The Icelandic Canadian - 01.03.1954, Side 16

14
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Spring 1954
Z)ltoug,ht3 0/ a Canadian
An address delivered by BYRON INGIMAR JOHNSON, at a concert under the auspices o£
The Icelandic Canadian Club held in the First Lutheran Church in
Winnipeg on Tuesday, February 23, 1954.
Byron I. Johnson
While I was Premier of British Col-
umbia I received an invitation from
the Liberal Club of the University of
British Columbia to address a meeting
of their club. I went to the University
shortly before noon; was met by the
President of the Liberal Club and
spent some time talking with him and
a few of the Club’s members. As time
went on I began to wonder when I
was to meet the other members of the
group. I hoped .inwardly, we would
have a reasonable number of students
in the University who were supporters
of the Liberal Party. I had expected
there would be thirty or forty at the
meeting and that we could sit around
and have a friendly discussion. At
12.30 the President suggested we
should go over to the meeting hall,
which was in the auditorium. When I
walked on to the platform I was
amazed to see every seat taken, and
students standing around the entire
auditorium. There were more than
twelve hundred present. It then
dawned on me that I was to address an
open meeting of the student body. Al-
though I had not prepared a speech
for the occasion, I was naturally, de-
lighted that so many of the students
had taken a part of their lunch hour
to listen to their Premier. In my open-
ing remarks I mentioned that I had
been asked to address the members of
the Liberal Club of the University and
was delighted to see such a large mem-
bership. That was as far as I got.The
large gathering let me know that there
were many varied views of political
thought at that meeting—which is as
it should be. However, I had a most
delightful hour with the students.
The reason I mention this incident
is that my presence here to-day is due
to the fact that my good friend, Judge
Lindal, was kind enough to invite me
to come to Winnipeg to address the
Icelandic Canadian Club—an invita-
tion I was delighted to accept. And as
a result of accepting that invitation I
received an invitation to address the
Men’s Canadian Club of Winnipeg.
As you know, I am of Icelandic
descent. My father came to Canada as
an immigrant in 1881, lived in Win-
nipeg two years and then went west-
through the northern States to Port-
land, up the coast to the beautiful city
of Victoria where he settled in 1883.