The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1945, Qupperneq 16

14
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Juke 1945
MERIT REWARDED
Dr. SIG. JUL JOHANNESSON
Not for the sake of the gold,
Not for the sake of the fame,
Not for the prize would I hold
Any ambition or aim:
I would be brave and be true
Just for the good I can do.
Give me the thrill of the task,
The joy of the battle and strife,
Of being of use, and I’ll ask
No greater reward from this life.
Better than fame or applause
Is striving to further a cause.
These verses by Edgar Guest in such
simple language are very applicable to
Dr. Sig. Jul. Johannesson. From early
manhood to his present age of 77 he
has unflinchingly and unselfishly de-
voted his energy and ability to the
cause of the lowly and the poor, to the
cause of rectifying the mistakes in so-
ciety and upholding the rights of the
downtrodden and the unfortunate.
Dr. Johannesson has had a varied and
distinguished career. He was born and
brought up in poverty in Iceland
but through hard work and sacrifice
achieved an enviable educational record.
After graduation he studied one year
in medicine in Iceland, then came to
this country in 1899 and continued his
studies in Winnipeg and later graduat-
ing from Chicago University as a Doctor
of Medicine. He came back to Canada
and endured the hardships of a country
doctor in some of our Icelandic com-
munities, never tiring of healing the
sick and never refusing a call in foul
or fair weather. Countless families in
the farming and working communities
feel such gratitude for the many deeds
of kindness displayed by this unassum-
ing humanitarian, that it almost
amounts to reverence. For many years
now he has practised in Winnipeg and
is still, at his advanced age, a very
familiar figure on the streets of Winni-
peg with his medicine bag visiting the
sick and unfortunate.
Though Dr. Johannesson has always
been first and foremost a doctor he is
more widely known and recognized for
his literary achievements, as editor,
author and poet. As a poet he is loved
and revered wherever the Icelandic
language is read, especially by the
young who recite his poems, more tihan
those of any other Icelandic poet, at con-
certs and festival gatherings. He is our
Icelandic Bliss Carman and with that
natural divine gift of poetry he ranks
as one of the best of our Icelandic lyrical
poets both in Iceland and America. With
his poems and childrens’ stories he
has paved the way of recognition and
admiration to every Icelandic heart
and mind.
He edited the Icelandic magazine
“Dagskra,” ■ also the Icelandic weekly
“Logberg”, where he originated a special
section for children. For six years he
was editor of the childrens paper “Bal-
dursbra,” published by the Icelandic Na-
tional League. Most of the material in
that paper is of his own writing and