The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1971, Side 23

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
21
Einarson, Winnipeg, Man.
In 1941 these settlers came: Mr. and
Mrs. Thorsteinn Einarson, Winnipeg,
Gordon Erickson, Pebble Beach, Man.;
and Eirkur Eiriksson, Lundar, Man.
Several others purchased land, visited,
butt did not settle in the Campbell
River area.
After enumerating these early set-
tlers, Mrs. Arnason goes on 'to describe
the development of the settlement and
life there as follows:
“The elderly folks were very happy
in their new environment and seemed
content to enjoy leisurely retirement.
The younger men found that jobs
were not as plentiful as anticipated;
they, however, either fished, logged or
did carpentry work, etc. Eventually
all found their own niche and have
lived full and rewarding lives.
During 1939-1941 social evenings
were enjoyed at different homes where
we sang Icelandic songs often ac-
companied by Thorarin Eiriksson on
the violin and Carl Erickson on his
guitar; we also played Icelandic whist
and had refreshments.
Our spiritual needs were attended
to by Rev. Runolfur Marteinsson of
Port Alberni, and later Vancouver,
who visited ns on occasions and of-
ficiated at the christening of children
bom in 1939-1947. These services were
held at the home of Mr. and Mrs.
Albert Arnason.
Elaborate plans were made for an
“l.slendingadagur” in 1941, with Kris-
tjan Eiriksson and Sveinbjorn GuS-
mundson as speakers and other enter-
tainment, our own Canadian flag and
the Icelandic flag proudly waving side
by side.
Those enlisting in the Armed Forces
were: Lew Einarson, Oskar Sigurdson,
Eirik Eiriksson, Arni Sigurdson, and
John Sigurdson.
Since 1952 the main industry has
been the paper mill operated by Elk
Falls Co., a subsidiary of Crown-Zeller-
bach Canada Ltd. Campbell River has
developed far beyond the wildest
dreams of Kristjan Eiriksson and
Sveinbjorn GuSmundson; the tourist
trade soars yearly and educational op-
portunities exceed that of most dis-
tricts on the Island. At present ithere
are approximately forty families of
Icelandic and mixed origin residing
in the area.’’
Mrs. Eva G. Sigurdson, who came
with her late husband, John Sigurdson,
to the Icelandic settlement in Pont Al-
berni, in 1947, has supplied me with
the names of the earliest Icelandic
settlers there. They were (year of ar-
rival in brackets): Haraldur and Marg-
aret Johnson (1935), Stefan and Josa-
fine Magnusson (1936), Helga Reid
(1936), Sigurdur Asgrimsson (1936),
Sverrir and Helga Gislason (1938),
Andres Gislason (1938), “Shorty” As-
grimson (1940), and Dr. B. T. FI. Mar-
teinsson (1941), who has now for many
years resided in Vancouver. Other set-
tlers arrived between 1943 and 1950
and later.
Returning to the Victoria settle-
ment, reference will be made, with a
few notable additions to those first
generation descendants of the pioneer
Icelandic settlers in Victoria, who, as
far as the writer has been able to as-
certain, have gained special recogni-
tion.
The most notable of these is Bjorn
(Byron) Ingimar Johnson. A highly
successful businessman, he entered
politics in 1933, when he was elected a
member of the British Columbia Leg-
islature as a representative of Victoria.
From that point on his political career
is succinctly summarized as follows in
an article about him entitled “Liberal
Premier a Native Son” (The Victoria
Daily Colonist”, May 23, 1962):
“Through gloomy depression times