Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.01.2008, Page 8

8 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • 15 January 2008
120
years of
Visit us on the web at http://www.lh-inc.ca
Reaching a milestone
120 years since the “Liberal, Lutheran” Lögberg appeared
David Jón Fuller
The story of Lögberg be-gins a few years before 1888, the year in which
the first issue was published.
Icelandic immigrants had
been settling in Manitoba since
1875, and given the strong lit-
erary tradition of their native
country, literacy and the writ-
ten word would be important
to them in their new lives in
North America. First priorities
were finding homes and means
of supporting themselves and
their families; but it was not
long after the first settlers had
established themselves that
publication became a matter of
interest.
Early attempts at periodi-
cals were modest, but despite
setbacks it was deemed im-
portant to have an organ of
communication. Framfari was
published from 1877 to 1880;
Leifur ran from 1883 to 1886.
Heimskringla began pub-
lishing in Winnipeg in Septem-
ber 1886, three months after the
demise of Leifur, and its found-
ers were Frímann B. Anderson,
Eggert Jóhannsson (who had
worked on Leifur) and Einar
Hjörleifsson, who was also
known as Einar Kvaran. Wil-
helm Kristjanson tells some of
the early history in A Manitoba
Saga: The Icelandic People in
Manitoba.
Only 16 months after
the first issue Heimskringla,
Lögberg appeared. The new
newspaper took its name from
the “law-rock” at Þingvellir,
where Iceland’s Alþingi, or
parliament, had convened for
a thousand years. The publica-
tion was founded by Sigtryg-
gur Jónasson “The Father of
New Iceland,” Bergvín Jóns-
son, Arni Frederickson, Einar
Hjörleifsson, Ólafur Thórgeirs-
son and Sigurdur J. Jóhannes-
son, two of whom had worked
on the production of Framfari.
Hjörleifsson, who had found
he was unable to work with his
fellows at Heimskringla, be-
came Lögberg’s first editor.
The new newspaper bought
the Framfari printing press as
well as publishing rights to
Framfari and Leifur.
In addition editing Lög-
berg, Einar Hjörleifsson gave
lectures and had a keen inter-
est in literature — a feature
of the early years of Lögberg
were translated serials by such
authors as Charles Dickens
and Rider Haggard (King Sol-
omon’s Mines), even poetry by
Tennyson. He later gave lecture
tours that extended from Win-
nipeg to the West Coast. Hjor-
leifsson returned to Iceland in
1895, where he became editor
of the newspaper Ísafold.
Sigtryggur Jónasson, who
had been chief founder of the
Icelandic settlement of New
Iceland, among other roles,
took over as editor, which he
did until 1901, adding yet an-
other contribution to Icelan-
dic community and culture in
North America.
As Lögberg and its chief
rival, Heimskringla, evolved in
the early decades of the 20th
century, they took an active
part in the religious and politi-
cal life of the Icelandic com-
munity. Lögberg gave voice to
the Liberal view in Canadian
politics and became effective-
ly a “Lutheran” newspaper.
Heimskringla was Conserva-
tive in politics and Unitarian in
religion.
Indeed, when browsing
back issues of Lögberg from
the early 20th century, it’s clear
IMAGES COURTESY OF WWW.TIMARIT.IS
The first issue of Lögberg was
published 14 January 1888.
The large broadsheet’s front
page was dominated by ads,
allowing about half the space
for “general news.”
J. Timothy Samson, Q.C.
Kristin L. Gibson
J. Douglas Sigurdson
Thor J. Hansell
Helga D. Van Iderstine
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Sigtryggur Jónasson
Einar Hjörleifsson