Tímarit Þjóðræknisfélags Íslendinga - 01.01.1944, Side 156

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TÍMARIT ÞJÓÐRÆKNISFÉLAGS ISLENDINGA
15. febr. 1944.
Prófessor Dr. Richard Beck,
% Columbia Press,
695 Sargent Ave., Winnipeg, Man.
Kæri Dr. Beck:
Það er mikið gott til þess að vita að
Þjóðræknisfélag íslendinga í Vestur-
heimi skuli nú vera orðið 25 ára gamalt.
Leyfi eg mér að senda því hugheilar
kveðjur og óskir um áframhaldandi far-
sælt starf.
Nokkrir af þeim er best hafa starfaö
að þjóðræknismálum hérna megin hafs-
ins eru nú fallnir í valinn. Islendingar
munu ætíð minnast þeirra, trygðar
þeirra og drengskapar.
En svo er fyrir að þakka að ungir ís-
lendingar, sem hingað hafa komið til
náms hafa fundið nýja kynslóð með
sömu trygð, en erfiðari aðstæður. Gefur
það góðar vonir um að Þjóðræknisfélag-
ið eigi enn lengri starfstíma fyrir hönd-
um.
Megi því og Vestur-islendingum ætíð
vegna vel.
Með vinarkveðju,
Helgi P. Briem
Ottawa, Feb. 19, 1944
Professor Richard Beck,
President of the Icelandic
National League.
My dear Professor Beck:
I would be glad if you would be kind
enough to extend my personal greetings
to the members of the Icelandic National
League when they meet at its annual
convention in Winnipeg next week. This
convention marks the 25th anniversary
of the League and the conclusion of a
long period of achievement. I am free
to admit that in the earlier years of the
League I had some doubts as to the wis-
dom of its purposes but these doubts
have long since disappeared. I have
looked at the League through the eyes
of a Canadian of Icelandic origin and I
feel that so far as the League keeps alive
in Canada the best traditions of the race
from which we come it serves a splendid
purpose. The future of a nation can
often be seen in its past. The history of
a people is the foundation upon which
its future can be built and the charac-
teristics of a race that have carried its
people successfully through long periods
of adversity give confidence to the mem-
bers of it that they can meet with equal
success the difficult problems of the
future.
As a Canadian I have always desired
that our people of Icelandic origin
should play their part in the life of this
new nation in a manner worthy of their
forefathers and I have felt for a long
time that they can do this better if they
have the conscious knowledge that thejy
are the descendants of men and women
who had great qualities of heart and
mind and proved the value of such
qualities. In keeping alive Icelandic
traditions of this sort the League serves
a great purpose for the members of h
who are Canadians. It serves a similar
purpose for those members who are citi-
zens of the great republic to the south
of us and thus creates an additional
bond between two countries.
I am proud of my honorary member-
ship in the League and deeply interested
in its purposes and activities. I extend
my heartiest congratulations to its mem-
bers on their great work of the past and
my warmest wishes for continued suc-
cess in the future. Will you please con-
vey this message to my friends and fel"
low members of the Icelandic National
League.
Yours very sincerely,
J. T. Thorson
Árnaðaróskir til ÞjóðræknisfélagsinS
á 25. ára afmæli þess, í febr. 1944.
Heilladagur var það okkur Vestur-
íslendingum þegar við fyrir 25 árum
síðan,' komum saman i Winnipeg til að
stofna Þjóðræknisfélag íslendinga
Vesturheimi. Af hinum mörgu félögun'
okkar hér vestra hefir þetta félag reynst
að ýmsu leyti hið veigamesta og giftu'
drýgsta um fjórðungs aldar skeið. Meg>
andi þeirrar giftu og góðrar frændsem'
hvíla yfir þessum afmælisdegi og vernda
félagið frá öllu illu langt fram í ókomin
ár. Albert E. Kristjánsson