Lögberg-Heimskringla - 23.09.2005, Blaðsíða 1

Publication Mail Agreement No. 40012014, PAP Registration # 8000
119th year /119. Árgangur
ISSN 0047-4967
LOGBERG-HEIMSKRINGLA

Lögberg stofnuó 14. janúar 1SS8
Heimsbittgla stofnáð 9. septcmbrr 18S(>
Saineiiiiiö 20. agúst 1959

Friday 23 September 2005 • Number 18 / Númer 18 • Föstudagur 23. sept
In This Issue
|
PHOTO: JUDY (JOHNSON) HRUSKA
Johnson in
Hall of Fame
Einar Johnson, whose ca-
reer as a baseball pitcher and
coach in and around Church-
bridge, SK spanned four de-
cades, was recently inducted
into the Saskatchewan Base-
ball Hall of Fame / page 7
PHOTO COURTESY OF MARILYN HERRON
Restoring a
landmark
Baldur Olson of Church-
bridge teamed up with Del
Sveinsson of Leduc, AB to
clean up and improve upon
the site of Churchbirdge’s old
Concordia Hall and nearby
cemetery / page 9
Kormákur’s
Trip to Heaven
Baltasar Kormákur may
have a great cast and an in-
triguing story for A Little Trip
to Heaven, but as L-H's Todd
Gillam writes, even that inay
not be enough / page 10
SPECIAL FEATURE:
PHOTO: ROSE JOHNSON
Churchbridge, SK has has been the hometown of many of Icelandic descent, some of whom, like their ancestors from Ice-
land, have kept spreading across Canada. In this issue we meet some of the people who keep their Icelandic heritage alive
in this small but historic prairie town. The journey begins on page 5.
Snorri PIus Program another success
PHOTO: ÁRNI SÆBERG/MORGUNBLAÐIÐ
Iceland’s Prime Minister Halldór Asgrímsson and his assistants with the partici-
pants in the Snorri Plus Program in Reykjavík.
Steinþór Guðbjartsson
REYKJAVÍK — “Everything was very
good,” said Gail Einarson-McCleery from
Toronto, after participating in the Snorri
Plus Program in Iceland. The other seven
participants echoed her sentiments. “My
wife and I really had a great time,” said
Chris Byron, who is from Minneapolis.
The first Snorri Plus Program was held
in August 2003 with eight participants.
Last year, ten people attended the program,
and in 2005 there were eight again.
They arrived in Reykjavík August 19
and had a busy schedule until they gradu-
ated August 31. They took part in the Reyk-
javfk Marathon, visited museums and went
to see historical places. “There was a lot of
diversity,” says Gail Einarson-McCleery.
“We visited many interesting places, attend-
ed informative lectures, enjoyed horseback
riding and other activities. We were kept so
busy that we hardly had time to sleep.”
The participants met a few of their
relatives and even found out that there
were relatives within the group. “The
great-grandmother of Joan Waterous, for
example, was the sister of my great-grand-
mother,” says Gail.
This was Gail’s fifth visit to Iceland,
but the others in the group were enjoying
their first visit to the land of their forefa-
thers. When they were introduced to things
she knew, Gail said that because of her pre-
vious knowledge she could concentrate on
other things she did not know yet. “Other
things that were a little bit unclear to me
became clear through the lectures and visits
to the museums. This was my first guided
tour and it did make a big difference.”
The participants were Billie Ann and
Brian Howard from Vernon, BC; Vicky
(Billie Ann’s sister) and George Teather
from Orleans, ON; Joan Waterous from
Brantford, ON; Gail Einarson-McCleery
from Toronto, ON; and Chris and Cecilia
Byron from Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
Chris Byron said that he had been in-
terested in his Icelandic heritage for many
years. He had planned a trip to Iceland but
because of a family emergency had had to
cancel it. “All of a sudden a lot of people
I know, who had been through the Snorri
Plus Program, started saying I needed to
do it this way, so I and my wife decided
to come. It was a retirement gift I gave to
myself, and well worth it. ITl be back.”
Visit us on the web at http://www.lh-inc.ca