The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1955, Side 45

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
43
NEWS SUMMARY
Bequeaths books to the University
of Manitoba
Dean Einar Sturlaugsson of Patreks-
fjorSur, Iceland, who made the
splendid gift of Icelandic periodicals
and magazines to the University of
Manitoba (see Icel. Canadian, Winter
1953) died in Reykjavik September
23, this year. As a further token of his
respect and affection for his kinsmen
on this continent, he bequeathed to
the University of Manitoba all books
in his library, of which the university
has not already a copy.
★
The Oldest Icelander
Believed to be the oldest living Ice-
landic person in the world today, Mrs.
Margrjet Olafson celebrated her 102nc!
birthday on Saturday, September 17th,
at the home of her son and daughter-
in-law Mr. and Mrs. Joe Olafson,
Morris Ave., Selkirk, Manitoba.
Mrs. Olafson came to Canada in
1884 when she and her husband, Jon,
settled in Arnes, Manitoba. In 1889
they moved to Selkirk and made their
home there from that time on. Jon
Olafson died in 1948, at the age of 97.
A second son, Olafur, resides in Van-
couver. There are 14 grandchildren
and 40 great grandchildren.
New Invention Aids Canada’s
Northern Citizens
The age-old problem of how to
clean eider down quickly and efficient-
ly has been solved by an Icelandic in-
ventor, Baldwin Jonsson of Seltjarnar-
nes, Iceland. Canadian officials of the
Arctic Division of Northern Affairs
and Natural Resources are interested
in this new invention as a part of a
programme for conservation, pro-
tection and management of eider
ducks, which make their summer
homes in Northern Canada.
The tedious and messy job of clean-
ing eider down has been one of the
reasons why larger quantities have not
been gathered by the Eskimos. The
Ottawa officials have tested the new
machine and have found that it cleans
the down better than any other known
method. This last summer, duck farm-
ing techniques used in Iceland were
demonstrated to the Eskimos in the
hope that they would eventually es-
tablish eider cluck colonies similar to
those in Iceland, where eider duck
“farming” is done on a strictly scientif-
ic basis. It is expected that this
revolutionary eider down cleaning
machine will in the future be an en-
couragement to the Eskimos to gather
greater supplies of down and to protect
the birds, thus providing them with an
added source of income. In Iceland
locally produced eider down sells for
as high as $18 a pound.
★
Dr. Richard Beck, head of the
department of foreign languages at
the University of North Dakota, was
this fall appointed faculty advisor to
foreign students. Dr. Beck was one of
eighteen university professors invited
to attend the conference of the Modern
Language Association of America held
in New York City October 8 and 9.
While there he attended one of the
meetings of the United Nations as
guest of Hon. Thor Thors, Icelandic
Ambassador to the United States and
Canada.