The Icelandic Canadian - 01.03.1954, Side 24

22
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Spring 1954
Musical Ocela+tdesi'l Ui Seattle
by SOPHIE WALLACE
Sophie Wallace
Strangers in a large city often seek
solace in a church. It was our good
fortune to find Calvary Lutheran
Church in Seattle which supplied our
needs for both good friends and in-
spired music.
My husband and I arrived at this
scenic coastal city the summer of 1948.
We made a brief debut at Silver Lake,
20 miles from Seattle during the day
that the Annual Icelandic Celebration
was in progress. While there, we were
invited to attend church service the
following Sunday .
Neither the age of the edifice nor
its need for paint could blind our eyes
to the radiance that shone from with-
in. We met so many ex-Winnipegers
or “stubble-jumpers” as we called our-
selves, that we quickly felt right
at home. This warm feeling was made
more impressive when set to the very
musical work of the choir.
Choral work was the essence of our
musical training in Winnipeg. There-
fore, it was natural for us to Observe
the choir very closely. Certain features
stood out then and have continued to
amaze us. This congregation, though
relatively small (approximately 200
members) could boast of a choir con-
sisting of 30 mature participants, many
of whom are outstanding soloists. An-
other unique aspect was the quality
of anthems chosen for Sunday services.
Noteworthy too, was the warm wel-
come accorded us ... to join them.
We did just that, at the first opportun-
ity.
Having joined the church, its history
was revealed to us. About the turn of
the century, a number of Icelandic
families came from the prairies of
Canada, also the Dakotas and Minne-
sota. Most of them located in the sub-
urb of Ballard, where some families of
Icelanders had lived prior to the big
Seattle fire in 1889. A meeting place
became a necessity. Therefore, on
November 4, 1900, they founded the
literary society, “Vestri”, which even
today meets regularly, speaks only the
beautiful mother tongue, and re-
enacts many cultures developed by our
forefathers.
Likewise, the need for a church was
felt. Visiting pastors supplied the
early requirements. Later, when the
church was re-organized in 1925, more
permanent pastors served the com-
munity. These were among them: the
late Rev. J. A. SigurSsson, Rev Kol-
beinn Simundson, Dr. Runolfur Mar-
teinsson, Rev. K. K. Olafsson, Rev.
Harald Sigmar, Rev. Eric Sigmar, and
Rev. S. O. Thorlakson. Each of these
gifted men has left “His imprint in the
sod”.