Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.02.2015, Qupperneq 6

6 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • February 15 2015
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A previous article described the early years of the Club including
its founding as a social club
for members who supported
each other and those in need
as well as serving as a beacon
to promote Icelandic culture
and its local presence in the
community at large.
Going strong in the 1940s,
the Hekla Club continued to
meet monthly at members’
homes. These meetings often
began with singing. These were
the “war years” as reflected in
the meeting minutes of that
time. In 1943, members voted
to send cards to “boys” and
“girls” in the service and also
sent Christmas gifts to those
overseas. They supported a
Christmas party for “boys”
in the service at Fort Snelling
by providing “Kleinas” and
“vinerterts” (as spelled in the
minutes) for the party. The
Civilian Defense Council
asked for volunteers to help
pack envelopes for the Victory
Aids and at least one member
volunteered. Members also
voted to do more work for
the Red Cross. Perhaps not an
intentionally patriotic move but
certainly in keeping with the
times, Samkoma was held at the
American Legion Hall during
these years. The women voted
to serve lunch instead of dinner,
which meant sandwiches
instead of hot foods. A summer
picnic became an annual event
and was held each year at
different parks in the area.
The Hekla Club also began
participating in the Festival of
Nations with exhibits and a
food booth, making Icelandic
costumes for workers to wear.
Vínarterta and kleinur were
served in the food booth.
1950 marked the 25th
anniversary of the club with
a dinner at the Curtis Hotel
in Minneapolis. It
was a year of floods
and the club voted
to send a donation
to Canada for flood
relief. Marking another
change in women’s
lives, members voted
to occasionally hold
an evening meeting so
those who work could
attend.
These women were
proud to speak about
their Icelandic club to
the larger community
and when radio station
KEY requested a
member appear on
their program “Keys
to Scandinavia,” Mrs. Arne
Brogger went on the show,
describing the club and playing
Icelandic records.
What started as a social
club for women with ties
to Iceland evolved into an
organization that played an
important role in representing
and promoting Iceland as
part of the proud heritage
of its members. In addition
to the Festival of Nations,
the club participated in an
annual International Folk Arts
Fair held at the International
Institute in St. Paul. Two
members, Frances Gunlogson
and Inez Youngmark, who
represented the Icelanders
and served in costume at the
dinner for one of these events,
reported that, “They worked
like slaves and their legs were
worn to stumps. Inez read a
letter of appreciation which she
had received – and will always
treasure – especially the lines
that said they would always
be remembered – Inez said
she knew good well what that
meant.”
For several years and during
the 40th anniversary of the club
in 1960, Samkoma was held
at the International Institute of
Minnesota.
Things did not always
run smoothly. In 1961, when
no one was willing to accept
the presidency, members had
a considerable discussion to
ascertain whether the Hekla
Club should continue or
disband. Of the 16 members
present, a majority wanted the
club to continue and so it did.
The Hekla Club continued
to be a presence at the Festival
of Nations. In 1963, K.
Valdimar Bjornson, a well-
known Icelander, served as
master of ceremonies. In
addition, members of the
club served as officers and
committee members over the
years. The Hekla Club
Icelandic booth displayed
Icelandic jewelry, woo-
lens, wood carvings,
paintings and other items.
At the food booth, the
club sold pönnukökur,
vínarterta, and kleinur.
In 1979, the Hekla Club
discontinued the food
booth because of strictly
enforced rules regarding
food preparation. This
decision was also because
the purpose of the club had
been to advertise Iceland,
not to raise funds.
To be continued in the
next issue.
In collaboration with the University of Minnesota and the Icelandic American
Association of Minnesota
(IAAMN), the Icelandic Hekla
Club invited Madame Vigdís
Finnbogadóttir, former President
of Iceland and current UNESCO
Goodwill Ambassador of
Languages of the World, to be
the keynote speaker at Hekla’s
90th Anniversary Samkoma
celebration.
Auður Hauksdóttir,
director of the Vigdís
Finnbogadóttir Institute of
Foreign Languages and chair
of the Vigdís International
Centre for Multilingualism and
Intercultural Understanding,
will also speak at the Samkoma.
In addition, Madame
Vigdís will speak at the
opening reception of the Ninth
International Conference on
Language Teacher Education,
sponsored by the Center for
Advanced Research on Language
Acquisition at the University of
Minnesota (CARLA).
The Hekla Club seeks to
highlight Madame Vigdís’s
vision, which relates to the
promotion of the languages of
the world as “priceless treasures”
and the need to study languages
“so that cooperation, agreement
and trade can progress peacefully
and prosperously.”
The Icelandic Hekla
Club, which was founded on
January 30, 1925, is the oldest
continuously meeting Icelandic
organization in the United States.
In 2015, they are celebrating 90
years of bringing women and
Iceland together, through regular
meetings and special events.
The primary purpose of the
club is to preserve its cultural
heritage, provide an Icelandic
presence in the community,
support education about all
things Icelandic, and promote
fellowship among members
and the wider community. In
support of those goals, the Hekla
Club supports the Val Björnson
Icelandic Exchange Scholarship,
which has assisted students
coming from Haskóli Íslands
(University of Iceland) to study
at the University of Minnesota.
(global.umn.edu/about/iceland_
anniversary.html)
Plans are underway for an
Icelandic American community
welcome for these honored
guests. Samkoma will be held on
May 16th, 2015 at the site of the
96th Icelandic National League
of North America Convention,
the Hilton Mall of America
Hotel, near the Minneapolis-St.
Paul Airport.
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir
to keynote Hekla Club’s
Samkoma in Minneapolis
Maggie Hjalmarson Lesher
Minneapolis, MN
Diane Greenwood
Roseville, MN
Hekla Club executive – left to right: Dianne O’Konski,
secretary; Maggie Hjalmarson Lesher, president; Jody
Arman-Jones, vice president; and Ruth Nielsen, secretary.
Absent: Erin Johnson, past president.
Hekla Club meeting: Hekla Club members at the Danish
American Center in Minneapolis, MN. President Maggie
Hjalmarson Lesher is speaking and secretary Dianne
O’Konski is seated to her right.
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