Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.01.2007, Qupperneq 4

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Heimskringla stofnað 14. janúar 1886
Lögberg stofnað 9. september 1888
Sameinuð 1959
4 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • 15 January 2007
Vesturheimur will of-
fer a variety of tours to North
America in 2007. There will be
“open tours” available to the
general public.
The first is a tour in April
to Winnipeg for the INL Con-
vention. “Several people have
signed up but plenty of seats
are still available,” says Jónas.
The second will include the
two major Icelandic celebra-
tions in August: August the
Deuce in Mountain, ND and
Íslendingadagurinn in Gimli,
MB.
The third is an eastern Can-
ada tour in late August, which
will take travellers to Icelandic
settlements in Markland, NS,
and Toronto, Kinmount and
Rosseau in Ontario.
Other tours for particular
groups include those for teach-
ers and staff of a Gardabær
High School; a number of
choirs; and Iceland’s Quilt As-
sociation.
The emphasis is on mak-
ing connections between Ice-
landers and people living in
the communities today. “It is
great to know some of the his-
tory of these places but noth-
ing matches meeting the people
living there,” says Jónas. “It is
very special to sit with people
in Lundar or Seattle and share
stories over a cup of coffee, or
the meals we have had in Ar-
borg or Hnausa and in the base-
ment of Gardar Church in North
Dakota or the salmon in Blaine.
And the wonderful receptions
in Saskatchewan and Alberta, I
can add so much to this list.
“It is during such times
when you feel the bonding;
you can sense on the bus after
such occasions as we return to
our hotel or continue our drive,
how touched the visitors from
Iceland are. It is quite moving
to everyone to witness such
devotion to Icelandic heritage
from people who may never
have been to Iceland. To hear
the old-timers speak the lan-
guage so well yet never having
had any proper instruction or a
chance to visit Iceland.
“You really feel that these
people have accomplished what
the Icelandic settlers hoped for
in the beginning. That the Ice-
landic heritage would never
be lost on the North American
continent.”
For more information on
Vesturheimur hf., visit www.inl.
is/vesturheimur.htm. If you are
interested in assisting in your
community, contact Jónas Þór
at jonas.thor1@gmail.com.
Greetings from
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
Read Lögberg-Heimskringla
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Dear Editor:
Thank you for Brian Bjarna-
son’s article about the Höfn res-
idence on Osler Street in Van-
couver (Lögberg-Heimskringla,
1 January 2007). It brought back
many memories for me because
I lived there from the summer of
1947 until the fall of 1948. I was
completing my B.A. at UBC;
my mother, Bjorg Thompson,
was the first matron of Höfn.
I had never before lived in
a beautiful house and the Os-
ler Street house was spacious
and beautifully finished, with
stained glass windows, wood of
a great variety, a wide entrance
hall with a fireplace, a large liv-
ing room and a solarium. My
mother and I had a room, a den
with a fireplace, off the entrance
hall.
I am delighted to read that
the present owner is restoring
the house to resemble its origi-
nal condition. You ask about
photographs; unfortunately the
only one I have is the one you
reproduce, taken from the out-
side. I remember well sitting
in the spacious kitchen, with a
pantry. The first cook was Kris-
tina Skordal, my mother’s dear
friend, whom I had known and
loved since childhood.
The year I spent there, in
this gracious dwelling, in the
company of Icelanders of an
older generation, was extraor-
dinary. My grandfather and
grandmother, Jon and Markusi-
na Thorsteinson, were residents
there and my mother remained
matron until my grandmother
died in 1951.
Yours,
Anna Jean Mallinson
West Vancouver, BC
* * *
Dear Editor:
I love the recipes and try
many with excellent results.
Keep up the good work — we
find the paper very enjoyable.
Dallas Bjarnason
Golden, BC
Confusion in the Great White North
At the recent opening of Inuit artist Abraham Anghik Ruben’s show,
Iceland 900 A.D., I had an inter-
esting conversation with Linda
Sigurdson Collette. The show
examined contact between Inuit
and vikings in the north.
The question concerned
the use of the word “Nordic.”
I have tried over the last few
years to be careful throwing
around words like “Nordic”
and “Scandinavian.”
The terms “Scandinavian”
and “Nordic” are often used in-
terchangeably to refer to anything
relating to Denmark, Sweden,
Norway and Iceland. Sometimes
Finland is caught in that net as
well, even though its culture and
language are very different from
those of the others.
“Scandinavia” is more
properly a geographic term,
pertaining to the peninsula oc-
cupied by Norway and Sweden.
It is sometimes used to include
Denmark, Iceland and Finland.
“Nordic” is more problem-
atic, since it is often applied to
culture, especially language and
literature, when it just means
“Northern.” That is perhaps a
comforting vagueness, since it
could be applied to all the peo-
ples of the mid- to far north...
though it still strikes a viking-
like note to my ear. “Norse”
is more specific, pertaining di-
rectly to a language group.
A look in the dictionary
doesn’t clarify everything, and
I catch myself second-guess-
ing this even now. “Nordic”?
“Scandinavian”? Or, God help
us, “Viking”?
I think I’ll stick with “Nor-
dic” in most cases, and if I need
to get geographical, say “North-
ern Europe” when called for.
Directions are often rela-
tive to the speaker or culture
anyway, as any “Western Ice-
lander” should know...
David Jón Fuller
Managing Editor
Icelanders west
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