The White Falcon - 17.03.1945, Qupperneq 2

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Hand-Made Jewelry
55 Many wives, sweethearts
55 and mothers of GIs stai-
55 ioned in Iceland have
il been greatly ])leased with
a the beautiful jewelry sent
<: from this country- — jew-
5? elry which is the result of
55 hours of patient, pain-
55 staking work.
5J Goldsmiths here liave
been plying their trade for
hundreds of years and
have developed an artist-
ry in silver and gold that
s? is as unique as it is beauti-
55 ful.
%/■
55 Like all European
J; craftsmen, the goldsmiths
;; of Iceland undergo a four
« year apprenticeship be-
« fore, they are qualified to
go out on their own. In
addition to actual study
in the shop, the apprentice
studies designing and oili-
er allied courses at an in-
dustrial school. *Manv
students went abroad dur-
ing peacetime years to
take additional courses in
France, Germany and
Switzerland.
^•1
« .. .»«■Wf'irk/«ri
55
Q
a
n
(Continued from Page 1)
Avho ba<l sjient several
months in the States, main-
ly in the Oakland and Berk-
eley area in California; Yil-
borg Stefansdottir, a nurse,
The broad term giill-
smiSur (goldsmith) is
used to cover all types of
handicraft associated
with the working of silv-
er and gold, as the field,
in Iceland, is not broad
enough to allow for much
specialization. Hence, a
man must be an expert de-
signer; be able to work
with all kinds of metals;
and serve as an engraver.
Gold and silver are im-
ported from the U.S. and
Great Britain as Iceland
does not have these two
natural resources. From
tiny strands of silver
thread, the smiths fashion
delicate bracelets, ear
rings, broaches and belts.
The filagree is noted for
the delicacy and work-
manship of design. Hours
of patient hand-turning
and knurling go into the
making of a silver medal
or cup.
In order to facilitate the
filling of an order, the
jewelers have worked out
who had pursued post-grad-j
uate studies at a hospital at
Wellingford, Conn.; and
GuSrun Jonsdottir, a Reykja-
vik office worker, who had
been attending a business
college in New York City.
Pjetur Bjornsson, veteran
a “mass production” sy-
stem where the same op-
eration is repeated 011 a
dozen pieces before the
next step is taken.
0
TO SCHOOL III h E0W10AT
Last week the school buses couldn’t run at Columbus,
Ohio, because of the flooded roads but Marshall Pitt solved
the problem by hauling the youngsters in his rowboat
(above).
Among the finely ex- «
ecuted items made is the >5
belt which is part of the 5?
national costume worn by {?
Icelandic women upon ;;
festive occasions. Priced 0
at over 2,500 kronur (ap- «
proximately $375), the 55
belt is made up of many j5
links which contain a rais- 55
ed butterfly-type design. 55
As jewelry-making is a *5
precise and painstaking »
process, it is not unusual 5?
to find that it is a craft 55
which is quite often pass-
ed down from father to 55
son. One Reykjavik gull- «
smiSur, for. instance, took J;
over from his father 35 5;
c?
years ago aifd is still going 5;
strong. He often works 55
from 15 to 19 hours per 55
day as he loves his trade $
and is proud of his creat- 8
ive artistrv. e
*• .
captain of the Dettifoss, had
remained at home in Reykja-
vik this trip, and so Jonas
BoSvarsson, first mate, who
captained the vessel, was
rescued with 18 of his fellow
crew members.
Icelandic press comment
on this most recent of war
tragedies affecting the nat-
ion stresses the toll which
the country has paid to Nazi
barbarism in the war so far.
The two principal passeng-i
er vessels sailing to America j
have been sunk within about
three months’ time, leaving
the country virtually with-
out communication with the
U.S. The Gullfoss of .the Ice-
landic Steamship Co. line
was lost to Nazis when seiz-
ed while in Copenhagen har-
bor at the time of the invas-
ion of Deifmark Apr. 9,1910.
The GoSafoss and the Detti-
foss have now been sunk.
