The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.2009, Qupperneq 42

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 62 #3
periodical, Sameiningin ( 1886) and
the Liberal and Unitarian Periodicals,
Dagsbrun (1893) and Heimer; the
Weekly Free Press; the Family Herald
and Weekly Star, old country
Icelandic papers such as Isafold; the
Nor’West Farmer and Farmer’s
Advocate; letters from the other
Icelandic settlements and from
Iceland, and, not to be omitted, the
bulky, highly informative T. Eaton
Company catalogue. There were also
books for private libraries and for the
community library. On mail days,
first once, then twice a week, the post
office was thronged, as a lively com-
munity center” (1980 p. 175).
The Icelandic pioneers’ hunger for
information about the world around them
was a fact of life before they came to
Manitoba. Their lives in Iceland were char-
acterized by an interest in world affairs
beyond the shores of their small island
(Kristjanson, 1965, p. 12). They were
accustomed to informing themselves
despite the geographical isolation of living
on an island. Upon arriving in Manitoba,
they continued to seek out ways to become
informed despite the geographical isolation
of living on the prairies.
Learning was extended beyond the
materials received in the mail to the post
office itself as a source of learning. The post
office became a sort of informal learning
centre each week for the Icelandic pioneer
women. It was here that they learned of the
news in their communities and shared
whatever news they had. They could use
this venue to spread news of Ladies’ Aid
meetings, fundraising events or of suffrage
and temperance presentations being made.
Word of mouth was one way to spread the
news, but they also could post notices of
upcoming activities at the post office.
Connecting with other women, as they did
at the post office, is one of the ways that
women used to learn (Belenky, et al., 1986).
There were many social benefits from
the trips to the post office for the Icelandic
pioneer women. Often the post offices
were located in the postmaster’s home, and
his wife would provide coffee and hospital-
ity each week. Some of the wives operated
the post office, as did Kristin
Christopherson of Argyle and Sella
Bodvarson and Margret Kristjanson of
New Iceland. The opportunity for women
to sit down and have coffee with other
women would have been a valued respite.
Many would have their young children and
babies with them. This would be an oppor-
tunity to discuss their children, their
health, and other issues related to day-to-
day survival. Pioneer women had difficul-
ties coping with the social isolation of the
prairies (Prentice, et al., 1988, p. 120), and
the Icelandic women were no different.
The post office visits offered one way to
combat the feelings of social isolation. This
was one of the benefits of adult learning
activities for Icelandic pioneer women.
The letters and reading materials
received in the mail, as well as the act of
going to collect the mail each week, provid-
ed many informal learning opportunities.
Their use of the Canadian Postal Service
informed and sustained them during the
difficult pioneering years.
Manitoba’s geography and climate: Harsh
teachers
When the Icelandic immigrants arrived
in Manitoba, they faced a very different
geography and climate than that of Iceland.
The geography of Iceland in the interior is
a volcanic mountain plateau, with lava
fields and sand. The volcanoes are active, as
was evidenced by the eruption of the
Dyngjufjoll volcano in 1875, which caused
many to leave Iceland and immigrate to
Canada. Other parts of Iceland feature
lakes, rivers, fjords and inlets (Kristjanson,
1965, p. 1). The climate is more moderate
than Manitoba’s. Mean temperatures in
Reykjavik range from 5C in January to
10.6C in July (Brydon, 2006, p. 1). The
Manitoba prairies with its greater extremes
of temperature presented a formidable
challenge and many new things to learn.
Understandably, the rural Icelandic farm-
ers and fishermen of New Iceland, Posen,
Selkirk and Argyle were more affected by
the geography and climate than were the
urban Icelanders of Winnipeg. This is not
intended to be a complete list of the many