The Icelandic connection - 01.09.2010, Blaðsíða 9

Vol. 63 #2
ICELANDIC CONNECTION
59
The Island
by Einar Vigfusson
They had come to the island in late
October on the last boat north . This
group consisted of young men from the
Framnes area immediately west of the
settlement of Ardal, now called Arborg in
Manitoba. They were first and second
generation Icelandic Canadians and
spoke mainly in the Icelandic language.
This group had adopted the fishery on
Lake Winnipeg as their vocation, along
with the farming that was their main
occupation.
The boat approached the dock on the
sheltered side of the the island. A light
island.
No one could ever tell when the ice
would form on the lake, but a cold spell,
often after a snow storm, could freeze the
lake over in a few days. Sometimes there
would be a storm and the ice would break
up again. This was quite common.
Among this group of fishermen were
my father Johann and his two brothers,
Einar and Bergur.
This was to be Dad’s eighth winter on
the island even though he was still only in
his twenties. His younger brothers had
been there during the previous winter
rain was falling as they began to bring
their meager possessions up on the deck
and unload them in the dark by the light
of the lanterns which were hung on the
pier.
They would spend the next weeks
preparing the log cabins for winter and
getting the nets and equipment ready for
the upcoming fishing season. As they
waited for the ice to form on the lake,
they prepared the dog teams they would
use for winter fishing.
They had also brought with them sev-
eral horses which would be shod with
special shoes called grousers. This
improved the stability of the horses and
their ability to pull heavier loads on the
ice. They also brought hay and some
grain for the horses with them to the
although they had fished further south on
the lake before that.
Also in this group was a young man,
seventeen years of age. His name was
Laurence and he came from the area
between the towns of Selkirk and
Clandeboye. He will be mentioned again
later in this story.
Now that the boat had gone each man
felt a certain amount of loneliness. They
knew they would be pretty well isolated
for the next few months, away from fam-
ily and friends and maybe girlfriends
whom they would not see during this
time. The only real connection to home
would be through letters which could be
sent and received at the post office at a
place called Poplar River on the main-
land, approximately twenty-five miles to