Lögberg-Heimskringla - 10.09.2004, Blaðsíða 9

Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 10. september 2004 • 9
wood stove and water brought
from the well. Summer, for me,
was fishing off the dock, swim-
ming lessons in the lake, jam-
busters from the bakery, the
marvel of fish fly floods,
beachcombing for lucky
stones, running in the footraces
at Islendingadagurinn and
spending quiet evenings play-
ing cards or going to the cine-
ma with my sisters,” Susan
recalls. “My parents had spent
their childhood summers that
way, too. It was a lovely way to
grow up.”
A special inspection
Susan was brought up in
an Icelandic atmosphere but it
was not all pleasant. “One of
my most dreadful memories is
when, as a young teenager,
mom took me to attend Ice-
landic lessons in Vancouver.
They were held in the old
folks’ home. They
put us up in front
of the residents
and they really let
us know every
time we were
wrong! We did
not know the lan-
guage and were
not ready to learn
it. But now I take
Icelandic lessons through our
club and our teachers are
delightful. It is still a hard lan-
guage, but it is a completely
different experience. This time
it’s fun, and I think it’s slowly
sinking in.”
However, earlier this sum-
mer Icelandic was not needed
in Iceland at all times. “The
country is beautiful but some
of the animals in the true coun-
tryside are as independent as
Iceland’s people. Of course we
always slowed down when we
saw sheep or horses close to
the road but that was not
enough for one horse. He
appeared to be waiting for our
car, trotted to the middle of the
road and blocked our way. We
stopped and when we had done
that he came ai'ound to my side
of the car. I rolled down the
window because he seemed to
expect me to do that. He stuck
his head right in, gave us a total
inspection, and only then
backed off to let us go. What a
character!”
A survival made
the difference
Hannes Pétursson and
Tilly Anna Sigurðsson Petur-
son, Susan’s maternal grand-
parents, decided to retum back
to Iceland shortly after they got
married. They went to Quebec
City and were aboard the luxu-
ry liner the Empress of Ireland
when it collided with a Norwe-
gian vessel, the Storstad, on
May 29, 1914.
The liner sank at
night, in 14 min-
utes, killing
1,012 people.
This terrible
shipping disaster
was overshad-
owed by the start
of WWI and the
sinking of the
Titanic two years earlier.
“Amma knew how to swim
and rescued afi,” Susan says.
“They eventually made it back
to Winnipeg, where the Ice-
landic community helped them
get started again. Their sur-
vival made my fate.
“1 remember amma’s unfa-
miliar but memorable curse
was, Atlantic Ocean!’ I won-
der if other Icelanders say that,
or just her. Today, my family
really believes in leaming how
to swim — my daughter Signe
is a lifeguard and Lára is a
competitive swimmer.”
“I take lce-
landic lessons
through our
club. It’s a hard
language, but I
think it’s slowly
sinking in.”
PHOTO: STEINÞÓR GUÐBJARTSSON
Stefanie, Sarah and Kristine Johnson all play volleyball and have done well in the sport.
A volleyball
champion at McGill
Stefanie Johnson is a freshman at McGill
University in Montreal. She and her sisters
Sarah and Kristine play volleyball in differ-
ent age groups. Last spring they all became
champions with their teams in Manitoba and
after that they did well in the Cahadian
Nationals.
Kristine (13) was in the bantam team and
they took 5th place in the Nationals after hav-
ing become champions in Manitoba. Sarah
(16) was on the midget team that not only
won in Manitoba but also took first prize in
the Nationals. Stefanie (18) played with the
juveniles and her team finished in the 3rd
place in the Nationals.
The sisters are from Winnipeg, the
daughters of Leona and Dan Johnson. Ste-
fanie was offered to enter a few universities
but in the end she decided to go to Montreal
where she has started studying in the Arts
program and playing with the varsity volley-
ball team.
“There were some opportunities for me in
Canada and the US but I chose McGill
because of the academic programs they
offer,” she says. “It is a very good school.”
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