The Icelandic Canadian - 01.03.2004, Side 42

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 58 #3
watching the midnight sun dip to the
northern horizon, slide sideways for about
an hour in an eastward direction, then
slowly begin its ascent into the northern
sky. Our vantage point was the edge of a
perfectly still lake just north of Hofsos, sky
and water sharing shades of pink and dark
lavender.
Our quest continued to Akureyri and
Sigluvik, my grandfather’s birthplace.
Akureyri is the second largest city in
Iceland, situated on the north-central coast.
It has the reputation of providing the
warmest and sunniest climate on the island,
and it delivered a warm welcome to us.
After checking into our Bed and
Breakfast, we crossed the long causeway to
arrive on the east coast of Eyjafjordur. A
short drive north brought us to a farm with
the sign “Sigluvik” at the entrance. The
long drive took us to a house nestled above
the fjord. We spilled out of the car and
approached the house. We stood at the base
of the steps as my father, Irvin, went to the
door and knocked. A young man appeared
at the door, a phone occupying his atten-
tion. He signaled to us to wait while he
completed his conversation. Dad told him
why we were at his doorstep. He was com-
pletely delighted when he heard that the
offspring of a man born in 1881 on that
very yard had found their way back for a
visit. He welcomed us in with a universal
statement, “Please come in. Excuse house.
Wife away.... I baby sitting.” With a hearty
laugh, we were graciously escorted into his
neat bright living room and invited to sit
down.
“What was your grandfather’s name?”
The answer sent him to his library, from
which he retrieved a book, about 1-1/4
inches thick. Opening it to the chapter cov-
ering the late 19th century, my dad and his
sister were once again looking at a photo-
graph of their grandfather. It was our turn
for a question. “What does it say ‘in
English?’” Eric, the current tenant of the
farm, tried to interpret with the help of his
ten-year-old son who has just begun to
study English at school. With a few words
and many gestures, the game of charades
revealed that my great grandfather had
owned the farm, 4 fishing boats, each with
a 4 man crew (a large fleet for that era) and
served as an administrator in the communi-
ty. With a great struggle, and the assistance
of an Icelandic-English dictionary, ‘admin-
istrator’ was translated as person elected to
solve problems among neighbours. If a
sheep had done damage to a neighbour’s
crop, he would be the one to resolve the
differences.
Erik explained that this historic book
held the records of every family who had
lived for at least 2 years at Sigluvik from the
year 1100 onward. Entries include infor-
mation about the families, their occupa-
tion, names of children, anecdotes of inter-
est that had happened on the farm, and a
vivid description of each dwelling that had
existed on the yard. These descriptions
were so complete that an artist could draw
Ac Hofsos, we have Valgeir Thorvaldsson, Lois Martin, Rick and Mary Jane Stefansson, Wincie
Johannsdottir and Kristin Stefansson.