The Icelandic Canadian - 01.04.2009, Page 18

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 62 #2
Undan Snjobreidunni
What Lies Beneath the Snow
Revealing the contributions of Icelandic pioneer women
to adult education in Manitoba, 1875 - 1914
by Jo-Anne Weir
New Iceland
The community was made up of sever-
al rural settlements located along the shore
of Lake Winnipeg, the Icelandic River, and
on Mikley, which was later renamed Hecla
Island. It was the first area of settlement for
many Icelanders upon arrival from Iceland
before they migrated to other communities
in Manitoba. The pioneer families of New
Iceland faced the hardships of disease,
flooding, extreme temperature, and reli-
gious divide. With an estimated population
of 2500 Icelanders in 1901, this was a pre-
dominantly Icelandic community and the
second largest in Manitoba. The pioneers
were commercial fishermen and farmers
and also cut and sold cordwood to supple-
ment their incomes. Though the settlement
of New Iceland began in 1875, its economy
was hindered by the slow arrival of the rail-
way. After some 30 years, the railway final-
ly reached the settlements along the Lake
Winnipeg shore. In terms of religious faith,
the many settlements located within New
Iceland had churches of both Lutheran and
Unitarian faiths.
Posen
Posen was made up of a small number
of rural settlements located along the east-
ern shore of Lake Manitoba and inland. It
was a small secondary community for
many Icelanders who had settled earlier in
New Iceland or Winnipeg. Despite their
small population they were the ethnic
majority of the district. The land was better
suited to livestock than crops, so the pio-
neers had few crops, raised livestock, fished
commercially on Lake Manitoba and
expanded into dairy production for added
income. The settlement began in 1887 but
the railway was delayed and arrived 17
years later. Both Lutheran and Unitarian
churches existed in the community.
Argyle
The district of Argyle includes several
rural Icelandic settlements located on the
grasslands of south western Manitoba. This
community was situated away from the
two largest lakes in Manitoba, which was a
considerable change for a group of immi-
grants who were accustomed to living close
to the water. In 1901, it was estimated to be
the third largest Icelandic settlement in
Manitoba, with a population of over 1000
Icelanders. This was generally a secondary
settlement, though many also settled in
Argyle directly from Iceland. They joined
what was already an Ontario British farm-
ing community and benefited from the
expertise and goodwill of their British
neighbours. They benefited most, however,
from the almost immediate arrival of the
railway, which came in 1886, the same year
the Icelanders began to arrive in Argyle.
The Icelandic pioneers soon prospered
through grain farming and raising livestock
which they were able to ship to market via
the railway. Surprisingly, only the
Lutheran Church was established in
Argyle, with no mention of a Unitarian
congregation in the area.
Selkirk
The city of Selkirk is located on the
Red River between Winnipeg on the south
and Lake Winnipeg to the north. It is also
located on the well traveled road between
New Iceland and Winnipeg. As a result of
its geographic location, many Icelanders
used Selkirk as a stopping off place while