Lögberg-Heimskringla - 27.05.1994, Blaðsíða 1

[ Lögberg ]
neimsKringia
The lcelandic Weekly
Lögberg Stofnaö 14. janúar 1888 Heimskringla Stofnaö 9. september 1886
Inside this week:
Considering a piece of the past......2
Sumardagurinn Fyrsti.................3
INL — Past and Present.............4, 5
Soccer in lceland....................6
Poet's Corner........................7
108. Árgangur Föstudagur 27. maí 1994
108th Year Publications Mail Registration No. 1667 Friday, 27 May 1994
Númer 19
Number 19
lcelandic
__ News
Sigfús Halldórsson honoured:
■ Sigfús Halldórsson,
composer and artist,
; wa s n a med h o n -
ourary cítizen of
Kópavogur in a fes-
■ tive ceremony a t
Kópavogur Commun-
ity Hall Ín late March. Mr. Halldórsson is
the third recipient of this title. In an
ínterview with Morgunblaðið, Halldórs-
son expressed gratitude forthehonour
bestowed on him, which had brought
warmth into his life. However, this has
not changed his life in any way, he i$ still
paíntíng and creating music. it so hap-
pened that he opened an art show,
dedicated to Kópavogur, in Gallerí
"Listanum” on the same day the
announcement of Halldórsson's choice
for the title was made. On display were
I2 water colour pictures painted at
Kópavogur brook last year.
The Stallion "Svartur":
■Justover 7
mil. krónur
(SI27,000) has
been offered for
the stailion
Svartur (Black)
from Unalæk
who has been in fírst place at horse
shows for the last two years. Svartur who
is six years old has received high grades
for both his buíld and abilities and is con-
sidered among the best horses on the
scene during the last few years, The offer
was made by an lcelander livíng in
Germany on behalf of German buyers.
According to the owner, Oddur
Björnsson, a farmer at Unalæk, there have
been many requests and offers on the
horse already. A cash offer for 7 mil.
krónur also came from Hallgrímur
Hallgrímsson who runs a horse trading
station in Denmark. Mr. Björnsson said
he would not take any offers for Svartur
now. Svartur has been rented out for the
summer, and will take part in the “lceland
Meet" this summer as well.
Sweet Teeth:
■ lcelanders hold
some world rec-
ords, one of them
is sugar and candy
consumption. An
estimated 22 kg.
of candy per per-
son, is consumed
annually in lceland.
In I990, 5,685
tonnes of candy
were sold in lce-
land, whichisa
considerable in-
crease from I985.
That year l,900 tonnes of candy were pro-
duced in Iceland and 2,000 tonnes
imported; another 300 tonnes were sold
in the Toll Free Shop in Keflavík. In I986,
450 tonnes of candy were sold in the Toll
Free shop or more than a tonne a day
No wonder they are $o sweet!
GUNNUR ISFELD
Tra veling to Brandon
By W. D. Valgardson
Went for a trip awhile ago. Not
to Stockholm or Copenhagen
or Reykjavík or Moscow.
But I had every bit as good a time as I
would have had in those places.
Where I went was Brandon. Not for
the Þorrablót. I missed the Þorrablót by
about a week. I was in Brandon for the
annual Brandon University Foundation
dinner.
I had a swell time. Got interviewed
for the Brandon Sun and for CKX-TV.
Sold a bunch of books. Had one of
those suppers that makes you undo your
belt a notch or two. Ate my supper, in of
all places, the library stacks. Heard some
good music and watched some young
actors perform an excerpt from “The Six
War Years. ” And then got to give a read-
ing of “The Man Who Was Always
Running Out of Toilet Paper” to a
crowd in tux’s and elegant long dresses.
And got to socialize and eat dessert and
drink coffee and listen to a band playing
music from the big band era.
Dennis Anderson, the President of
Brandon University, told me that this
evening wasn’t a fund raiser, it was a
friend raiser. It must have been a great
success because there certainly were a
lot of friendly people about.
But what I was most interested in
was seeing Dennis Anderson busy being
his official self as president of a universi-
ty instead of just an old friend from
Libau, Manitoba.
Writers and artists get a lot of public-
ity. David Arnason and Kristjana
Gunnars and the late Paul Sigurdson,
etc. It’s much deserved. But watching
Dennis I suddenly thought that the
Icelandic-Canadian community is so
used to producing successful scholars
(what can surprise anyone when you
have grown used to the Kristjansons)
that we neglect to celebrate this amazing
number of intellectuals and administra-
tors in our midst who are at the top of
their professions.
I guess I’m particularly struck by
Dennis Anderson because here he is, a
former associate dean, director of an
MBA programme, professor of mar-
keting in the Faculty of Management at
the University of Manitoba, with a Ph.D.
in Business Administration, now presi-
dent of a university but this past fall,
when I needed some pictures of winter
fishing for a children’s book I’m having
published, he not only took time to
search through his albums, he also took
time to draw detailed sketches of a jig-
ger. And then he went out and got a jig-
ger made. The day after the annual din-
ner, Dennis and his wife, Nina, and I
went to inspect the jigger. This is a man
modest enough to never forget his roots
nor his friends.
After inspecting the jigger we drove to
Gimli so that I could spend an evening
and moming with my parents before fly-
ing back to Victoria. The Manitoba stub-
ble was still dusted with snow and there
was snow under the trees. The fields
were yellow and brown. The sky was
that glorious spring blue. It’s a long trip
with lots of time to talk. We didn’t talk
much about university matters but rather
of the people we know and have known,
of commercial fishing, of growing up
Icelandic-Canadian. We talked a lot
about Iceland and its influence on us
because we’ve all been there and are
actively involved not just in the
Icelandic-Canadian community but in
the Icelandic community.
Dennis and Nina have béen frequent
visitors to Iceland and, Nina, even
though she came to Gimli via the air-
force, lectures in Iceland regularly. Their
daughter, Erla, is in Iceland for a year on
a scholarship.
When we got to Gimli, my parents
had supper ready for us. We ate it
around the kitchen table. As we ate we
told and listened to stories — both new
and old. We reminded ourselves of the
links that have held us together over
the years.
Before I left Victoria, an acquain-
Cont’d. page 3
Sod Turning for the New Winnipeg
Betei Personal Care Home
Ön Thursday,
June 2,1994, at
11:30 a.m.,the '
Minister of Health, the
Honourable James C.
McCrae and the Min-
ister of Finance, thc
Honourable Eric Stef-
anson, will turn the sod
forthenew lOObed
Winnipeg Personal
Care Home.
The ground-breaking
ceremony will mark the
realization of a long-
term goal — a Betel
Home in Winnipeg.
A small, but deter-
mined group qf women
at tlie tum of the cent-
ury established the first
Betel Home. On March
1,1915, the Home
opened on William
Avenue. By 1917, a
suitable building in
Gimli became available
and the move from
Winnipeg to Gimli was
completed just before
Christmas.
By the mid 1980’s the
Gimli Betel needed
extensive renovations
and a decision was
made to replace the
entire building.
This new facility cur-
rently has 80 residents
and sits on beautiful
Lake Winnipeg.
A personal care home
opened in Selkirk in
1966 and a need for
expansion was evident
immediately. By 1970,
an extra thirty beds had
bcen added to the facili-
ty. Selkirk Betel has a
total of 95 beds and a
long waiting list.
With the building of
this new focility in-
Winnipeg, we are meet-
ing the dreams of the
founding members of
Betel Home — “to keep
abreast of the tirnes,
and face the challenges
that lie ahead”.
And in the mean-
time...
The dream
which becomes a
reality goes on...