The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.2009, Qupperneq 12

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 62 #3
for a door. This was our secret place to be
alone and compare notes on survival. This
house of hay was cozy even in a blizzard.
Let me introduce you to some mem-
bers of the Thorvaldsson cast. Aunty
Sesselja (Sella) Johannesson Thorvardson
and Amma would sit quietly, self-com-
posed and secure in the knowledge that this
large, educated, ambitious household was
intact, comfortable and sustained for the
most part by their prodigious domestic
efforts. These ladies probably sewed their
own dresses and grew the gladiolas, defi-
nitely a Johannesson touch.
I would be remiss if I did not elaborate
on Sveinn Thorvaldsson and his brothers
Thorvaldur and Thorbergur. The
Thorvaldssons came to Winnipeg on
August 1, 1887. There were six in the fam-
ily: Thorvaldur, forty-five, his wife
Thuridur, fifty, Sveinn, fifteen, Gudrun,
eight, Thorvaldur seven, and Thorbergur,
four. They started to farm at Arnes but
Sveinn set off to work as a cook in a fishing
camp. He came home to help build the
family home. Then he walked 13 miles to
Gimli to catch a boat to go fishing. In
January he walked forty miles to Selkirk
and worked in a lumberyard. Sveinn hired
out at every opportunity to earn money for
the family. In 1889 a school opened at
Arnes and Sveinn worked and learned
English. Two years later he attended a
teacher’s school in Winnipeg and earned a
teacher’s certificate. He taught school at
Arnes and Mikley (Hecla) where he met his
first wife Margret Solmundsson.
However, Sveinn’s entrepreneurial
instincts prevailed. It seems that he and his
brothers had similar familial traits that des-
tined them for success. They were extreme-
ly intelligent, willing to work hard, had a
driving thirst for education/knowledge,
were self-disciplined, and morally and eth-
ically virtuous. Sveinn, the eldest, had a
responsibility to earn money to support the
family, and he did.
In 1895 Sveinn went to a dairy school
and then opened a creamery in Gimli, later
moving it to Riverton. In 1902 the partner-
ship of Stefan and Johannes Sigurdsson was
dissolved and Johannes joined Sveinn in a
new venture, ‘The Sigurdsson-
Thorvaldsson Co. Ltd.’ This company
would eventually own stores in Gimli,
Riverton, Arborg, Hnausa and Bissett and
the company became involved in forestry,
lumber, petroleum, shipping (on Lake
Winnipeg), dairy production and dry
goods export.
Beginning at an early age Sveinn took
an active interest in politics. He was a reeve
of the Gimli Municipality and later of
Bifrost. He was a member of the Manitoba
legislature, with fifteen years service. In
1910 he became president of the Gimli
Conservative Association, (his son Senator
Solli Thorvaldson years later became head
of the Conservative Party of Canada).
Sveinn lobbied the governments of
Manitoba and Canada to extend the rail-
way to Riverton and on November 14,
1914 the first train rolled into Riverton.
Sveinn started an Icelandic school that
was open to everyone, with classes held on
Saturdays; and for attendance one received
an orange and a ticket to the matinee
movie. So Ukrainian and Indian kids
learned Icelandic along with the rest of us.
The two bridges, the railroad, the com-
munity hall, the Federated Unitarian
Church and Parish Hall, the Co-Operative
Creamery and all roads that lead in and out
of Riverton were promoted and completed
during his many years of leadership.
The interests of Sveinn Thorvaldsson
extended far beyond the borders of New
Iceland. He provided assistance in estab-
lishing the Icelandic Steamship Lines,
Eimskipafelag. Later the Board of Eimskip
(and Icelandair) expressed their apprecia-
tion for the efforts of Sveinn and other
Western Icelanders for investing in the
company when it needed capital to contin-
ue operations. For this and his many other
services to Iceland, the Icelandic
Government conferred on him the Order
of the Falcon. Sveinn was also made a
Member of the Order of the British
Empire, a title that earned him the igno-
minious nick name of ‘over boiled egg’ by
his detractors.
Now about Sveinn’s brothers.
Thorvaldur attended Wesley College in