The Icelandic Canadian - 01.09.2008, Side 9

Vol. 61 #4
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
147
An Arborg weekend to remember
by Kristjana Magnusson Clark
It was an unforgettable weekend on
May 23rd, 24th & 25th when the Grand
Opening of the Arborg & District
Multicultural Heritage Village took place
at the Heritage Village in Arborg,
Manitoba. It was off to a great start on the
Friday evening with a barbecue and pig
roast, followed by a hootenany under the
big tent on the grounds. The evening
resounded with music provided by the
Fridfinnson Sisters, Drew Kozub and his
lively band of musicians, the Sisters’ accor-
dionist Colleen Kilbrei and her singing
group, jazz music and Fine Country Folk
music by Fred Oleson, Wes Wilson and
Roy Gudmundson.
It was a weekend of tradition and cere-
mony when David Gislason emceed the
official opening of the heritage site on
Saturday May 24th with dignitaries from
the surrounding area congratulating the
town of Arborg in successfully establishing
the Arborg & District Multicultural
Heritage Village. Official ribbon cutting
ceremonies took place at the Bjarmi
Catholic Church, the teepee, the Vigfusson
House, the Brandson House and the
Sigvaldason House, which was followed by
tours of the buildings.
As people gathered at the Bjarmi
Catholic Church, the Rev. Michel Bzdel,
Archbishop Emeritus of Winnipeg led the
group of people around the church, sprin-
kling the exterior of the church with holy
water, with Rev. Harry Chuchry intoning
prayers.
This was followed by a walk into the
interior of the beautifully restored church,
blessing the interior and the priestly vest-
ments with holy water and prayers.
The children were all quite intrigued
by the tepee on the village grounds. At
noon the Aboriginal Summer Bear Dance
Group, led by Clarence and Barbara
Nepinka, danced under the large tent. The
captivating performance of the dancers, to
the beat of the drummers and chanters,
provided the large crowd with an insight
into aboriginal history and culture.
It was a weekend of reminiscing as we
walked through the Heritage Houses. Olof
Sigurdson of White Rock, B.C. expressed
her thoughts on entering the Vigfusson log
house, the oldest of the three houses:
“When I walked in the Vigfusson log house
and saw the tiny kitchen with the wood
stove, a small table and two chairs, the
cream separator in one corner and the nar-
row staircase winding upstairs into two
small bedrooms I thought, ‘It’s so small.’
Three people lived in this house, as well as
the teacher who boarded there. How did
they manage in this small house? I was
completely intrigued by this log house.”
The Brandson House was built in the
early 1900s, a cottage style home which
was bought furnished, for $1000, by
Sigurdur and Disa Brandson, who raised
ten children there. As Thordis Wilson of
White Rock walked through the Brandson
House she was reminded of her long
friendship with Jonina Brandson: “I
remember often stopping at Brandson’s
house when I was walking home from
school with Jonina. The smell of Disa
Brandson’s bread baking was always so
inviting. It was a place I loved to go to as
Mrs. Brandson ( Disa) always made me feel
so welcome. She and Mother were good
friends and there were many friendships
amongst the ones who were a similar age in
the two families.”
When Jonina moved to Ontario to
work and later marry there, Thordis said:
“We lost touch so we did not see each other
for twenty years. When my husband Emil
and I moved to the West Coast, our friend-
ship resumed when Jonina and her husband
moved to Calgary as we were able to visit
them on our way to visit families in