Lögberg-Heimskringla - 11.02.2005, Síða 5

Lögberg-Heimskringla » Föstudagur 11. febrúar 2005 • 5
Destination
A special
place
Steinþór Guðbjartsson
Point Roberts, WA
In his book Point Roberts,
USA, the History of a Cana-
dian Enclave, Richard E. Clark
describes Point Roberts, WA,
just south of British Columbia
in Canada, as “one of the most
unusual communities in the
United States of America.”
The peninsula is about five
kilometres long and two and a
half kilometres wide. In 1893
four Icelanders moved to Point
Roberts from Bellingham, WA
after a French immigrant, who
was married to an Icelandic
woman, Guðlaug Jónsdóttir,
told them about Point Roberts.
Kristján Benediktsson
(Benson), John Bums, Guð-
mundur Laxdal and Sigurður
Haukdal were the first Iceland-
ers to settle there. The Icelan-
dic population was over 200
in 1914 but is now less than a
third of that.
Originally, the US federal
govemment intended to build a
military base at Point Roberts.
The Icelanders and other im-
migrants who had cleared land
and built homes “began to seek
possession of their land and
sent several petitions to Wash-
ington,” as Jónas Þór describes
in his book Icelanders in North
America: the First Settlers.
A special agent of the
United States Land Office in
Seattle went to Point Roberts,
and in his report he said that 21
out of the 45 claimants on the
reservation were Icelanders,
“and they are the most frugal,
industrious and altogether the
most desirable foreign settlers
that I have found in the state of
Washington.”
In 1908 President Theo-
dore Roosevelt opened Point
Roberts for homesteaders and
each family was allowed the
land they were living on.
In her book Echoes from
the Past, Runa Thordarson says
that the settlers then decided to
send a gift to the President to
show their appreciation. “Helgi
(Thorsteinson) butchered his
largest sheep and donated the
skin. This was expertly tanned
and a rug made from it by Mr.
Elsner, who had learned the
trade in Germany. It was then
sent to President Roosevelt. A
letter of thanks was received
from the President saying the
rug was being used in his bed-
room in the White House.”
Soon after Icelanders
settled in Point Roberts, the
Icelandic reading society Haf-
stjarnan (“Ocean Star”) was
established and books were or-
dered from Iceland. Early on,
a Lutheran congregation was
established and “the lceland-
ers have fully participated in
local administration,” accord-
ing to the book Icelanders on
the Pacific Coast by Margrét J.
Benedictson.
In 1988, Vigdís Finnboga-
dóttir visited Point Roberts as
President of Iceland. The in-
habitants of Icelandic descent
had a reception for her in the
community centre and Joan
Thorsteinson Lindi took her on
a tour of Point Roberts.
“The highlight of her visit
was the old cemetery,” says
%*3 * In memory of the first **
^ Icelandic Settlers of
Point Roherts
IHer excellenci/ Vigdis Finnbogadottir
President of Iceland
October 22, 1988
Joan Thorsteinson Lindi z
s
£
Joan. The President laid a 3
wreath under a dogwood tree 2
with a sign that said: “Dedi- g
cated to the Icelandic Pioneers |
of the area.” The people of Ice- ^
landic descent had a permanent j;
marker made in ntemory of that
occasion. “Her act was very S
moving,” Joan adds. “When §
she left she said that she would |
never forget us and she felt that g
I was a sister. When she placed &
the wreath and said a prayer, I |
knew then that that had to be a 8
permanent marker.” 1
Greetingsfrom
GordonJ. Reykdal
Honorary Consul of thc
Republic of Iceland
17703 - 103 Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta
T5S 1N8
Tel: (780) 408-5118
Fax: (708) 408-5122
E-mial: gord@rentcash.ca
A
IBDO
Drivtng Crowth
BDO Dunwoody LLP
Chartered Accountants
and Advisors
)
Eric Stefanson, FCA
Regional Managing Partner Manitoba
800-200 PORTAGE AVENUE
Winnipeg, Manitoba
T: 204.926.7200 F: 204.926.7206
www.bdo.ca
Jjcefatyd
www.icelandnaturally.com
Visit us on the web at http://www.lh-inc.ca