The Icelandic Canadian - 01.04.2009, Qupperneq 34

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 62 #2
to Gimli. These women saw the need for
care of the elderly and began what is now
called the Betel Home. This was run as a
charity with the women working tirelessly
to provide all the necessities of a comfort-
able home by their volunteer work. The
Matrons of the Betel Home were outstand-
ing in their positions, giving so much of
themselves to the elderly and infirm. This
retirement home was begun in a house but
the need for space grew and eventually a
local hotel became the Betel Home and it
served the community into the 1990's.
Because this was a work of such dedication,
the residents were treated as though this
was truly their home. Many of the staff
were well acquainted with the families of
the residents, hence the excellent care dis-
pensed with love was always a priority.
There were always women's groups
that were active in the area, many still
flourishing well today. The Women's
Institute is a great example. Originally
called the Homemakers Society, this group
of women strove to improve local condi-
tions, promote education at all levels, foster
good citizenship and assist one another in
daily living. During the war, these women
here were no different than elsewhere in
the Province or Canada, providing pack-
ages of knitting, food stuffs and tobacco to
be sent to the troops. In the years leading
up to 1970, the Women’s Institute collect-
ed stories of the community and its families
and produced one of the very first local his-
tories, The Gimli Saga. It led the way for
many communities to follow suit and even
prompted the printer to produce a booklet
of guidelines for other communities to fol-
low.
Church groups were and are still a
major force in the area. There are still
groups that work together to benefit small
communities near Gimli, such as the
Minerva Ladies Aid, the Husavik Ladies
Aid and the Dnister Heritage Group just to
name a few. There are also cultural groups
that feed a need in the community. When
the first library in Gimli was established
with 1000 books (mostly in Icelandic), it
was an indication of how important learn-
ing and being mindful of world events
were. The women I especially want to
bring to your attention are: Margret
Benediktsson, who was not only a strong
voice in the suffragette movement, but also
an author and a publisher. She used these
abilities to promote the movement and
many of her writings have now been trans-
lated. They give us a better idea of what
these women really were up against.
Another author, of literature and music,
was Blanche Bristow, who was author W.D
Valgardson's grandmother. She wrote
many plays for community events. These
plays were put on in Gimli and the sur-
rounding communities and were a major
source of entertainment, as well as forming
a base in cultural and social life. Her music
was published around the late '20s. Blanche
had the nickname of "Chatelaine", as she
was so beautiful.
Miss Sigurbjorg Stefansson, was a
teacher in the community for at least 30
some years; her intelligence and devotion
to her students aided the community so
Pharmacists:
ERNEST STEFANSON
CARRY FEDORCHUK
CLAIRE GILLIS
642-5504
[FSPHARMASAVE
We care
about your health
Centre and Fourth / Gimli, MB / ROC 1 BO