The Icelandic Life Saving
1 Socielv released figures this
OOT NOTES
PvT. £5 Ja.«k
(During the temporary absence of Pvt. Jack Gray, this
column is being written by Sgt. Bob Hill.)
The silhouette strip-tease act was the hit of Club IT’s
“Rinky Dink County Fair” last Sunday evening. The fel-
lows really went for it in a big way.... Our British Allies
proved themselves bigger and better pie-eaters than the
Yanks inasmuch as they came in first and second, respect-
ively, in the pie-eating contest. AC Pat Walsh (RAF) was
first and Seaman Jack Whitby (Royal Navy) second.
Pvt. Paul Stetler of the AAA came in third. . . .Success of
the evening was due mainly to the whole-hearted efforts
put forth by Dee Jungers who conceived and stage-
managed the affair. Most GIs came from Club 14 with
the thought in mind that this was by far the best evening
yet provided by the local ARC.
*
Red Cross Commandoes up Club 23 way Sunday found
their breath coming in short pants when Pfc. Sam Mininni
(clad in deep purple, out-of-this-world rayon pajamas and
lounging robe) walked out on stage with Helen Fauver,
who was attired in a terrific, figure-revealing negligee.
.... Chuck Walden, Joel Wiant, Bob Wallace, Sam Mari-
nelli, Thomas Ruffe and John “Red” Hall got a taste of
things to come when they modelled civilian clothes—
from riding habits to evening suits. Merle Ramseyer of
the ARC also pitched in and served as a model. . . .Make-
up man Tony Corollo was the man of the evening, though,
with the nice job of painting lipstick on all those beautiful
girls... .Annaibelle Mitchell’s preparations for the past
month proved well-worth-while when she saw the packed
house.
S/Sgt. Paul Geden has designed an Easter card which
will soon he distributed to the members of this Command.
Paul, incidentally, is the artist who’s helping to make
ATC’s “Ski-way Hi Lites” one of the Army’s better mimeo- ‘
graphed newspapers.... Another arti.t, Pvt. Lewis S.
Adair of the Engineers, is attracting attention with the
unusual programs lie’s turning out for Club 23....Sgt.
Tony . Barra of the Army Band’s Dance Orchestra is sing-
ing the praises these days of “He’s Gone’Wa ballad written
by Lt. Leslie Stevens and Cpl. Ralph Manza of the Air
Corps.... Speaking of local composers, Sgt. A1 Cerunda
has written “Poor Without You” (played by the AAF
Orchestra) and “You’re The Reason Why” (played by
the String" Ensemble).
r.
ROAMING IN REYKJAVIK: One can’t help but notice
the blending of the Old and New Worlds when walking
about the streets, of Iceland's capital. For instance, the
modern dresses of the young women stand in sharp con-
trast to the long, black, flowing gowns of the national
costume worn by the older women. In Iceland, as in so
many European countries, Hollywood has had its influence
on the younger women as witness the bright colors of
the sweaters, their make up and polished finger nails—
and the way they walk. . . .The numerous American-made
products in the stores bring a touch of Main Street to
Laugavegur. In this connection, a well-known brand of
soap flakes is packaged especially with Icelandicwriting on
the box. . . .GIs are seen flocking daily to the stores in
search of souvenirs to meet that mail call cry of “send
something from Iceland.” Great favorite at present is the
gilt Icelandic coin bracelet. Knitted'goods with their fine
needlepoint and unusual design are sure to please the
folks back home too.... Many of the guys make it a
point-to stop in at a bakery and load up with pastries to
take back to the hut for bedtime snacks served with tea,
coffee, cocoa or cokes.
week showing that the coun-!
try, with its 125,000 populat-j
ion, has lost 408 lives at sea
since 1940—249 of themi dir-
ectly or indirectly due to en-
emy action. The toll is an
enormous one in view of the
country’s small population,
and this grim reminder that
the war is not over yet, is
once more brought home to
the Icelandic nation.