The Icelandic Canadian - 01.09.1981, Qupperneq 47

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
45
Refreshments — Mrs. Vi Hilton, 111
Bruce Ave., R3J 0T9, 889-9995.
Jr. Co-Ordinator — Ms. Suzanne
Thompson, 34 Cameo Crescent, 334-4298.
Scholarship — Mrs. K. Perlmutter, 212
Sherburn St. R3G 2K6, 774-4720.
Archivist— Ms. Margaret Johnson, 858
Warsaw, 284-5585.
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PHILIP PETURSSON AT 78
Philip Petursson, for-
merly a Unitarian Church
minister, a member of
the Winnipeg School
Board, a member of the
Manitoba Legislature
and cabinet minister in
the Schreyer Govern-
ment of Manitoba, now
has only fond memories
and faded certificates to bear testimony to
his participation in Manitoba politics. This
modest, self-effacing man made the follow-
ing comments during an interview with
Ingeborg Boyens of the Winnipeg Free
Press:
“I left the cabinet not because of physical
frailties, but because I recognized I wasn’t
worthy of the job. I was a backbench boy. I
didn’t carry much weight. I was satisfied to
sit in the back benches and joke with my
colleagues behind my hands.
“I left politics without any feeling of ran-
cor. I never had any dreams of being pre-
mier.”
He also notes that the day of the ‘hell and
high water orator’ is gone.
EDITOR’S NOTE: There are many
people, knowing of Philip’s noteworthy
contributions to the community, particu-
larly on behalf of the disadvantaged, who
will disagree heartily with his negative ap-
praisal of his 20-year tenure of political
positions of authority.
JOAN PARR:
WOMAN OF THE YEAR
Mrs. Joan Parr, a Gimli summer resident,
was chosen Y.W.C.A. Woman of the Arts
at the 5th Annual Awards Dinner, May 11,
held at the Winnipeg Inn. Maureen McTeer
was guest speaker and she congratulated the
five women that won the award in five dif-
ferent categories for: the arts, community
service, the professions, public affairs and
business.
Joan, the owner of Queenston House
Publishers, resides on Queenston Street
with her husband Jack, a teacher in the Eng-
lish department at Red River Community
College and her two daughters that attend
Kelvin High School.
Joan started the business in 1974 and
during the summer months she used her
cottage in Loni Beach as an office, bringing
her typesetter, typewriter and the many
books she receives to edit, before deciding
to publish. To date she has published 26
books including a book of short stories
called Winnipeg Stories, with the intro-
duction written by David Arnason and a
story written by Bill Valgardson.
Gimli Summer resident, Joan Parr, won the
Y.W.C.A. Woman of the Year Award for the
Arts at the Awards Dinner held May 11 at
the Y.W.C.A.