The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1984, Side 19

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
17
Jon Sigurdsson was a prominent fighter
for Icelandic autonomy from Danish
rule during the 19th century, and is re-
garded today as the symbol of freedom
and parliamentary government in Ice-
land. A statue of him was erected in
Reykjavik, Iceland, in 1911, its cost
being subscribed to by many Icelanders
in America. In 1921, the Icelandic
people had a copy of this statue cast
and sent to Winnipeg, where it was
placed in the NE corner of the Legis-
lative Building grounds.
Turn right (south) on Kennedy St. and
drive to the intersection of Kennedy and
Assiniboine Ave. While driving south on
Kennedy, you will passs Government House
on your right. This is the official residence
of the Lt. -Governor of Manitoba.
2. WINNIPEG FALCONS HOCKEY
TEAM (on Assiniboine River at the
foot of Kennedy St.). In March 1896,
two newly-formed Icelandic hockey
teams, the “I.A.C.” (“Icelandic Ath-
letic Club”) and the “Vikings” com-
peted for the first time at an open air
rink on the Assiniboine River at this
spot (“I.A.C.” won 3-2). These teams
competed for many years after this
initial confrontation, but later amalga-
mated in 1909 to form a new team
which they called the “Winnipeg
Falcons”. The Falcons won the Cana-
dian amateur championship in 1919/20,
and then went on to win the 1920
Olympics in Antwerp as Canada’s rep-
resentatives. This marked the first time
that hockey was part of the Olympic
competition, and the first time that
Canada won the top honours. All but
one team member of the 1920 team
was Icelandic.
Turn left (east) on Assiniboine Ave. and
drive to the corner of Assiniboine and Fort
St.
3. ASSINIBOINE AVENUE
Stephen Thorson is listed as being a
caretaker on Assiniboine Avenue in
the city directories during the period
1889-91. During this period, his two
sons, Joseph and Charles, were bom.
Joseph Thorson (bom 1889) later be-
came the first Icelandic-Canadian to
be named to the Cabinet in a federal
government (Minister of National War
Services, 1941-42) and the first Ice-
landic-Canadian named to a senior
judicial post in the Canadian court
system (Chief Justice of the Exchequer
Court of Canada, 1942-64). His brother,
Charles Thorson (bom 1890) became a
noted cartoonist with the Walt Disney
Studios, and the creator of such car-
toon characters as “Elmer the Elephant”
and “Bugs Bunny”.
Turn left again (north) at Fort St., and
drive back to Broadway. On your right is
the “Upper Fort Garry Gate’’, the last
remnant of Upper Fort Garry, the Hud-
son’s Bay Company stone fort which once
stood on this site and which was de-
molished in the early 1880s so that Main
Street could be “straightened". Turn right
(east) at Broadway, and then turn left
(north) onto Main St. Keep to a lane on the
right hand side and travel north to Graham
Ave. Look to your left to see the site of
4. JON THORDARSON’S “ICELAN-
DIC HOUSE” (approx. NW comer
Fort St. and Graham Ave.). This board-
ing house was the first centre for Ice-
landic cultural and religious activity in
Winnipeg. Both the first Icelandic
church in Winnipeg (Trinity congrega-
tion, 1878) and the first Icelandic cul-
tural society (Progressive Society,
1877) were organized here. It was
located on Graham Avenue on the north
side between Fort and Garry Streets,
behind the Grand Central Hotel.