribe can be of great
assistance here. You are
our best sales staff, so if
you know someone who
isn’t taking the paper but
should, give them a little
push; sometimes that’s all
they need.
Finally we cannot
ignore the subject of
donations, the money you
freely give to help the
paper keep operating. All
these donations — large
and small — are greatly
valued and appreciated,
not just because of the
financial support that they
provide, but also as a sym-
bol of the fact that you
still have affection and
regard for the venerable
institution that is Lögberg-
Heimskringla, whatever
faults and failings it may
presently have, and that
you share our devotion to
its survival.
We would also like to
receive from you dona-
tions of a different kind —
your stories, your articles,
your letters. Are you going
to Iceland for the big 50th
Independence Day bash?
Drop us a line and let us
know what you plan to do
there. How did your
Þorrablót go; what’s com-
ing up this summer in
your area; what are you
doing to ensure the sur-
vival of the Icelandic her-
itage and culture in North
America? We need your
contributions and your
feedback: what do you
like? What don’t you
like? What would you like
to see that you don’t see
now? As subscribers and
readers, you have the right
— perhaps even the duty
— to help form the shape
of this newspaper and
your input will be more
valuable than any advice
from any other team of
experts we could find.
T.O.