The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1967, Page 92

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Summer 19G7
HELGI EINARSSON
— a pioneer of the Interlake District.
by W. Kristjanson
Among the pioneers of the northern
Interlake district of Manitoba Helgi
Einarsson was distinctive. “He lived
and worked and made history in the
Interlake area for a matter of seventy
years.” He was a pioneer, a trail-break-
er, independent-spirited, an innovator,
and he was highly esteemed.
Einarsson was born in Iceland in
1870. In early childhood he learned
the meaning of work and responsibil-
ity, watching over the sheep at night
and helping in the fall sheep round-
up.
In his boyhood he lived in the world
of books, reading avidly all he could
lay his hands on, at home and on loan
in the community. “I read nearly all
the Icelandic sagas, all the sagas of the
Norwegian kings, the Icelandic folk
stories, the Arabian Nights, and much
more,” he later recalled.
nn
As a boy of eleven and twelve he
gave much thought to religion and was
already well-versed in the Bible. Most
of the teachings of the New Testament
he liked, but not the teachings of the
Old Testament. He came to the con-
clusion that if God created people only
to send them direct to Hell, He was
unjust and he would have naught of
Hint. “When summoned into His
presence, I would scold Him for all
He had done so that He would have
to expel me.”
Helgi received his formal education
from an itinerant teacher who visited
Helgi Einarsson
the home a few times, a month at a
time. The young pupil made speedy
progress in arithmetic and geography,
learning the location of the countries
of the world and a good measure of
information about each.
»wi
The family emigrated to Canada in
*887, arriving in Winnipeg in July of
that year. The father’s capital then
amounted to $280.
Together with three others, the
family proceeded to Lundar, where the
first Icelandic settler in that district
had just commenced building his log
house. In the fall the 17-year-old youth,
with 12 others, went north on Lake
Manitoba for fishing.