Lögberg-Heimskringla - 04.10.1996, Page 3

Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 4, október 1996 • 3
PRESIDENT'S PEN
Letter to the Editor
What happened to Lögberg-
Heimskringla! It looks like
a weekly book review—
albeit a rather uninteresting one. It
appears to be mostly an outlet for a
few clever writers to display their
skills and to laud each other on their
prowess...
What happened to the Icelandic so-
ciety in Glenboro or Lundar or Gimli
or Kansas City or to the Scandinavian
Club or to the First Lutheran Church?
I recently saw a very old issue of
Heimskringla (about40 years old) and
found it to be very interesting. What’s
wrong with old? Our family and our
parents before this have been “taking”
the Icelandic papers (both of them at
times) for close to 100 years and I hate
to quit now, but in its present form it
has no interest to me.
Don’t ask me what is wrong with
it, or how to fix it. I don’t know. I just
know it looks funny and it tastes
funny. It needs fixing.
Freeman Skaptason
President’s Response
Nothing is wrong with the old,
and the Board of Directors ac-
knowledges a responsibility
to keep in touch with the currents
which have coursed through this pa-
per for the 110 years of its history. I
currently head a special committee
comprised by Alan Schaldemose,
Shirley McCreedy, Stefan Jonasson,
David Anderson, and Hal Bjomson,
which aims to provide a sound foun-
dation for future well-functioning of
the paper. This committee will address
issues from content and the produc-
tion of a style book to the treatment
and utilization of staff.
The Heimskringla of 40 years ago
operated with several full time print-
ers and a full time editor, and re-
ceived significant funding from the
Unitarian Church. The Lögberg-
Heimskringla of today gains most rev-
enue from subscriptions and adver-
tisement, receives a yearly grant from
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ice-
land, and has depended on the gener-
ous donations of its readers to come
out in the black. We have four part-
time contracted or employed people,
Tom Oleson, Sandra Duma, Gunnur
Isfeld, and Annemarie Maclntosh of
Byte the Apple Creative Services, who
is supplying the layout/typesetting for
this, her first issue.
We are currently pursuing a grant
application to the Winnipeg Founda-
tion to finance an in-house computer
system, which will eventually bring
By Kevin Jón Johnson
significant reductions to our cost-of
production, while bringing the Board
stronger control and security.
Because we have hving authors and
ours is a deeply literate heritage, I
believe there is room for book re-
views. Undoubtedly, there is also
room for improvement or abridge-
ment of book reviews. Book reviews
are a form of courtesy to our published
writers, and when they send us a copy
of their newest book for review, it be-
hooves us to do our best justice with
it. When those same authors send us
articles for our paper, a mild reciproc-
ity acts itself out, which enriches our
paper.
About these fawning and clever
writers, of which number I may well
have been included, I will say some-
thing of myself. I have contributed a
substantial body of work over the last
two years, and as a young Icelandic
Canadian writer, I am grateful for the
opportunity. Tom Oleson has seen fit
to publish my work, and I have grown
substantially as a result.
I have intended my writing to
Lögberg-Heimskringla as a kind of
gift, and have received not a penny
for it. I hope that some find my writ-
ing amusing; our Editor has chosen
to publish it. For my part, I aim to
repay a debt for my Icelandic herit-
age, which was bestowed to me
through affiliations with my family,
and recently with the broader commu-
nity. I would like to see less of myself
in the paper, and invite contributions
from far and wide. Perhaps we can get
the stories from Kansas City and
Glenborö, and they will be less prais-
ing and less clever.
Besides writing for this paper,
whose continued strength I and my
fellow Board members have dedicated
our time and energy to secure, I add
to it through leadership as the Presi-
dent. For those on the inside, this has
been a year of significant challenge
and extraordinary success. We intend
to set this paper on a foundation which
will carry it for the next 110 years. In
the process some experimentation has
taken place, under the aegis of Tom
Oleson.
I wish to thank Mr. Skaptason for
his sincere and insightful letter, and
encourage others in the community to
send us their concerns, hopes and
ideas, as we on the Board proceed on
our path of rejuvenation and restruc-
turing. Stay with us and the bad taste
should go out of your mouth some-
time soon. □
By Jón V. Straumfjörö, MD
Patti and Jón Straumfjörð at Willow Island's (Gimli) White Ftock, 1994.
The Saga of Two
Large Rocks
Jóhann Elíasson Straumfjörð and Kristbjörg Jónsdóttir journeyedfrom Iceland in J876
and settled on Mikley (Hecla Island). In 1879-80, they floated their possession across
Lake Winnipeg from Fagratuni to Engey (Goose Island). On Engey, their farmstead
prospered for 22 years and many of Hecla Island’s first generation were born there. In
1902, because of recurrent flooding, they moved to Lundar and are buried at Brekka.
Now, on August 1 and 2,120 years later, their descendants returned to these islands to
celebrate and experience their heritage. One of the great-grandsons, Dr. Jón Vidalin
Straumfjörð Jr., wrote the following article.
Two large rocks born, nurtured
and delivered by the turbu-
lence of glacial activity be-
came symbols of human endeavour
and courage. Even though these rocks
lie 2500 miles apart and their role in
history is distanced by 250 years they
have a remarkable similar history. The
first rock is the Plymouth rock which
symbolizes the landing and settlement
of the Plymouth pilgrims. The second
rock, lesser known by the general pub-
lic, is the White Rock symbolizing the
landing and the settlement of Icelan-
dic pioneers in New Iceland. Both sto-
ries are often told but the remarkable
similarity of occurrences to our
knowledge has not been documented.
Both rocks are unique for their area.
No similar rocks were found within
considerable distance from their loca-
tion. It is as if they were placed there
to serve as markers.
The Plymouth rock was the site of
the pilgrim landing and subsequent
village in the year 1620. The Pilgrims
seeking rehgious freedom left Eng-
land to find an area that would allow
for them free expression of their reli-
gious beliefs. The ship, Mayflower,
left Plymouth, England September 6,
1620 for the Atlantic crossing to the
new world. After a lengthy difficult
voyage they reached America Novem-
ber 11, 1620. There had been one
death and one child bom during the
voyage. After exploring the Cape Cod
area, mling it out as the place for their
settlement, they sailed across the bay.
The stormy trip was almost cata-
strophic. They ended the day in what
is now called Duxbury Bay and Clark
Island. December 11 the exploratory
party landed upon Plymouth rock and
they found the area suitable for their
colony. By this time only 95 of the
original 102 pilgrims were still alive.
The stmggle with a harsh winter, dis-
ease probably related to scurvy, and
exposure led to many further deaths.
Only 49 per cent of the original party
was alive by spring. It was remark-
able that those alive were able to build
shelter, storage facilities and a defen-
sive perimeter during that harsh
weather. The pilgrims represented a
cross seclion of English society. Indi-
viduals with chiefly urban skill. Some
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