The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.2009, Qupperneq 47

Vol. 62 #3
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
189
boundary of Manitoba, along the shore of
Lake Winnipeg for seven townships, and to
the west to include range 3E, with the
inclusion of Hecla Island.
Sigtryggur made his home in Riverton
and established a store in the town of
Lundi. He also established a lumber and
transportation business. The community
honoured him on two occasions. In 1915
the early pioneers were honoured on the
30th anniversary of the settlement with
Sigtryggur being singled out and presented
with an inscribed gold headed cane as a
mark of appreciation from the whole settle-
ment.
On his seventieth birthday in June of
1922, Sigtryggur Jonasson was presented
not only with $200 but, more importantly,
the recognition of his contribution to the
settlement. Sigtryggur remained in
Riverton for a few more years but moved
to Arborg to live with his son and daugh-
ter-in-law. He passed away on November
11,1942 and was laid to rest in the Riverton
Cemetery.
Framfari was the newspaper estab-
lished in New Iceland. Located in Lundi it
was the dream of Sigtryggur Jonasson. In
January of 1877 he advertised throughout
the settlement that a meeting would be held
on the 22nd. The purpose of this meeting
was to establish a periodical to serve the
settlement. The meeting was well attended
and the support was good, so a committee
to set a budget was struck. A second meet-
ing was set for February 5th to report on
the viability of the enterprise. The estimat-
ed cost of $1000 was divided into shares of
$10 each and 110 shares were pledged with
the sale of 50 shares at the meeting. Records
show that only 78 shares were actually sold
and 32 were half paid. The New Iceland
Publishing Co. was formed, a building
built and a printing press ordered. The
press arrived in June but the need for extra
type for the Icelandic language delayed the
publishing until September 10, 1877. The
first editor was Sigtryggur Jonasson, serv-
ing in that capacity until the position was
taken by Halldor Briem. Halldor and his
brother Johann Briem were very active in
preparing articles and providing interesting
facts to the settlers. The 600 subscribers
were located in Canada, USA and Iceland.
The yearly subscription price of $1.75 was
quite expensive and the paper fell into
bankruptcy. The final issue in January 1880
marked the demise of Framfari. Framfari
was the first paper to be published in
Icelandic in North America.
The cairn in Centennial Park is direct-
ly across the river from where the Framfari
was published.
Guttormur J. Guttormsson is well
known in New Iceland and was recognized
for his poetry in Iceland as well. There was
seldom a celebration or gathering in
Riverton that Gutti was not on the pro-
gram. Gutti was an entertaining speaker
and usually composed a poem to commem-
orate the occasion. The poetry made him
the best known man in Riverton with
recognition from many literary circles in
Europe. Although he is mostly recognized
for his poetry, he also wrote short stories
and plays.
When we look at the pictures of the
Riverton Brass Band then we see the leader,
G. J. Guttormsson. He not only arranged
the music for the Band but also wrote some
of it. This band was recognized by Hon.
Arthur Meighan as the finest rural band he
had ever listened to. Gutti was more proud
of this accomplishment than of his poetry.
The monument in the park recognizes
the strong connection between Gutti and
Sandy Bar. This was the attraction of the
settlers to New Iceland. The nature of the
area is captured in the poem reflecting its
mystery as well as its majesty.
Now your visit to Centennial Park
should be more meaningful with the story
of the memorials located there.
Material for this presentation was
sourced from Riverton and the Icelandic
Settlement, authored by Dr. S.O.
Thompson, and Icelandic River Saga,
authored by Nelson Gerrard.