The Icelandic connection - 01.06.2010, Blaðsíða 36

34
ICELANDIC CONNECTION
Vol. 63 # I
the form of a group or society that worked
collectively to help others in the community.
Women had just begun to form women’s orga-
nizations in Iceland around the time of the
emigration period (Matthiasson, 1977, p. 29)
and they continued that practice in Manitoba.
The first group organized exclusively by
and for women was The Icelandic Women’s
Society in 1881. This society evolved from a
collective concern some women had for the
welfare of the newly arrived immigrants and
for the vulnerability of others in their commu-
nity within an urban centre (Kristjanson,
1965, p. 175). One of the founding members,
Rebekka Johnson, was chosen to be president,
and the society began meeting on a weekly
basis. They raised money through donations
and various efforts, including the presentation
of a drama and the hosting of a banquet. With
funds available, the Women’s Society began
to assist those in need.
The Women’s Society’s main focus was
to assist newly arrived Icelandic immigrants.
The Society assisted them through the arrival
process in Winnipeg by acting as English
translators. One woman in the Society coun-
seled young Icelandic women as to suitable
places of employment. Most members of the
Women’s Society, and their families, took the
immigrants into their homes, providing food,
lodging and guidance. At one point there were
not enough Icelandic homes available for the
immigrants to be billeted, and so for two
weeks Women’s Society members, Kristrun
Sveinungadottir and Bjorg Palsdottir, provid-
ed meals at the Immigration Shed for the
Icelandic immigrants (Kristjanson, 1965, p.
180). The Society also worked closely with
the Icelandic Progressive Society to arrange
transportation for the immigrants to the
Icelandic communities of Selkirk and New
Iceland (Kristjanson, 1965, p. 180). The
Progressive Society was another group of
Icelandic men and women who assisted the
Icelandic immigrants. The Canadian
Immigration Agent in Winnipeg, Captain
Grahame, who became a friend of the
Icelanders, commented on the pattern of
assistance to Icelandic immigrants after
observing the work of the Women’s Society
and the Progressive Society for a couple of
years:
As usual, the Icelandic residents of
Winnipeg and the surrounding country
flocked to meet their friends, each one taking
a share of the work, in cooking and otherwise
providing for the comfort of the newcomers,
and considering these people were possessed
of little or no means, they were satisfactorily
disposed of in an incredibly short time
(Grahame, quoted in Kristjanson, 1965, p.
181).
As the first Icelandic women’s organiza-
tion in Manitoba, the members of the
Icelandic Women’s Society must have learned
many new skills through this non-formal
means. Many of these women had been part
of other organizations prior to 1881, but they
were now given opportunities to play a larger
role. Their fundraising projects and direct
assistance to immigrants indicate potential
learning in areas of leadership, organization,
budgeting, problem-solving, networking, and
counseling, to name a few. In addition to their
own non-formal learning, they contributed to
the informal learning of the Icelandic immi-
grants by taking them into their homes and
sharing what they had learned about adapting
to life in Manitoba.
As the numbers of Icelandic immigrants
arriving in Winnipeg began to decrease, the
need for the Icelandic Women’s Society also
decreased. This group of women continued to
assist others through a different format called
the Women’s Society of the First Lutheran
Church of Winnipeg (Thorvaldson, 1995, p.
IV). Apparently, most members of the original
Women’s Society were Lutherans, and so this
was a logical next step. Their leader was Lara
Bjarnason who had also been a member of the
Icelandic Women’s Society. The group soon
referred to themselves as the Ladies’ Aid of
the First Lutheran Church, as that was the
English term.
Ladies’ Aid societies of both the Lutheran
and Unitarian churches were established
throughout the province. They functioned to
provide assistance to their church and com-
munity. Their community assistance provid-
ed a second level of support to Icelandic
immigrants in addition to the initial support
received through the Icelandic Women’s
Society in Winnipeg. The Ladies’ Aid soci-
eties were the most widespread volunteer
organizations that the Icelandic pioneer