Lögberg-Heimskringla - 17.03.1995, Page 2

2 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 17. mars 1995
Letters to the Edítor
We might be taking ourselves too seriousiy
' Má have been an L-H subscriber
(. since 1989, and as I renew for
yet another year, I would like
to say that it has been a very enjoy-
able experience reading the paper
and one that has helped me to feel
still connected to my roots in the
Icelandic Canadian communities of
Manitoba. My parents left the
‘Icelandic west end’ of Winnipeg
when they got married almost 60
years ago, and raised their family in
Ontario, so we kids never had the
experience of growing up with others
of Icelandic descent. But we always
remained closely involved with our
extended family, and made regular
trips ‘home’ to Winnipeg, so we were
very aware of being Icelandic, and
were taught to be very proud of that
Join . . .
Icelandic
Canadian
Frón
Send membership fee of
$30.00 individual • $20.00 associate
(includes membership in the Scandinavian Centre)
to: lcelandic Canadian Frón
764 Erin St„ Winnipeg, MB R3G 2W4
Telephone: 774-8047
fact.
Now that I am middle-aged and
my parents have passed on, I would
have little opportunity to remain
informed on the continuing efforts to
celebrate Icelandic traditions here in
Canada without subscribing to L-H. I
feel grateful to the many dedicated
volunteers who work so hard to keep
this paper — and other cultural insti-
tutions, such as the Icelandic Festival
— alive for people like me to enjoy. It
therefore puzzles and disappoints me
that when there is conflict and con-
troversy within these organizations,
the criticisms put forward are so
harsh and unfriendly. Controversy is
good if it means that everyone is free
to express their ideas in a tolerant
atmosphere. But what is the point of
castigating people for doing a less
than perfect job within an organiza-
tion whose main purpose is to bring
people together for a pleasurable
exchange of informati'on? It seems to
me that people are taking themselves
too seriously when this happens. This
is nothing new, but rather an inbred
weakness of Icelandic Canadian cul-
ture. There is a striking laclc of
humour and playfulness in so many
of our publications, and so much of
our public discussion. But this prob-
lem is not unique to Canadians of
Icelandic descent. As the resources
available for culture continue to
shrink in this country, useless and
Come Visit Iceland —
The Sightseeing Wonder!
VISIT
ICELAND
1995
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1995! Icelandair offers exciting independent and escorted tour options to make your
visit "heim" exciting, comfortable and affordable. To order your 1995 ICELAND &
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more about lcelandair's airfares to lceland, Britain, Scandinavia and the Continent, see
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mean arguments are brea’king out
everywhere. The only cure for this is
for people who care about cultural
preservation and creativity to recog-
nize that they must pull together and
offer only constructive criticisms,
tempered with tact. Otherwise, all
those dedicated volunteers might get
discouraged and give up, leaving us
with nothing much more than the
emptiness of mass culture to lighten
the darkness of our times.
To everyone involved in putting
together this newspaper, I’d like to
say thanks for your efforts, I enjoy
the humour of the current regime
even when it’s silly, and I look for-
ward to continuing my subscription
for a good many years to come
Sincerely,
Marion Johnson
London, Ontarío
History in the making
ur Legion is attempting to
write a brief history on all the
War Dead on our Honour
Roll. In so doing, we would like to
contact a relative of each of the fol-
lowing:
E.G. Anderson, J. Adamson, S.P.
Gislason (relative known), S. Lindal,
J. Lindal, T.H. Sigurdson, T.H.
Thorsteinson (relatives known).
Could I use information from
these books:
(1) Saskatchewan Islanders by W.J.
Lindal.
(2) Vestur íslenzkar Æviskrár by
Benjamin Kristjansson without
infringing on copyrights?
W.J. Lindal, I believe is a brother
to the two Lindal boys killed in
action in World War I.
Any help in this regard would be
grately appreciated. Thank you very
much.
Yours Truly,
Victor Gislason
Pres. Royal Canadian Legion
Leslie Branch No. 172
Leslie, SK
What is History?
' á read with interest “What is
History/Heritage?” and here
are some of my thoughts as a
“Canadian Icelander” with both par-
ents born in Iceland. My husband is
also Icelandic on both sides. Seven of
lceland House
Bed & Breakfast
Visiting Vancouver?
Need Accommodation?
Short or Long Term
Reasonable Rates
For Reservations Contact:
Irene Finnson at
Tel. (604) 294-1760
fax: (604) 294-0799
lceland House, operated
^ by the lcelandic Canadian
Club of B.C., is located
at
939 6th Street,
New Westminster >
my children have married Canadians
with only one having some diluted
Icelandic blood from a grandmother.
I still have three unmarried children
and three chances of “pure blood”
should they marry an Icelander or
Canadian Icelander!
I know “Western Icelander”
includes all our American kinfolk but
I believe it also takes away from our
Canadian heritage. We can be proud
of Iiving in America without being an
American but by remaining Canadian
of Icelandic or any other descent.
I also find that by gaining more
knowledge of my ancestors and rela-
tives in Iceland creates a bond, a
sense of pride in belonging which is
only natural for Icelanders! As a
Canadian we have too much competi-
tion from other nationalities with the
same sense of pride. We need a few or
more decades to bécome true
Canadians or will we all become
Americans?
With best regards,
Herborg Thomasson
Winnipeg, Manitoba
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