Lögberg-Heimskringla - 24.01.2003, Page 6

page 6 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Friday, 24 January 2003
“Any man ’s death diminishes me, for 1 am involved in mankind... No man is an island, entire ofhimself. ”—John Donne • “Maður er manns gaman. ”■—Hávamál
Spotlighting lives lived and milestones in the lives of Icelandic North Americans.
Lifting the Lid: Revealing the Contents of Icelandic Canadian Trunks
The author with her $3 “score”, a painted Swedish linen chest,
below a trunk given to her by her Amma and Grandpa, Helga
and George Gerrard. The trunk was built in 1925 or 26 by
Thorvaldur Thorvaldson of Riverton out of packing crates
from the local store.
Laurie Kristene Bertram
WlNNIPEG, MB
Do you have a story of
a family heirloom?
Laurie wants to hear it!
“A nation that brings no
luggage from the past has no
freight for the future. ” —
Martin Anderson Nexö as
quoted by Eiður Guðnason.
Two summers ago I was at
an estate sale on a farm outside
of Onanole, MB, rummaging
through a bam filled with “old
junk.” In the comer of the barn
sat a large faded red box with a
detached lid. I pulled the box
around and found two beautiful-
ly painted tin panels with a large
keyhole in the middle. This was
no old box but rather a beautiful
old Swedish linen chest.
Although in rough shape, I
asked the woman how much she
wanted for it and $3 later my
father and I were lugging it into
the back of the van. Although
proud of my find, I couldn’t help
but feel a little sad about the
chest. Clearly for some family it
had been an important link to
“home.” I wondered about the
descendants of the family and
how they would feel if somehow
they found it once more, perhaps
it would give them back a sense
of belonging and an understand-
ing and record of their roots and
their history.
Tmnks can mean many
things to many people. My
Amma, Helga Gerrard says,
‘They’re a symbol of all of the
stuff that you bring with you.” In
this respect I believe that
Icelandic Canadian tmnks are
particularly special as they and
the things they held — objects,
beliefs and ideas, created the
foundation of Icelandic
Canadian culture. When fami-
lies left for Canada they also had
to leave behind things that
wouldn’t fit, both into their
tmnks and into Canadian life.
Finally, these trunks, once in
Canada served as a reminder of
another place- and time; of exo-
dus, and of a small precious
foundation from which to build
again.
For women, trunks have
served another particularly
important function as ‘hope
chests.’ Women from numerous
cultures used these chests to
accumulate goods for married
life. For Icelandic women, the
tradition of the dowry (goods
accompanying a woman into
marriage) goes back hundreds of
years and is mentioned in sever-
al of the sagas. This is one of the
traditions that seems to have ‘fit’
into the luggage of Icelandic
Canadians. For Icelandic
Canadian women, these chests
not only anticipated marriage
but also stored objects, which
recorded their own personal his-
Patty Scheving’s
The Peuce
lcelandic Documentary
The
Perfect
Gift for
lcelandic
Descendants
$25.00 USD
To order contact Patty by
e-mail: scheving2002@yahoo.com
mail: 2026 Eunice St.,
Berkeley, CA 94709, USA
or 510-525-8945
tories. These trunks may even be
viewed as small museums mark-
ing the significant events in the
life of a woman and her family,
through cards, dresses, docu-
ments, photos and keepsakes.
Traditionally, Icelandic
trunks have also had strange or
supernatural associations.
Stories such as The Serpent in
Lagarfljót ancl The Seal-Woman
from Mýrdalur both describe
ordinary trunks that conceal fan-
tastic freight, reminding the
audience of the sometimes-blur-
ry line between the everyday
and the extraordinaiy. This per-
haps characterizes Icelandic
Canadian trunks the best; they
were and *till are everyday
objects often fading into the
background as undervalued wit-
nesses to more dramatic aspects
of our culture and history.
What has happened to the
hundreds of trunks that
Icelandic Canadians brought,
not only to transport their lives
and culture to Canada, but also
to use as containers for their
memory and history?
Unfortunately, many families
have lost these valuable histori-
cal objects. Many disappeared
as a result of estate liquidations.
Countless trunks were simply
taken to the dump, and others
lay undocumented and forgotten
in antique shops and museum
storage. Despite this loss, many
people still own other kinds of
heirlooms which they feel help
to illustrate their family’s histo-
ry, including jewelry, books,
photos, pieces of fumiture, even
buildings. For those outside the
family, it is difficult to communi-
cate the actual value and signifi-
cance of these objects, how they
represent Amma or Afi, aunts
and uncles, mothers and fathers
and their unique personalities,
their experiences, and their sto-
ries. Understanding the stories
hidden in these objects can
uncover the unwritten histories
within our community.
This brings me to my
research project. I am looking
for stories of Icelandic
Canadians (either whole or pait)
and their Icelandic Canadian
objects (not all Icelandic
Canadian objects have to be
from Iceland). I am particularly
interested in family trunks and
other containers including jew-
elry boxes, knitting needle cases
and sewing kits, particularly
those that may have stories
behind them, either funny,
strange, happy or sad, or that
simply remind you of your fam-
ily’s history. These stories will
go into a paper, which I will use
in one of my history courses at
the University of Winnipeg and
may also be presented at our his-
tory student’s symposium.
, If you have stories about
Icelandic Canadian heirlooms or
know of someone who does,
please contact me by phone at
204-772-5120 or e-mail:
supercat911 @ hotmail.com
/ \
.. * w Jjnefand www.icelandnaturally.com
Visit our website to
find out more about lceland
A
Lori Oddson
In Loving Memory and
Thanksgiving for the Life of
Lori Oddson who graced our
lives from November 20th,
1951 until January lOth, 2003.
Her spirit remains with her
dearly loved daughters, Jessica
and Rachelle, her loving moth-
er, Lucille, her sisters, Leoni
and Kathryn, her brothers,
Christopher, Eric and Leif, her
seven nieces and two nephews
and many dear friends. Lori
was born in Victoria, B.C. and
grew up and made her iife in
Edmonton. A graduate of the
University of Alberta, she
joined Athabasca University
twenty five years ago as a tutor.
Most recently, she served as the
University’s Director of
Collaboration and Learning
Services. Lori is remembered
for her passionate commitment
to social justice, the environ-
ment, aboriginal education and
international educational
development. Lori was a
devoted mother, friend and
mentor to Jessica, Rachelle
and Alyssa. Faniily and friends
celebrated her life at
Hainstock’s Funeral Home at
9810 - 34 Avenue, Edmonton,
AB, Tuesday, January 14th. In
lieu of flowers, donations can
be made to your local food
bank or the Women’s
Emergency Accommodation
Centre, 9611 - 101A Avenue,
Edmonton, AB T5H 0C8.
Hainstock’s Funeral Home &
Crematorium, Honoured Provider of
Dignity Memorial.
<i« ii icm fiin* cck 'ns'hitm mri n rwtkr NiiT'ntu-m is. rini \ rin 'ní'Hkinur