The Icelandic Canadian - 01.03.1955, Page 49

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
47
which just gives them a living.8 About
one million pounds of whitefish, trout,
herring, suckers, and chubs are ship-
ped annually to Chicago, New York,
and other markets.”9 The discrepancies
in these figures are not accounted for,
since one set says there are five times
as many exported annually as the other
set of figures says are caught. In any
event, it is certain that fishing is not
as important as it was in the past, giv-
ing way to the two other main econ-
omic activities on the island, farming
and summer resort trade. Very little
information was available on these
two means of livelihood, but it is
known that potatoes are grown on the
island, 40,000 bushels being exported
annually about 1917,10 and cattle and
sheep raising is practiced on many of
the farms.11 As in Iceland, growing
hay is an important part of the farm
system.
Since nothing has been written, or
nothing could be found by the author,
on the social life of the Icelanders on
Washington Island, it is difficult to
determine, without first hand know-
ledge, the extent to which they have
been held together as a group and the
degree to which they have continued
the customs and practices known in
Iceland. Mr. Harry K. White, in an
article on the Icelanders said, “At
present the Icelanders are quite thor-
oughly scattered over the island, and
although they form less than a sixth
of the entire population and readily
adopt ideas and methods that are an
improvement on their own, their in-
s- Travel, Vernie Wolfsberg, “Iceland’s first
settlement in America,” Vol. 82, No. 1, E.
Straudsburg, Pa., Nov. 1943, p. 34.
9- The Icelandic Canadian, op. cit. p. 15.
10- History of Door County, op. cit. p. 276.
W Vernie Wolfsberg, op. cit. see photo, p. 22-
fluence is easily discernible.”12 He
also said that while there are several
churches on the island, they are not
well supported by the Icelanders.13
Editor’s Note—Washington Island is located
at the mouth of Green Bay, Wisconsin. Not
far distant is Sister Bay, where several Ice-
landic people have made their homes. Seven
miles long and 5.J miles wide, the island has
been compared to a 14,000 acre park. It has
timbered hills and valleys, and beautiful wild
shore scenes, with high, rocky bluffs and
sandy beaches.
The six hundred inhabitants of the island
are largely of Scandinavian descent.
★
PEMBINA COUNTY, North Dakota
The leader in the Icelandic settle-
ment in Pembina County was Rev.
Pall Thorlaksson. In 1878, he set out
from New Iceland, Manitoba, with
four men in search of a place where
the Icelanders might prosper, for he
foresaw the difficulties of conducting
agricultural practices in the swampy
and wooded Gimli colony.14 This
party decided to settle in the north-
easternmost county of North Dakota-
Pembina County. The reasons for
their choice were as follows:15
1. The settlement would be fairly
close to New Iceland.
2. There were many trees which
could be used as building material
whereas Minnesota, which was also
being considered, possessed none.
3. The Pembina Mountains (though
only hills) afforded the pioneers
some semblance of their moun-
tainous homeland.
12. Harry K. White, op. cit. p. 332.
13. ibid.
14. History of the Red River Valley, Vol. 1,
No. 3, 1950, p. 50.
15. Thorstina Walters, Modern Sagas, Fargo,
N. D„ 1953, pp.59-60.