Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.11.2018, Síða 2

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2 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • November 15 2018
“Some ethnic groups
attempted to raise their own
battalions with limited success.
The Vikings of Canada, the
197th, and the Canadian
Scandinavians, the 223rd, are
good examples. But in reality,
all of these ethnic or ‘nation’
battalions were quite mixed.
Canadians seemed not to be
motivated by their differences
as much as the common
cause of defeating the Austro-
Hungarians and Germans.”
“One of the advantages of
looking at Icelandic Canadians
attempting to fit in to the
Canadian Expeditionary Force,”
Dr. Sawatzky remarked, “is
that it gives us a view of how
they saw themselves fitting in
to the larger nation. Icelanders
were still considered outsiders,
in a sense. … But Icelandic
Canadians saw themselves as
fully part of the British Empire
and felt they had benefited
from their migration to Canada.
Loyalty inspired many in their
service.” If some Icelanders
had been excluded by hockey
leagues, despite their talents,
or ignored by English-speaking
speaking suffragists, despite
having ploughed the ground for
them, they did not allow their
disappointments to prevent them
from fulfilling their patriotic
duty as they saw it.
While wars are social
phenomena involving nations, it
is individuals who enlist to do the
fighting. “As we commemorate
the 100th anniversary of the
end of the Great War,” he said,
“exhibitions like this one remind
us of the men who served, their
personal motivations, and their
very different experiences.”
Dr. Sawatzky acknowledged
the key individuals behind the
exhibit, observing that it really
began with the work of Kristín
María Hreinsdóttir, whose
video installation in Icelandic
is a cornerstone of the exhibit.
Originally developed for the
National Museum of Iceland,
its contents have been translated
into English and French. “Joe
Martin was instrumental in
providing the research for the
Manitoba Museum’s portion of
the exhibit,” according to Dr.
Sawatzky, “as well as providing
personal artifacts that belonged
to three of his uncles who
served.” Artifacts have also been
loaned by Gary Solar, former
president of the Intrepid Society,
and the Air Force Museum and
Air Park, both regarding Sir
William Stephenson. Historica
Canada provided the replica
Falcons jersey and the well-
known “Heritage Minute” while
the University of Manitoba
Libraries loaned an original
copy of the 1923 memorial
book, Minningarrit Íslenzkra
Hermanna.
James Cohen, chair of the
museum board, acted as emcee
for the exhibit opening and Joe
Martin, Director of the Canadian
Business and Financial History
Initiative at the Rotman School
of Management and President
Emeritus of Canada’s National
History Society, delivered an
address on how the exhibit came
to be. (Joe’s address is printed
in its entirety on page 10 of this
issue.) The Consulate General of
Iceland sponsored the reception
at the opening night.
Vikings of the First World
War will remain on exhibit at the
Manitoba Museum until March
3, 2019. A complementary
exhibit, In Flanders Fields:
How We Remember, will be
on display until January 11.
The museum is located at 190
Rupert Avenue in Winnipeg. It is
open Tuesdays through Fridays
from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on
weekends from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
It is closed on Mondays.
The exhibit is sponsored by
James Richardson and Sons,
Limited, Shelter Canadian
Properties Limited, and Arni
Thorsteinson and Susan Glass.
Its supporters include the
Consulate General of Iceland,
the John C. and Sally Horsfall
Eaton Foundation, the Catherine
and Fredrik Eaton Charitable
Foundation, Donald K. Johnson,
Jón Ragnar Johnson, Lögberg-
Heimskringla, Sigfusson
Northern Limited, Grant and
Shannon Stefanson, and Dr.
Ken Thorlakson.
PHOTOS PAGE 8
On the sunny morning
of Friday, November
2nd, I took a ferry from
Salt Spring Island and then
drove an hour and a half with
my step mum to the town of
Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island,
to attend the local launch
of W.D. Valgardson’s most
recently published novel, In
Valhalla’s Shadows, an event
hosted by Mið Eyja, the Central
Vancouver Island Icelandic
Club.
W.D. – or Bill, as he is
known among us – has been
very busy touring since the
release of this new work.
The week before the event I
attended, he’d been presenting
in North Vancouver, and the day
following he was presenting at
a second Nanaimo library.
The event at the Vancouver
Island Regional Library –
Nanaimo North, drew a crowd
of people mostly associated
with the Icelandic Club,
but also a few others were
welcomed. I was thrilled to
attend with my (89-year-old)
auntie, my cousin, her son, and
his wife, who’d travelled all the
way down from Cortez Island,
which involves two ferries and
some highway time. All these
and my step mum.
