The Icelandic Canadian - 01.02.2007, Qupperneq 6

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 60 #4
Editorial
Remembrances and Reflections of an Immigrant
by Jon Jonsson, Consul for Iceland in Saskatchewan
When Lorna Tergesen asked me to
write an editorial for the Icelandic-
Canadian I was somewhat hesitant as I
associate editorials with the statements of
opinion or position on the events and
issues of the day.
Having enjoyed her and Terry’s hospi-
tality and friendship for decades I, of
course, couldn’t say no, and then it dawned
on me that the late Lillian Vilborg
MacPherson’s Logberg-Heimskringla edi-
torials were not the regular garden variety
editorials, but were her affectionate, senti-
mental, astute and often lyrical comments
and observations on growing up and work-
ing in the Vestur Islendingar community in
Canada. Hence the above heading.
My first experience of Canada was at
Easter 1961, when the late Helgi Austman
and Solli Sigurdson, of Lake Winnipeg
Fisherman fame, brought four of us
Icelandic students, three fellows and a girl,
studying at the University of Wisconsin in
Madison to Nja Island. Helgi and Solli
were completing their doctorates in agri-
culture and mathematics at the time.
We drove in one stretch from Madison
to Winnipeg. Never before or since have I
been on such a long drive and it was my
first experience with North America’s vast
distances.
We were billeted with different fami-
lies and as luck would have it I was billeted
with Haraldur Bessason and Asa.
This was in every respect a memorable
and enjoyable visit for all of us. There is a
saying in Icelandic, “White ravens are sel-
dom seen.” At that time there was little vis-
iting between Old Iceland and New
Iceland so four young Icelanders were a
rarity, and we were welcomed with open
arms and great warmth and treated like
royalty. Forty five years later some memo-
ries are still vivid.
In those days it was customary for
Winnipeg Icelanders to congregate at a par-
ticular beer parlour on Saturday afternoons
for conviviality and wide ranging discus-
sions under the chairmanship of the distin-
guished professor Tryggvi Olson. So the
four of us were invited to partake and be
introduced. As we were about to enter the
establishment we were informed that the
girl, Heba, could not enter the saloon and
would have to cool her heels in the ladies
sitting room sipping tea, while Oli, Ottar
and I partook of the ale.
We were absolutely astounded at this
separation of the sexes and inquired as to
why this was done, and the explanation
was along the lines that the delicate psyches
of the “weaker” sex needed to be protected
from carousing and uncouth males.
Needless to say Heba was not
impressed, as at no time in the twentieth
century had Icelandic women been forbid-
den to enter establishments where spirits
were served. We thought this to be incred-
ibly medieval attitude towards women in a
presumably modern Canada.
Another memorable occasion was a
gathering at the home of Soil!’s parents in
Riverton, which all of Nyja Island seemed
to be attending and we were embraced as
long lost relatives. What sticks in my mem-
ory was how many of the people spoke to
us, in almost apologetic tones, about the
reasons for their parents and grand parents
leaving Iceland .
They were concerned that the emi-
grants were looked at as traitors and quit-
ters. Certainly at the time of the exodus
there were voices expressing that senti-
ment. Indeed it was an exodus with twenty
percent of a population of one hundred
thousand leaving. It is interesting to con-
template the size of the Icelandic popula-
tion and the size of the economy today, if
there had been no emigration.
We did our best to assure them that