Lögberg-Heimskringla - 23.09.2005, Síða 10

10 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Friday 23 September 2005
lŒLAhb
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One ofour main suppliers is
GLSFI
1-866-314-4423
or780-481-3502
e-mail: snorri@kelandic-goods.com
Check out our imported products online
www.icelandic-goods.com
Well known
family owned
icelandic producer
of high quality
knitted goods
www.glofi.is
Vísít us for Chrbtmas ín Markervílle, Nov. 4,5& 6th
or at the New lceland Herítage Museum, Nov. 18,19 & 20th
Greetingsfrom
Gordon J. Reykdal
Honorary Consul of the
Republic of Iceland
17703 - 103 Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta
T5S 1N8
Tel: (780) 408-5118
Fax: (708) 408-5122
E-mail: gord@rentcash.ca
Impromptu reunion in Foam Lake
During this year’s Icelandic National League Conven-
tion in Wynyard, SK, four hitherto unconnected cousins had
a micro-reunion at the Foam Lake þorrablót: Arni Johnson
(Churchbridge, SK), Vi Bjarnason Hilton (Winnipeg, MB),
Gwen Mann (Calgary, AB) and Del Sveinsson (Leduc, AB).
Arni is related to the other three, though none of them is re-
lated to each other. The get-together was Hilton’s idea; she
called Johnson in from Churchbridge to surprise him with
his cousins, whom he had previously never met.
Robert X Kristjanson
125 5th Avenue
Gimli, MB R0C I B0
Tel: 204-642-5283
Fax: 204.642.7306
robertakristjanson@hotmail.com
Three century farmers
in Churchbridge
Norman and Rose Sveinbjorson with the Century Farm award.
derly parents until their passing
(hein 1941 and she in 1946). At
the same time she was looking
after their own family: Bertha,
Mindy, Darlene and Norman.
Norman marriedRoseJohn-
son. Thorstein passed away in
1980 and Mabel in 1989.
Norman took over in 1970
when his parents retired into a
home in the town of Church-
bridge. Norman and Rose also
had four children, Kristene,
Kathleen, Linda and Lome. In
1984, a new home was built,
overlapping remnants of the
foundation of the first home on
the quarter.
Johnson
Eyleifur Jonsson and his
wife Kristin came from Gull-
brinusýsla, Iceland to Canada
in 1900. They lived in Stony
Mountain, Manitoba for about
one year, where Eyleifur found
work.
In 1901 they came to
Churchbridge and lived in the
area of the Lögberg School for
a while. It is believed that they
lived on the NE 1/4 16-23-32
W 1 for a year and then filed a
homestead nine miles north of
Churchbridge (NW 1/4 20-23-
32 Wl).
Their first small house
consisted of one room and an
addition made of logs for the
kitchen. Eyleifur and his wife
were both very industrious
and soon prospered enough to
build a larger home. They were
staunch supporters of the Con-
cordia Lutheran Church. Go-
ing to church on Sundays was
a “must.”
In 1924, Eyleifur suffered
a stroke and his sons continued
farming. He passed away Sep-
temberó, 1928 in Churchbridge
at the age of 78. They had five
children; two died in Iceland,
Arni (1895 - 1939) married Jo-
nina Thorgiersson (Halldorsdot-
tir). Arni passed away in 1939
at the age of 43. John (1896 -
1981) married Mary Anderson,
and Olafur (1898 - 1982) mar-
ried Inga Gunnarsson.
John and Oli continued
farming together until they
retired. When Oli’s son Arni
moved back to Churchbridge
in 1973 to become Assistant
District Operator for Saskatch-
ewan Power, he again became
involved with the family farm,
helping his father with seeding
and harvesting and finally tak-
ing over the operation when Oli
retired.
Arni and Joyce received the
Century Farm award in 2001.
They have one son, Douglas.
Gwen Mann
Each year the Saskatch-
ewan Provincial Govem-
ment gives recognition
to pioneer homesteads that are
still in the family. In Church-
bridge, there are several century
farmers.
Johnson
Lynne Johnson is one of
these farmers. His grandparents
Sigurdur and Thora Johnson’s
homestead was the NW of
24-22-32W1, just northeast of
Churchbridge.
Sigurdur travelled from
New Iceland by rail to Neepa-
wa, then walked out west to
Churchbridge in 1885. He was
attracted to one homestead be-
cause the landscape was bro-
ken by hills and a small lake
through which the Thingvalla
creek flows.
He filed his application and
they established a home in the
fall öf 1886, living first in a
sod and wood abode partly dug
into the south side of a large
hill. This was replaced by a log
house, built in 1897, and there
they raised their family of four
children, William, Ragna, Egg-
ert and Palmi.
One of the foremost and
most progressive farmers of
the district, Sigurdur played an
active role in community af-
fairs- — serving on the board
of Thingvalla School, located
near his homestead, and tak-
ing a leading part in the affairs
of the Thingvalla Congrega-
tion, of which he was a Char-
ter Member. He died in 1930
and is buried in the Thingvalla
Cemetery.
Sigurdur’s sons, who took
over the original homestead in
partnership, also took home-
steads of their own as soon as
they were old enough, in addi-
tion to buying land, and togeth-
er they farmed on a large scale
— acquiring all the latest agri-
cultural implements, including
a threshing machine with which
they did custom harvesting in
the area.
Sigurdur’s children with
his second wife, Palina Mar-
teinsdottir, were Martin and
Valdimar.
Martin Johnson took over
the home built in 1912 by his
father on the quarter east of the
original homestead and farmed
there all his life.
Valdimar Johnson mar-
ried Dyrfinna Hinriksson, the
daughter of Eyjolfur Hinriks-
son and his wife, Ingibjorg
Bjomsdottir, who emigrated
from Haeyrarvellir in Arnessys-
la in 1903 and settled north of
Churchbridge, Valdimar farmed
his father’s original homestead,
which is ríow farmed by his son
Lynne Johnson. Lynne and his
wife Christine received a Cen-
tury Farmer award in 1986. As
of 2005, they have been farm-
ing this land for 40 years. Their
children are Ryan, Corinne and
Kevin.
Sveinbjornson
Gudmundur and Gudrun
Sveinbjomson, living in Ice-
land, were corresponding with
Gudrun’s sister Kristin (Mrs
Magnus Hinriksson) who had
come to Canada in 1887. In
1900 they arrived in Church-
bridge with three young chil-
dren, Gudmundur Jr, Kristin
and Thorstein. They filed for a
homestead on NE 16 22 32 in
1901. In 1905 another son, Os-
car, was born.
In 1914 a new home was
built, and used by three genera-
tions on the home quarter. From
1936, Thorstein was in charge
and in 1938 he married Mabel
Yanke, who cared for his el-
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