The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1963, Qupperneq 29

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
27
round out their task of editing and
evaluation. Sympathetic scholars have
already been diligent.
In terms of the struggle of a pioneer
generation against the hardships of a
raw land and a murderous climate, the
record does not differ greatly from
that of other nationality groups in
other marginal areas of the Canadian
wilderness. What distinguishes the Ice-
lander in Canada is not so much the
dogged endurance with which the
fisherman, the farmer, the urban art-
isan and the hungry student rose from
pioneer penury to eminence in the
second and third generation. It is
rather that they have been the most
articulate of all our immigrant groups
and have forged great literature out of
the sufferings of their settlement. Just
as Vilhjalmur Stefansson stands as a
figure of honour among the explor-
ers and scientists of the world, so
Stephan G. Stephansson and Guttorm-
ur Guttormsson have had their great-
ness recognized in the world of litera-
ture. I count it a privilege to have been
a fellow-citizen and friend of so many
of this poetic generation in the days
of their greatness.
Golden Wedding Celebration
Mr. and Mrs. Vigfus J. Josephson
On Sept. 29th, Mr. and Mrs. Vigfus
J. Josephson were honored at a recep-
tion in Klamath Lutheran Church,
Klamath Falls, Oregon, marking the
fiftieth anniversary of their marriage.
Vigfus was born on a farm near
Minneota, Minn. April 3, 1887, the
son of Gudrun and Joseph V. Joseph-
son. He left his farm when 18 years
of age, worked at first for the Soo-Line
Railway and later transferred to the
Great Northern Railway Co. Mrs.
Josephson, nee Belle A. Hanson, was
born in Wahpeton, N. D. and taught
school before she married. They were
married in Great Falls, Montana, Sept.
30, 1913, and came to Klamath in 1928.
The following spring he was promoted
to a supervisory position as freight
and passenger agent, a position he
held until he retired in 1954. Vigfus is
a member of the York and Scottish
Rite and a Shriner. His wife is a mem-
ber of the Eastern Star.