Lögberg-Heimskringla - 03.06.2005, Blaðsíða 6

6 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Friday 3 June 2005
Rebuilding the Fénsala Hall
1195 Pembina Highway
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T2A5
Tel: (204)452-2689 Fax: (204) 452-2701
ToBFne 1-800-260-3713
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Eric Stefanson, FCA
Regional Managing Partner Manitoba
800-200 PORTAGE AVENUE
WlNNIPEG, MANITOBA
T: 204.926.7200 F: 204.926.7206
www.bdo.ca
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VISIT OUR SHOWROOM FOH YOUR
IŒIANDICFLAG
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PINS, CRESTS, DECALS
FLAGPOLES &ACCESSORIES
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FLAGS / BANNERS
Kathleen Raines
Manager, Historic
Markerville Creamery
Markerville, AB
IBÐO
BDO Dunwoody LLP
Chartered Accountants
and Advísors
Makes replicas of old houses
Leslie Johnson is a busy man, but in his spare time he
makes replicas of old historical houses in Markerville. To
date he has built 19 houses, and among them are a replica
of the library, the first Iibrary in Alberta, and Stephansson
House. “I like doing the replicas and that'is one way of pre-
serving the heritage,” he says.
His replicas are on a display at the MarkerviIIe Cream-
ery.
Fensala Hall is the oldest
continuously operating com-
munity hall in Alberta. By
the turn of the 21 st century,
though, it was becoming ap-
parent that without upgrading,
this heritage building would
have to close. The Stephan G.
Stephansson Icelandic Society,
owners and operators of the
Historic Markerville Creamery,
undertook a feasibility study
and committed to the restora-
tion of the hall.
The Icelandic settlement of
Tindastoll was over a decade
old and thriving by 1900. The
Ladies’ Aid Society, Vonin,
spearheaded a drive to build
a social centre in the growing
community, renamed Marker-
ville in 1903. Later that same
year, a group of 46 settlers
came together to form the Fen-
sala Stock Company Limited,
contributing $237 to build a
community hall on the banks of
the Medicine River.
The original Fensala Hall
(named for the home of the
Norse goddess Frigga) was a
24’ x 40’ frame building which
became the community’s social
and cultural gathering place,
hosting musical and theatrical
productions, dances, traveling
Chataqua shows, the annual
Tombola bazaar and family cel-
ebrations.
In the 1920s an addition
housing a stage with two wings
for kitchen and storage areas
was placed to the north of the
existing hall.
Designation as a Provincial
Historic Resource in 2003 en-
sured that the building would
Marie Sveinson, Chair of the Fundraising Committee, and
her husband Ken Sveinson, take a break in the Fensala Hall,
which will be reopned later this summer.
Stan and Helen Johannson have spent many hours working
as volunteers on restoring the Fensala Hall. Helen will be
crowned Alberta’s fjallkotia on June 18.
be preserved, but it also meant
that an addition, incorporating
kitchen, washrooms, storage
and new mechanical services
would have to be built to enable
the original hall to be restored
to its 1920s condition.
Just as in 1903, volunteers
have come together to build the
newly restored Fensala Hall as
it prepares for The Second Hun-
dred Years. The $316,650 proj-
ect, broken into four phases,
commenced in 2001 and is now
moving into the final stages with
the completion of the addition
and the interior and exterior
restoration of the historic hall.
Outstanding support from the
community, corporate donors
and partner Icelandic societies
in Calgary and Edmonton have
matched grants received from
the Alberta Historical Resourc-
es Foundation, Community Ini-
tiatives Program, Community
Facility Enhancement Program
and The Red Deer and District
Community Foundation.
Volunteers have contribut-
ed hundreds of hours planning
and executing this huge project
— raising funds, hammering and operation plan for the new
nails, dismantling and reassem- hall and countless other tasks.
bling the old structures, hauling It is a massive undertaking for
materials, cooking for the work a small community, and one we
crews, developing a business commit to with pride.
Visit us on the web at http://www.lh-inc.ca