The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.2009, Síða 15

Vol. 62 #3
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
157
Kristrun Sc S. V.
tance against him was hard to maintain.
Stefan and Valgerdur
He was elected to the top position of
Reeve of the Municipality of Gimli in
December of 1892. At the first meeting of
Council he arranged for a resolution,
directed to the Federal Government, asking
for two projecting wharfs, one at Hnausa
and one at Gimli. Citizens were petitioned
and 345 signatures were forwarded to the
Member of Parliament for Lisgar. Stefan
continued to fight for his constituents and
was re-elected in 1894. He arranged for Mr.
Bradbury, a strong conservative, to go to
Ottawa on his behalf. Mr. Bradbury suc-
ceeded in getting approval from the
Conservative Government for both wharfs.
In 1895 the Hnausa dock was completed, 5
years before Gimli’s dock.
The Railway
About the same time that he lobbied
for the docks, he was engaged in another
project. While Reeve of Gimli, he promot-
ed and petitioned to establish railway ser-
vice to the settlement of Hnausa and
Riverton. He followed up the petitions
with delegations to railway executives and
subsequently, in 1911, Stefan (at his own
expense) with three other delegates, went
to Ottawa to get an extension of the line
from Gimli to Riverton. They returned
with the assurance that this extension
would be constructed.
St. Andrews Locks
Another project of great importance
that directly affected the future of Hnausa
and Lake Winnipeg was the building of the
St. Andrews Locks to overcome the Lister
Rapids between Winnipeg and Selkirk. As
a ship owner, Stefan was convinced this
improvement would yield untold advan-
tages to the Lake Winnipeg settlers.
Education
Stefan was seriously interested in pro-
viding the best education possible for com-
ing generations, and served for many years
on the (Baldur) Hnausa School Board. He
represented the district on a commission
set up by Roblin, the Premier of Manitoba,
to study the educational needs of the
Province. One of his recommendations was
that children in rural areas should have ten
months of school in each year (as did urban
children). The practice at the time was to
provide 6 or 7 months of schooling. Surely
country kids all over Manitoba are pleased
that Stefan’s recommendation for a longer
school year was implemented.
The Lady of the Lake
Stefan and Johannes received the finan-
cial support of Booth Fish Co. to build a
new boat called the ‘Lady of the Lake.’
This vessel was impressive for the times. It
was 100 feet long with a six foot draft when
empty and capable of carrying hundreds of
boxes of fish, up to 80 passengers, and con-