Lögberg-Heimskringla - 17.03.1995, Side 9

Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 17. mars 1995 • 9
An American
Visits lceland
Conversations with Grimur, July 1994
By Ron duBois
Stillwater, Oklahama, USA
Regarding Sod Houses
ooking at the cramped and
dingy space within the interior
of a sod house at Glaumbær,
near Varmahlíö, Iceland, an American
tourist from Florida commented loudly
that he could sure understand why
Icelanders moved to Canada and the
U.S. To me he seemed the embodi-
ment of the ugly American. Later I
found out he was a banker from
Florida. His status went up as I heard
him comment that the best thing he
had done in life was to marry an
Icelander. My experience was similar
and I decided that he couldn’t be all
bad.
Glaumbær is a complex of sod
houses occupied until 1947. It is now
a national museum and historic site.
To modern Icelanders the interior
space of sod houses seems impossibly
cramped. The doorways appeared to
be designed for people no more than
five feet in height. The original Vikings
were tall in stature but dwarfing
occurred, we were told, through lack
of sufficient food and a harsh life. The
small proportions of sod houses
appear to prove that human beings
can literally shrink or expand in
stature depending on the variables of
life. Perhaps there are other explana-
tions.
Icelanders know their ancestors
survived harsh conditions and are
therefore not prone to take their pre-
sent high standards of living for grant-
ed.
Sod houses were dark and damp
and heated with fuel made from peat-
moss mixed with dung, much like the
patties made from straw and cow dung
used throughout villages in India. In
addition Icelanders knew how to make
charcoal. The sites of huge earth pits
designed to bum wood with minimum
oxygen still exist. They cut their native
birch trees without thought of replanti-
ng. When only one tree remained, an
unknown farmer cut it down to make
charcoal. He needed it to heat his sod
house. Today the government is com-
mitted to reforestation.
To an American tourist a frame
house of lumber, heated with gas or
coal and equipped with plumbing and
electricity seems infinitely superior. Yet
sod houses within the context of the
times were remarkable constructions.
Icelanders like humans everywhere
used the materials available to them.
Because wood was scarce they used
thick slabs of earth similar to the earth
sods used for landscaping today. Wood
was essential for mainbeam and rafters,
for staircases, upstairs flooring, for bed-
steads, for doors and framing.
Thora’s parents moved from a beau-
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tiful, yet economically depressed coun-
try to an uncertain life in Canada. Had
her parents stayed in Iceland their
lives would have been hard yet they
would have shared in the dramatic
economic and technological success of
the last fifty years. Within that time
Icelanders exchanged their sod houses
for solid modern homes built of the
best materials, with inexhaustible sup-
plies of electricity, and heated with an
endless supply of very hot under-
While in lceland, her cousin,
Jón Benjaminsonn presented Thora
(Asgeirson) duBois and her husband
Ron, with beautiful lcelandic sweaters.
ground water. The sod houses of the
past are testimony to the ability of
humans tó survive and to lead mean-
ingful lives in harsh conditions.
Among other shadowy notions, my
Continued on page 10
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COUNSELLORS
Díd you know?
‘m That the Chair of lcelandic at the University of Manitoba is the only one of its
kind outside of lceland
¥ That lcelandic or Old Norse is a root language akin to Latin
That in 1952 $250,000 plus was raised in the community to facilitate the
creation of the Chair of lcelandic and that the money was given by people in
the lcelandic community, some giving $1,000.00 which would translate to
$10,000.00 in today's money market and one gift of $50,000.00 by Ásmundur
Johannson, translating to $500,000.00 today
That the lcelandic collection is comparable to the Fiske collection at Comell
University and more up to date with modern books, a major resource for
scholars everywhere
m That the Canadian government gave $300,000.00 for the ongoing promotion
and study of lcelandic Canadian Literature and that we now have a full time
assistant professor in the Department to facilitate that study.
W That government cut-backs and University fiscal policy could endanger this
magnificent achievement of the lcelandic community in North America
W That a fund of $1,000,000.00 will secure the existence of the lcelandic
department and the good works it provides for the foreseeable future
“W That we are about $225,000.00 short of that goal
■« Thatyou could help...
Please give generously, make cheques payable
U. of M. Dept. of lcelandic and send to:
HIP, care of 3030 Notre Dame Avenue,
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3H 1B9
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If your group would like to use this space, please call us at 949-2200.
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