Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.06.2013, Síða 6

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6 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • June 15 2013
Inspired by a memorable
journey to last year’s Icelandic
Festival in Gimli, Manitoba,
brothers Ralph and Brent
Evans and their families
recently held a family reunion
with a Viking theme. The
brothers are descendents
of Hjálmar Hjálmarsson of
Þingeyjarsysla, who emigrated
to Toronto in 1878.
Seventeen members of the Evans / Hjalmarson family, ranging in age
from three months to 67 years,
traveled from points across
the United States to Flowing
Wells Ranch in the Mojave
Desert. Unbeknownst to the
rest of the family, Ralph
secretly constructed a replica
of a Viking longship, adorned
with a red-striped sail, and the
obligatory paraphernalia of
shields, swords, axes, and oars.
Equally as clandestine
were the appearances of hand-
knitted Viking helmets for all
the blood-related Icelanders in
the family, lovingly made by
Brent’s wife, Emily. No family
reunion would be complete
without official T-shirts, which
appeared for each participant
from Ralph’s son Brent who
designed and hand-transferred
the hilarious image for all 17
shirts himself.
The impetus for these
secretive capers came
from a desire to honor and
perpetuate the memory of
the Hjalmarson family, who
decended from Hjálmar
Hjálmarsson. Hjálmar was
born at Hraun in the Aðaldalur
Valley of Þingeyjarsysla on
April 6, 1852. After working
as a farmer and fisherman,
in 1872 Hjálmar emigrated
to Canada with his wife,
Friðrika Sesselja Jónsdóttir,
who was from Skinnalón on
the Melrakkaslétta Peninsula.
They settled for 15 years in
Toronto where Hjálmar made
his living as a stone mason.
In 1887, the family, now
with five children, emigrated
to the Dakota Territory,
homesteading near Hallson,
where Hjálmar farmed for 39
years. Retiring from farming,
he moved to Winnipegosis to
live with his son Gestur.
Hjálmar died March 22,
1936. His son, John Issac
Hjalmarson, from whom the
Evans sons descend, was
a farmer in Hallson, North
Dakota, a general store owner
in Pine River, MB, and a forest
ranger at Riding Mountain
National Park, MB. John
retired in Ojai, California to
be near one of his 12 children.
Ultimately, four children
moved nearby.
For Ralph and Brent, interest
in their Icelandic heritage
came from their mother,
Bertha Hjalmarson Evans,
one of 12 children born and
raised in Manitoba. Although
she never visited Iceland, she
instilled a curiosity about
their roots, which prompted
two of her grandchildren,
Erica and Andrew, to join
the Snorri program in 2002
and 2003 where they spent
six unforgettable weeks tour-
ing Iceland, working and
living with relatives. Their
enthusiasm for their cultural
experience inspired Ralph and
Brent, their wives, and Brent’s
daughter, Elizabeth, to travel
to Iceland in 2005 to explore
the country and to retrace the
locations of the farms where
their great-grandfather Hjálmar
Hjálmarsson worked before he
emigrated to Canada.
In their continuing
fascination with retracing
their family heritage, Ralph
and daughter Erica and Brent
and his son Andrew flew to
Manitoba last August, rented
a motor home, and in a four-
day whirlwind tour, journeyed
to their mother’s birthplace in
Pine River, Dauphin, and to
Riding Mountain National Park
where their grandfather had
helped construct the entrance
gate; then to Winnipegosis,
Hjálmar’s final resting place.
Moving on to Gimli, they
toured the air field, where their
father had been stationed in
the Royal Canadian Air Force
during WWII, the Johnson
Memorial Hospital where
Ralph was born, and finally to
the Icelandic Festival in Gimli.
Four of the children and
grandchildren have Icelandic
middle names: Brent’s son and
grandson – Andrew Hjalmarson
and Dylan Hjalmarson Evans,
and Ralph’s granddaughters
– Violet Hannesena and
Hazel Sòl Battaglia. No
wonder the Evans family is
so steeped in Icelandic and
Canadian heritage. During the
weekend festivities, Ralph’s
daughter Erica and grand-
daughter, Violet, provided
hands-on archery training for
the quasi-Viking warriors.
Erica’s husband, Brandon,
created a time-lapse video
of the set-up of the Viking
ship, including dramatic
music and bold verbiage – a
memorable keepsake of a
very special family’s time
together in their hilarious but
heart-felt attempt to honor
their Icelandic roots and the
memory of the Hjalmarsons
who came before them.
Victorious Viking voyage family reunion
Sylvia Evans
Vista, CA
time
tee off
format
Registration 9:30 to 10:30 am
11:00 am Shot Gun Start
Texas Scramble
Register online at
www.lh-inc.ca
or by phone
204.284.5686
1.866.564.2374
The Icelandic Open
In Support of Lögberg-Heimskringla
August 2, 2013
Links at the Lake Golf Course
Gimli, Manitoba
SAME GREAT PRICE!
Registration is $125 until June 15th
$150 after June 15th
Post Golf reception
Photo top left: Daniela and Anamaria sporting their clan shirts and helmets
Group photo: L to R Back row: Brent Allen Evans, Brandon Battaglia, Andrew Evans
holding Dylan (3 months), Kylee Evans, Matthew Hopkins, Brent Evans, Ralph Evans
Middle: Kristina Osores Evans, Sylvia Evans, Erica Evans Battaglia holding Hazel (3),
Elizabeth Evans, Emily Evans
Lower front: Violet Battaglia (8), Anamaria Evans (11), Daniela Evans (9)
Dylan Hjalmarson Evans – The newest addition to the clan
PHotos: Brent evans