Lögberg-Heimskringla - 21.10.2005, Page 3

Lögberg-Heimskringla * Föstudagur 21. október 2005 » 3
PHOTOS: ANDREW AND ANGEL SAUR
From a rough-hewn stump (far left), the old spruce was carved into shape and finally painted by Andrew and Angel Saur.
Old stump becomes ‘Icelandic’ gnome
DULUTH, MN — This past
summer Andrew Saur and his
wife Angel Sarkela-Saur found
a novel solution to the problem
of a dying spruce tree they were
forced to cut down.
“We would have really liked
to have kept it,” says Andrew,
“but the danger of it falling on
our house, or the neighbor’s
was not worth the risk. So, this
summer we had to take it down,
Shirley Byers
YORKTON, SK — Long-
time Lögberg-Heimskringla
writer and President of the
Vatnabyggd Club Joan Eyolf-
son Cadham was awarded
the Saskatchewan Centennial
Medal. The medal is an offi-
cial honour of the Crown and
part of the Saskatchewan Hon-
ours and Awards Program,
recognizing individuals who
have made a significant contri-
bution to the province.
Eyolfson Cadham was
nominated by the Multicul-
tural Council, who stated in
their nomination, “Joan Eyolf-
son Cadham has dedicated her ■
life to culture and community.
As a writer and reporter, she
promotes intercultural under-
standing. As a director of the
Vatnabyggd Icelandic Club,
she is an inspiration, a role
model, an achiever, a com-
munity builder, a teacher, a
storyteller, a Saskatchewan
strength. Joan has helped keep
rural Saskatchewan a vibrant,
diverse, welcoming and ac-
cepting place to call home.
Icelandic murals, sculptures
and celebrations are among the
legacy she and the Vatnabyggd
Icelandic Club are leaving.”
but left nine feet or so of the
stump.”
What they had in mind was
to tum the beloved tree into a
one-of-a-kind decoration.
“Finding the right tool was
the hardest part,” says Andrew.
“The wood was very solid and
very difficult to carve. We tried
the chainsaw, reciprocating saw,
hand saws, and chisels, all to no
avail. But our friend said that he
Saskatchewan’s Lieuten-
ant-Govemor Dr. Lynda Haver-
stock presenled the medal at a
ceremony on September 22 at
the Gallager Centre in York-
ton. Seventy-five other recipi-
ents received their medals that
day. In all 4000 medals will be
awarded commemorating the
province’s Centennial year.
In her opening address,
Dr. Haverstock said she was
pleased to bestow this honour
and award to worthy and out-
standing citizens. To summa-
rize the dedication, diligence
and vision of these commu-
nity-minded individuals, she
quoted George Bemard Shaw:
“1 am of the opinion that my
life belongs to the whole com-
munity, and it is my privilege
to do for it whatever I can. I
want to be thoroughly used
up when I die, for the harder I
work, the more I live. I rejoice
in life for its own sake. Life is
had the perfect tool for the job:
an angle grinder that uses a saw
with chain saw teeth. It worked
wonderfully!”
After a full weekend of carv-
ing, the statue — a Scandinavian
gnome — was taking shape and
“the progress could be seen
with each passing minute.” Af-
ter many hours of work, it was
complete. Angel then picked
out the colors and proceeded to
no brief candle to me, it is a
sort of splendid torch which
I’ve got a hold of for the mo-
ment, and I want to make it
burn as brightly as possible
before handing it on to future
generations.”
Eyolfson Cadham said she
was moved beyond words. “I
got my official letter 10 days
before the event. I appeared at
the correct location at the ap-
propriate time, as requested,
paint the gnome with oil paints
thinned down with mineral spir-
its so the wood grain could still
be visible.
The last detail needed a
name for their new gnome
friend. “Since we are both huge
Sigur Rós fans,” says Andrew,
“we thought that Starálfur would
be a very fitting name. We hope
that he will watch over our home
for many years to come.”
but I honestly, for true, didn’t
believe any of it until I actu-
ally saw my name, in print, on
the program.”
Bergsson
in Calgary
PHOTO: KARL TORFASON
Guðbergur Bergsson
Ron Goodman
CALGARY, AB — Icelan-
dic author Guðbergur Bergsson
presented a talk entitled “Ideas
on Distance” to the Leif Eiriks-
son Icelandic Club of Calgary
(LEIC) as part of his tour of
Westem Canada.
Guðbergur was introduced
by Þordis Gutnick, who provid-
ed a summary of Guðbergur’s
works and his role in Icelandic
literature. In his talk he drew
from experiences from his child-
hood days in the village of Grin-
davík in southem Iceland to il-
lustrate his concepts of distance,
both geographical and concep-
tual.
The presentation was a
clever combination of deep ex-
istential thought intermixed 'wíth
amusing comments on society
and social stmctures.
Bergsson has won the Ice-
landic prize for literature twice
as well as the Nordic prize for
literature in 2004. The author of
20 novels in Icelandic, he is rel-
atively unknown in the English-
speaking world, although his
works have been translated into
a number of other European lan-
guages. His book, The Swan, is
available in English translation,
however it is now out of print.
Guðbergur was one of the
most thought-provoking speak-
ers of the LEIC speaker séries,
and the discussions after his
talk ranged over a great variety
of topics. During the wine and
cheese reception that followed,
the dialogue continued.
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Eyolfson Cadham awarded
SK Centennial Medal
Saskatchewan Lieutenant-Governor Dr. Lynda Haverstock
presents Joan Eyolfson Cadham with her Centennial Medai.