The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1982, Qupperneq 12

10
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
SUMMER, 1982
Chris Eyford
Crafting violins can be a demanding art
and involves many things such as the flaw-
less carving of the wood, experimenting
with various types of varnish, the striving
for excellence of tone and so on.
Chris reads every available book on the
subject and his aim is to have each new
violin that he makes, superior to the last
one. Within the last five years, since he
retired from his contracting business, he
has made one viola, seven violins and four
more are in the making.
He has proved himself an expert crafts-
man by winning second class in a violin
making competition in 1980; one which
drew entries from all over the United
States and Canada. His entry was the one
and only viola he has thus far made and
was judged on workmanship, playability
and tone.
Chris’s first attempt at making a violin,
at the age of seven, may not have won him
an award but it did show he was an enter-
prising lad when he made one from card-
board cut into the shape of a violin, glued
onto a strip of wood and then strings were
added. To complete this masterpiece he
needed a bow but that did not phase him.
He cut some hair off a horse’s tail and
glued it on each end of a stick. He was
now ready to tune up. At the age of sixteen,
he had his next venture into the art of violin
making but whereas now he uses B.C.
Maple and Spruce, that violin had its
musical beginnings from the seat of an old
chair.
Chris is the son of Sigurdur and Bergljot
Eyford who came to Canada from Iceland
in 1905. The family lived for a time at Oak
Point, whence from Chris moved to Van-
couver in 1936 where he worked first in a
furniture factory and then in construction.
He married Laura (nee Johnson) in 1937 and
she has played an important role both help-
ing him build up a successful contracting
business and also encouraging him in his
hobby. They both enjoy musical evenings
with friends where Chris is in demand with
his violins.
“What will you make next? A Stradi-
varius?” he was asked recently. With a
twinkle in his eye Chris gave a good
answer, “No, an Eyford.”
( ^
wheatfield
press
for genealogy, history and reference
publications and aids
publishers of:
“Tracing Your Icelandic Family Tree"
‘The 1891-92 Census of Icelanders in
Canada”
“The Canadian Genealogical Handbook"
box 205, st. james postal station,
Winnipeg, manitoba R3J 3R4
(204) 885 4731
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