The Icelandic connection - 01.06.2010, Qupperneq 38

36
ICELANDIC CONNECTION
Vol. 63 #1
helped others was varied. In some cases it was
as direct and simple as buying a cow for a
widow (Rural Municipality of Argyle, 1981).
In another case, it was through the support of
a system such as Mikley’s Help in Emergency
organization. As the name indicates, the
women saw their role as helping anyone in
their community in an emergency (McKillop,
1979, p. 131). In Swan Lake, as in many other
communities, the Ladies’ Aid functioned sim-
ilarly to the Icelandic Women’s Society in
Winnipeg. They opened their homes to the
new immigrants, assisted them in finding
housing and employment, and taught them
what they themselves had learned about sur-
viving on the Manitoba prairies (Lundar and
District Historical Society, 1980. p. 372).
The Ladies’ Aid Society of the First
Lutheran Church in Winnipeg saw a need for
elderly Icelandic immigrants who were in
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some cases homeless and without the ability
to speak English. It seemed unfair for these
people to spend their final years in a care
home surrounded by people who couldn’t
understand them, in terms of language or cul-
ture. The president of the Ladies’ Aid, Lara
Bjarnason, first voiced the need for an
Icelandic “home for the elderly”, which set
off a series of events resulting in the creation
of Betel Home in Gintli (Thorvaldson, 1995,
p. 11). This home continues to operate today
and is one of three homes administered by the
non-profit Betel Home Foundation. Whether
providing for others in small ways, or in
major projects such as Betel Home, the
Ladies’ Aid societies played an important role
in their communities. Many such acts of com-
passion and generosity by the members of the
Ladies’ Aid societies were revealed in this
research. Once again, it is remarkable how
these women found the time or energy to take
on these projects in the face of their own day
to day hardships.
Before closing, it is important to note
how the Icelandic pioneer women worked
within their Ladies’ Aid societies without
need of personal recognition. They did not
seek to have their names attached to their
achievements. This is best demonstrated by
the humble symbol of the Ladies’ Aid of the
1st Lutheran Church of Winnipeg’s important
role in the creation of the Betel Home in
Gimli. The symbol is a flagon, or vessel,
which was a gift presented by the Ladies’ Aid
to the Church in 1890 (Thorvaldson, 1995, p.
100). This beautiful silver-plated flagon con-
tinues to be used each Sunday as part of the
service of holy communion and bears the
inscription “fra nokkrum konum” (from a few
women). This beautiful act of humility by the
Ladies’ Aid Society gives us some under-
standing of why the history of women goes
unrecorded.
This historical narrative has described the
work of the Icelandic Women’s Society and
the Ladies’ Aid societies that resulted in a
social welfare network for the new Icelandic
immigrants arriving in Manitoba. It is the last
in a series of seven historical narratives which
have made up the findings of this research.
The next chapter discusses these findings and
provides implications and recommendations
from this research.