Árdís - 01.01.1953, Side 71

Ársrit Bandalags lúterskra kvenna
69
miles to the south of Riverton is a small Hungarian settlement.
To the west are the thriving farming communities of Ledwyn and
Shorncliffe. North of Howardville a new road has opened up
promising lands near Washow Bay. Here a group of Mennonite
people call their colony Mennville. The Big Island community is
now linked to the mainland by ferry.
Around Riverton and in its neighbouring communities the soil
is fertile and grain yields are heavy but most farmers wisely still
keep to mixed farming. Some combine fishing and farming. The
“bull-dozers” clear as much of bush land in a few days as the first
pioneers, with back-breaking work, could do in years. But the
voice of the old-timer says to the eager young farmer, “Be careful,
young man! Leave some of the trees.” For trees conserve moisture,
and will save the soil from being blown away if drought years come.
In addition to rich soil, sheltering woods and lake fisheries, a
most valuable asset so often taken for granted is the pure, ice-cold
water of the never-failing flowing wells. The water continues to
flow although the pipes may rust away; it should be possible to
develop a non-rusting material for them in this age of inventions.
The fishing industry faces a new era of development with
better organization and modern equipment and transportation.
Faster boats speed the Lake Winnipeg catch to market. The Riverton
Airways planes often make two 700 mile trips a day to bring in the
catch from Island Lake and other lakes to the east and north-east.
Next to farming and fishing, the lumber industry and boat-
building have been of prime importance. When the first families
arrived in 1875, a saw-mill, owned by men from Selkirk, was already
in operation in Big Island. In order to obtain enough lumber for
their needs, the colonists saw that they would have to build their
own, and, as usual, the one to initiate the undertaking was Sigtryggur
Jonasson. The ruins of one of these first mills can be seen across
the lake at Bad Throat River. A letter from Fljotsbygd in Gimli’s
newspaper, “Leifur”, Sept. 30, 1884, states that the mill belonging
to Jonasson, Fridrikson and Walkley had just completed its season’s
work, sawing 21,000 logs into lumber. Twenty to thirty men had
been employed. The same company was also building a boat that
cost $22,000 and was called the “Aurora” in honor of Mr. Fridrikson’s
daughter. In 1880, Fridriksson and Jonasson had bought the steam-
boat “Victoria” and built barges on which they transported lumber