Bill’s delivery regarding
his work was coloquial and
entertaining. A storyteller he
is – and one not a stranger to
being in the front of a room, in
front of a crowd. His manner
was easygoing and familiar. He
shared stories about how he’d
come to write the book, the
premise for it, what dark parts
of humanity he was moved to
explore through his characters
and their ensuing storyline,
and he let us know that all of
the stories, though put into
fictitious context, were true
in their origin. Intriguing. He
read an excerpt from the book,
too – one, I think, chosen quite
specifically for this particular
audience as it referenced many
words, names, and ideas, that
hold deep familiarity to those of
us Icelandic North Americans
who were in attendance.
Excellent choice.
In true Icelandic fashion,
after the presentation there
was coffee (and tea) and
treats on offer. Knowing that
Bill requires his treats to be
gluten-free, I had taken it upon
myself to bring a sampling of
a recently-baked gluten-free
vínarterta to share. That was
well appreciated to be sure. (I
sent the few extra pieces home
with the touring 79-year-old
author.)
Bill sold and signed a few
books for eager readers to take
home with them and we ended
the afternoon sitting in a circle of
chairs regaling one another with
stories of our shared heritage, of
Icelanders on the West Coast,
and of familial connections. It’s
always good to strengthen the
bonds between us and, with the
excellent book launch as our
primary focus for the afternoon,
well worth the excursion from
one island to another.
ISLAND HOPPING TO A BOOK READING
Lisa Sigurgeirson Maxx
Salt Spring Island, BC
PHOTOS: LISA SIGURGEIRSON MAXX
W.D. Valgardson reads from In Valhalla’s Shadows
First Lutheran Church
580 Victor Street
Winnipeg R3G 1R2
204-772-7444
www.mts.net/~flcwin
Worship with us
Sundays 10:30 a.m.
Pastor Michael Kurtz
November 12, 2018, marks Icelandic Roots’ 5th
anniversary. Icelandic Roots was established as a non-
profit entity with an interconnected genealogy database
from Hálfdan Helgason in Iceland as one of its cornerstones. He
had spent many years studying the families that emigrated from
Iceland. His database of about 500,000 individuals centered
on the many thousands who had emigrated from Iceland. It
included their ancestors back in time in Iceland, as well as their
descendants this direction in time, many of whom lived (or still
live) in Canada and the U.S.
Starting five years ago with a small contingent of volunteers
interested in genealogy, Icelandic Roots has grown into a
whole vibrant community. Over 525 people are now engaged
in preserving their Icelandic heritage for future generations
through membership access to the database or as volunteers on
the research team. But the Icelandic Roots community is much
broader than just that database. Thousands of people share
the vision and sense of community by subscribing to the free
Icelandic Roots blog and they find news and inspiration on the
Icelandic Roots Facebook page.
The Cousins Across the Ocean Project is also a free service
and the primary portal through which people can ensure their
own modern Icelandic family lines are preserved and connected
into this robust database. Each week, more cousins’ forms come
through online and are worked by the team of volunteers. And
each week, more and more “lost” families are linked to their
heritage and matched up with relatives they never knew they
had. Through this work, the database has grown by over 100,000
individuals in these five short years.
Icelandic Roots values the stories of these lives and tries
hard to bring each individual’s life alive. Those with access to
the database and the team of volunteers work daily to add photos
of people, farms, and headstones, geo-code and map locations
of importance around the world for each person in the database,
and find biographical sketches and obituaries that talk about
their interests, occupations, and personal traits.
Because the dedicated team of volunteers are the gasoline
that runs the Icelandic Roots engine, funds they raise through
membership are available to “pay it forward.” Each year,
thousands of dollars are provided as scholarships for young
people to participate in the Snorri Program, learn the Icelandic
language, pursue other educational opportunities aligned with our
mission, and support other heritage preservation and educational
initiatives. These investments in our future are a major driver for
the engaged volunteer team as well as the paying members and
donors.
Icelandic Roots invites anyone not already connected to check
them out at www.icelandicroots.com. Through this website, you
can learn more about their free services, ways to stay engaged,
the Cousins Across the Ocean Project, and membership options
to access the remarkable and ever-growing database.
Icelandic Roots turns five
David Johnson
Indianapolis, IN
Vikings of the First World War – inspired by loyalty ... from page 1