The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1964, Side 39

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
37
A candid camera shot of Prime Minister Benediktsson
Winnipeg to Vancouver gained weight because of the personality of the man,
his wife and son, which effortlessly dominated every gathering.
The premier left behind him an impression of a man, eager to be friendly,
to reach out a hand and touch the world, while at the same time retaining a
firm grip on the economic and social problems of the small island at whose
political helm he was captain.
Mrs. Benediktsson had the finely chiselled blonde beauty of her Scandi-
navian forbears. She was at once both the gracious lady befitting her station and
the mother and husfru..........
Son Bjarni, eldest of a family of three, (he had two younger sisters at home)
was a slender youth of 20. With Iceland situated as it was at the crossroads of
the world, students there early began the study of foreign languages, he explain-
ed. He himself spoke seven fluently and also read Latin. He would begin the
study of law at the University in Reykjavik in the fall. Like that of the public
and high schools, university education in Iceland was available to all who would
study and could qualify, he said. An increasing number of students do.........
The following day the prime minister and party were driven to RedDeer
where they were luncheon guests of the city, going later to Markerville. There
the prime minister laid a wreathe on the grave of Iceland’s favorite Canadian
poet, Stephan G. Stephansson, who died there in 1927.
From Markerville, the prime minister and party continued their
tour to Banff, Vancouver and points in the U.S.A. Florence E. Pratt