The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1959, Qupperneq 56

54
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Winter 1959
York on their way to Winnipeg. They
also visited Mozart, and Saskatoon in
Saskatchewan.
Fred’s father was a Dutchman, Jo-
hannes Obermann. While attending
university in Scotland he met an Ice-
landic student, Laufey Fridriksdottir,
and married her. He was in the diplo-
matic service of Holland, and by pro-
motion became governor of Sumatra.
At high school age, Fred was sent to
Winnipeg, where he got his early edu-
cation at the Jon Bjarnason Academy.
He is now in the employ of the Good-
year Tire Company in Sumatra.
His wife Alla, is the sister of Mrs.
Halldor Stefanson of Winnipeg, daugh-
ter of the fate Mr. and Airs. Fridrik
Gudmundsson of Mozart, Sask.
From here they will go to Akron,
Ohio, the home of the Goodyear Tire
Company, then to San Fransisco, where
they will board a plane to Sumatra,
thus completing an almost around-the
world tour.
★
SVEINN ODDSSON PASSES AWAY
Sveinn Oddsson, printer and publ-
isher, passed away on Sunday, Novem-
ber 30, in the Betel Home for the Aged.
Sveinn, who learned the printing
trade in Iceland, was the publisher of
The Wynyard Advance for twelve
years, and for two years published an
Icelandic monthly he called “Skuggsja”,
The Mirror. He was a man who could
clearly see the trend of events. Back in
1913, realizing that the conveyance of
the morrow was the automobile and
knowing that Iceland had no railways,
he shipped the first automobile, a Ford,
to Reykjavik. He, and those who join-
ed him in that venture may be said to
be the founders of the automobile
business in Iceland. In merited recog-
nition of their pioneering they were
invited to Iceland in the year 1958.
When the Icelandic Canadian was
launched Sveinn Oddsson saw at once
not only the possibilities but the defin-
ite need of such a publication. He
gave active support to the magazine
and in setting up the format for many
years may be said to be the father of
the attractive form in which the mag-
azine has appeared.
★
FRANK THOROLFSON NAMED
McMASTER UNIVERSITY
DIRECTOR OF MUSIC
Frank Thorolfson, formerly of the
Conservatory of Music, Regina College,
University of Saskatchewan, this fall
was appointed director of music at Mc-
Master University, Hamilton, Ont.
Born in Winnipeg, Man., Mr. Thor-
olfson over the years has won diplomas
from Toronto Conservatory of Music
and Royal Schools of Music in Lon-
don, England. He also studied at Chi-
cago Music College, Chicago, Ill.
Mr. Thorolfson founded the Win-
nipeg Chamber Orchestra and Choir,
and conducted the Regina Ladies’
Choir.
★
MARY MELSTED WINS
$2,000 SCHOLARSHIP
A $2,000 scholarship was awarded
last summer to Miss Mary Melsted,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Magnus Mel-
sted of Edinburgh, North Dakota. The
award is for four years of college
training. Miss Melsted will study to
become a nurse and plans first to spend
two years at Union College in Lin-
coln, Nebraska. This new health
scholarship is awarded nationally to
outstanding young Americans seeking
careers in one of health fields includ-
ing medicine, nursing, physical ther-
apy and medical social work.