The Icelandic Canadian - 01.09.2003, Qupperneq 8

6
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 58 #1
responsibilities that accrue to the daughters
of “famous men.” As a result, my sister
Helga Iris Bourne, Jane Ross McCracken
(author of Stephan G. Stephansson: The
Poet of the Rocky Mountains) and I are
now collaborating with an Edmonton
writer, Joanne White, who is writing a
book entitled Stephan’s Daughter: the
Story of Rosa Siglaug Benediktson. The
book will contain articles and speeches
about the history of the Western Icelanders
and the family and should be printed this
year.
In the Icelandic tradition, I too have
written a book; it must be in the genes. If
this sounds like a self-serving statement,
please forgive me because it probably is.
When you retire from an active career, you
can undertake projects that you always
wanted to do but did not have the time for.
My book is called Stefan’s Story and as
when grandfather anglicized his name from
Stefan to Stephan, he said that in spite of
the change he was “one and the same, how-
ever”. In reverting to the Icelandic spelling
of my name, I remain one and the same.
Finnbogi Gudmundsson has called my
book “a sort of history of the oil business,
travelogue autobiography”. Proceeds of
the sale of both books will be given to the
Stephan G. Stephansson Society in
Markerville as they seem to always have
some very worthwhile project, such as
restoring Fensela Hall, which is in
progress.
If I missed you at the INL conference
at Edmonton or the Markerville picnic. I
hope to see you at Islendingadagurinn in
Gimli or the Johnson family reunion at
Gardar, North Dakota or at Stephan G’s
150th at Sudarkrokur in October. I now
have time to “hang out” and I love it. Bless.