Lögberg-Heimskringla - 24.09.1999, Side 3

Lðgberg-Heimskringla • Fðstudagur 24. september 1999 • 3
Magrius “Mike ” Olafson, Ólafiir Ragnar Grímsson, and Christine GeirHall stand by the monument to K. N. Július.
Photo: Jón Einars. Gustafsson
Mountain celebrates a
The following excerpt is taken from Jón
Einars. Gustafsson’s article which
appeared in Morgunblaðið. Reprinted
with permission.
The President of Iceland, Óla-
fur Ragnar Grímsson, ended his
recent trip to Canada and the
U.S. by joining in celebrations in hon-
our of a century of August 2nd
Celebrations in Mountain, North
Dakota. About seven thousand visitors
took part in the celebrations, from far
and wide, and the population of
Mountain is only one hundred and fifty.
The celebration began on August 1,
with a parade along the only paved
street of Mountain where thousands had
gathered to greet the President of
Iceland. One of the participants of the
parade was a one hundred-year-old
woman by the name of Petrína Guðrún
Gestsdóttir who has taken part in every
Islendingadagurinn at Mountain parade
from the beginning, as her parents took
her there as a child. “I was a bit shy,”
said Petrína after talking to the
President at the Borg Seniors’ Horhe.
Icelandic has been her first language all
her life although she has never visited
lceland.
The President said to a
Morgunblaðið reporter: ‘in my opinion
we have witnessed a miracle here today.
To see the streets filled with people who
have come from all over to pay tribute
to Iceland is a great experience. We
have a lot of work to do in Iceland to
realize this power, this great historic
and cultural wealth here in these com-
munities. This is a great experience for
me.
Other things on the agenda were a
horse show, a Viking show, a concert, a
play, a church service, and a dance, to
name a few. The President presented the
descendants of the Icelandic pioneers in
Mountain with a set of the Icelandic
Sagas in English translation, and the
Icelandic flag in a wooden box, a gift
from the Westfarers Museum at Hofsós.
On Monday a rededication ceremo-
ny took place at the newly renovated
monument in commemoration of K. N.
Júlíus, at the Þingvalla Church, located
a short distance from Mountain. The
President spoke at that occasion and
mentioned that K.N. had mused that
people did not want to read long poems.
As a result he said he had practiced
making only the first and the last verse
of each poem, like the ministers who let
the congregation sing the first and last
verse of a hymn.
Bjöm Olgeirsson knew K.N. well
in his youth. “He was a bit unusual,”
Bjöm said, “but he did not drink as
much as he is rumoured to have done.
He only made the occasional trip to
town and got a bit cheerful. Then he
walked back, making poetry on the
way. He was a great humorist who
made many interesting poems.”
Magnús “Mike” Olafson was the
President’s host during his stay in
Mountain. He said the President’s trip
had been successful and that the people
in Mountain were proud to receive
Iceland’s head of state for a visit.
An eighteen-year-old granddaugh-
ter of Magnús Olafson, Sherrie Olafson,
watched the celebrations with great
interest and she got to greet the
President. “I am very lucky to get to
meet him as I also met Vigdís
Finnbogadóttir ten years ago when she
visited Gimli,” Sherrie said. “I will
probably never meet the President of
the U.S. but it does not matter. In our
family being Icelandic is important and
my grandfather is diligent in keeping
various traditions and customs. I would
like to leam Icelandic and afi has taught
me some.”
The President’s visit ended at the
lcelandic State Park where a large Open
Air Museum has been built in honour of
the pioneers.
“I must admit that my knowledge of
the Icelandic settlement in North
Dakota was limited, as it is with most
people in Iceland, but you have literaly
made another Arbæjar Museum here for
the lcelandic settlers,” the President
said after looking at the museum. “This
museum and this area is an ideal stop
for Icelanders who want to become
familiar with the history of the settle-
ment in America. This is an experience
I would not have wanted to miss out on.
I hope that my visit will encourage you
to keep your heritage alive. These com-
munications are important to us in
many ways. It is important for us to
know that there are many people here
who have warm thoughts to Iceland.
Mountain could easily be a centre for
Westem-Icelanders in the U.S., the way
Gimli is in Canada. The roots are better
found here on the countryside than in
the large cities.”
Translated by G. Isfeld
Please see also K.N. Júlíus
Honoured on page 7.
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