The Icelandic Canadian - 01.04.2009, Side 29

Vol. 62 #2
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
71
“Poetry in Iceland is like hockey in
Canada—and Stephansson was the
Gretzky of poetry.”
By 1974, his homestead was falling into
neglected and uninhabited disrepair. Joe
Johannson of Markerville had a forward
thinking vision that the house should be
restored. Bernice Andersen, Joe’s daughter,
remembers him shaking his head gravely
and saying words to this effect. "The
preservation of the house will be a monu-
ment to all Icelanders and
Icelandic/Canadians as well as preserving a
look into the lives of the pioneers."
Joe proceeded to spearhead the forma-
tion of the Stephan G. Stephansson
Icelandic Society. He travelled the coun-
tryside selling memberships for $5.00 and
in February, 1974, the club was formed
with Joe as the president and a major focus
being the restoration of the house.
Members from the Edmonton and Calgary
Icelandic clubs joined together with the
club in Markerville and formed the
Homestead Restoration Committee.
In 1975, the Farmers Union in Iceland
donated $10,000.00 toward the restoration
of the house at an official presentation to
dedicate the house for restoration. The
Government of Alberta needed convincing
there was local support for the project and
Joe—together with Rosa Benedicktson,
Stephansson’s daughter—was instrumental
in generating that support. Eventually the
Government of Alberta declared the house
a Provincial Historic Site and restored the
building beautifully to its 1927 appearance.
The house was officially opened as a muse-
um in 1982 at an event that attracted 700
people including a plane load of visitors
from Iceland.
The house restoration, though, was not
enough for Joe. He next turned his atten-
tion to the abandoned Markerville
Creamery which sat deteriorating on the
banks of the Medicine River. In 1975, the
Stephansson Society purchased the cream-
ery for back taxes with the intent of restor-
ing the building. Joe thought the restora-
tion of this building would be a monument
to the mostly Icelandic pioneers who
formed the Tindastoll Butter and Cheese
Manufacturing Association. Despite signif-
icant local opposition, (to which Joe
mournfully shook his head and said
“they’re just not thinking right!") the
Markerville Creamery was declared a
Provincial Historic Resource by the
Government of Alberta. The Stephansson
Society undertook a total restoration
which commenced in 1984 with the build-
ing being jacked up in preparation for a
new foundation.
Joe passed away in November of 1984
but, as Bernice recollects “At least he got to
see the project off the ground.” Literally!
The creamery opened in 1986 as a
museum and was officially opened in 1988
at a huge homecoming celebration of the
centennial of Markerville. The rest, as they
say, is history. And, that’s exactly what it’s
all about. The preservation of history.
So, just how does a sleepy hamlet of 50
people generate the restoration of a number
of buildings that were built around the turn
of the century—the last century?
Put simply, the first step in the process
is the vision—and without a dream, where
would we be?
Any of us!
Just where would we be without a
dream?
The second step is interpreting that
vision through leadership.
Way, way back in 1891 on New Years
Eve, Stephan G. Stephansson himself said
“If we feel our community needs some-
thing to make it more pleasant to live in
within human control, we can do some-
thing about it. We know that nature did
not corral all hardship to leave it near Red
(pIMLI
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