Lögberg-Heimskringla - 17.03.1995, Page 3

Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 17. mars 1995 • 3
Discovering New lceland , Continued
It seems, however, that the dream of
settling North America had to wait
900 years. That was when, in the
late 19th century, a new group of
Icelanders sailed West to settle in
Canada and the United States. There
they tQok root and their descendants
lived and prospered in a new world.
They are the reason that you are able to
read this venerable newspaper today.
Their commitment t-o preserving their
culture and their heritage in a new land
was passed on to their children and
their children’s children and remains
even today.
And so Icelanders, too, have their
heroes and their bards and their far-
flung graveyards and their monuments.
Just outside of Arnes in Manitoba’s
Interlake is a monument to the explorer
Vilhjálmur Stefanson, who was born
there but is buried elsewhere. In
Markerville, Alberta, is the memorial to
the poet Stephan G. Stephansson, and
in Riverton the memorial to another
great poet, Guttormur Guttormsson. .
This special travel issue of Lögberg-
Heimskringla highlights Manitoba’s
Interlake area where so many of the
Icelandic immigrants settled in the 19th
and early 20th centuries. It is the area
that included Nýja ísland — New
Iceland — which for a brief time existed
with its own laws and constitution
before formally becoming a part of the
province of Manitoba. A number of
articles feature the attractions of the
towns of this part of the country, both
historical and contemporary.
We hope that they will be of interest
to all North Americans of Icelandic
descent and encourage them to take a
renewed interest in this cradle of North
American Icelandic culture. Summer is
the perfect time to visit. The Manitoba
summer is sunny and warm (God wiíl-
ing) and features a variety of events and
festivals with an Icelandic flavour. The
great event, of course, is íslendin-
gadagurinn in Gimli on the weekend of
the first Monday in August. This is the
largest Icelandic festival in North
America and attracts visitors from all
over Nórth America and from Iceland
itsélf with its three-
day celebration of
the bright Ice-
landic stone in the
North American
cultural mosaic.
A visit to New
Iceland and its
env'irons also aff-
ords the opportu-
nity to visit near-
by North Dakota
and Minnesota
with their strong
Icelandic presence
and to take in the
Scandinavian fes-
tivals Hjemkomst
and Hostfest in
Fargo and Minot,
adding by your
presence a strong-
er Icelandic ele-
ment to these
large and imm-
ensely popular
events.
Also in this
issue is an article
by Guðny Cron-
shaw of the Gimli
Chapter of the
Icelandic National
League detailing
the history of
Framfarí, the new-
spaper published
by the early set-
tlers of New Ice-
land to keep them
informed of events
and offer them a
forum for debate
that was often
heated and vigor-
ous. A complete
collection of
Framfarí is avail-
able in English
translation and it
is a fascinating
and valuable book
for anyone with
any interest at all
in the Icelandic
fact in North
America. Framfarí
is, in a sense, the
grandfather of
Lögberg-Heims-
kringla, another
example of how
the tradition con-
tinues.
We also, offer,
of course, some
travel features on Iceland. The ties
between the Icelandic communities in
North America and Iceland remain
strong. They are made stronger by the
continuing influx of Icelanders to
North America, although not, of
course, on the same scale as previously,
and by the continuing desire of Westem
Icelanders to seek out their roots in the
ancestral home. Each summer there is
an exodus of people going to visit
Iceland, seeking relatives and roots and
to experience the unique and magnifi-
cent landscape and the warm hospitali-
ty of the Icelandic people to their
cousins from the West.
on’t ignore the advertising in
this issue, because even it has
a message foryou. The bulk of
it is from businesses and individuals in
Manitoba and in Iceland. They are of,
course, advertising what they have to
sell, but they are doing much more
than just that. They are reaching out
and touching you, to coin a phrase,
expressing their support for our her-
itage and, not incidentally, this news-
paper. They are also expressing their
pride in who they are and who you
are. In the advertisements from
Iceland you should find an especially
poignant message — that after 100
years, the ties that stretch across the
ocean remain strong not only here,
which is only natural, but also in
Iceland where people and institutions
might be excused if they were to forget
us after all this time.
We do have our graveyards here, but
there is no headstone yet for the
Icelandic community in North America.
It remains vital and healthy and closely
attached to its roots. The graveyards,
however, are worth a visit for the
heroes, both sung and unsung, who lie
there, witnesses to our histoiy.
I remember visiting the cemeteiy on
Hecla Island once, wandering among
the headstones and marvelling at the
courage and strength of the people
buried there and the hardships that they
endured that we might live a better life.
It was a moving experience but sudden-
ly and utterly unexpectedly, tears filled
my eyes and my throat choked up upon
reading the grave of a child who had
died veiy young a long time ago. I am
not certain what the emotions were that
ran through me, but they were intense,
and I could not speak to my companion
for quite some time afterwards. Those
emotions may not have been rational,
but they were veiy real.
iscover the past and the pre-
sent in Manitoba’s Interlake
this summer. Walk among the
dead and reflect on what we owe to
what has gone before, and rejoice
among the living, celebrate our legacy
and look forward to the future.
There’s time enough to think of
death when death comes for us. I some-
times think when that does happen, I
would like my ashes scattered in Asbyr-
gi, a place in Iceland that for some rea-
son speaks profoundly to me. I’ll proba-
bly end up, however, in a rose garden, a
beautiful thing to see (the roses, that is,
not me) and not a bad place to spend
etemity. Before that, however, I hope
to visit Ásbyrgi once more standing on
my feet. If I don’t see you in New
Iceland this summer, perhaps I’ll run
into you there one day.
18th Annual
Fargo • Moorhead
Scandinavian Hjemkomst Festival
SCflhDIMflVlflN
HJEMKOMST
FESTIVAL

1995 . JUNE 21-25
1996 • JUNE26-30
1997 .JUNE25-29
1998 .JUNE24-28
SCANDINAVIAN FOODS AVAILABLE
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* FARGO
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FESTIVAL DANCE
Fri. • June23 • 8-12 pm
JUNE 21st
Wednesday Events
SCANDINAVIAN
* 10-4 Luncheon & Craft Show
“Sons of Norway”
# - . “Hands Across the Sea”
' Reception in Moorhead
Swedish Cultural Soc.
•7pm “Mldsummer Dance”
Gooseberry Park, Mhd.
Cfltt 1-800-235-7654
1-701-282-3653
1-218-233-8484
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A UTHENTIC SCANDINA VIAN THEME!
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FESTIVAL OUTDOORS
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SAT., JUNE 24
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