The Icelandic Canadian - 01.08.2002, Side 23

Vol. 57 #1
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
21
with us down through the years. The
school was also the centre of social activi-
ties. My mother and aunt sang in a choir
which one teacher organized. He accompa-
nied them on his flute. The Markerville
Icelandic Ladies Aid Society was a pioneer
venture. Established in 1891, it is still func-
tioning. The ladies prepared the lunch and
made coffee in my mother’s kitchen for
social functions. In appreciation they pre-
sented my mother with a silver tea service
before the turn of the century.
My mother acquired a new range with
a warming oven and reservoir early, possi-
bly the first in the community. She also
brought a new sewing machine with her
from the U.S.A., a gift from her father and
brother. This of course was an invaluable
item for the pioneer woman who had to
have dress making capabilities. She was also
able to help her neighbours who had no
machine but several daughters.
My parents had a family of eight, six
reached maturity. One son died from diph-
theria in the U.S.A. and my sixteen year-
old brother was struck by lightening and
died instantly, so they had their share of
sorrow, as did most pioneer families. But
they met trouble with outward composure
and my father composed touching poems
to their memories.
Those pioneer women often had to be
alone with their young children on the
homestead whilst their husbands sought
employment away from home in order to
acquire some cash. My father was away
from home for two summers with a survey
crew around Edmonton in the very early
years. So my mother with her young fami-
ly and my grandmother were alone on the
homestead. Prairie fires were prevalent at
that time and dreaded. One such fire came
raging from the west fanned by a strong
wind. It jumped across the river, headed for
the house. The family had packed up what
they could and were ready to vacate.
Luckily there was a damp, boggy area just
below the house so the fire died down and
all were safe. My paternal grandmother
made her home with my parents. She was a
frail woman, but lived to be 81 years of age.
I never saw her do housework but she was
an artist at turning virgin wool into wear-
ing apparel for the family. She spun very
fine wool, sometimes three ply. She knit
lovely lace from sewing cotton and fol-
A class at the Hola School.