The Icelandic Canadian - 01.08.2002, Síða 24

22
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 57 #1
lowed English instructions, a language,
which she taught herself to read and under-
stand. She gathered reeds, dried and braid-
ed them and made straw hats for the boys.
Such resourcefulness!
My brothers made their homes with
my parents for a period of time after they
were married while they were building
their homes. There was always plenty of
company at our house. Neighbours drop-
ping in on the way to town and of course
on the way home to bring the mail. There
seemed to be more time for neighbourly
visits then. My mother had a large family to
cook for and it required skill to do it eco-
nomically and well.
Pioneer women were often called upon
to administer nursing care and doctoring to
their families as the closest doctor was in
Calgary during those earliest years. My sis-
ters developed a severe type of whooping
cough. My parents feared for their lives.
But my mother nursed them back to
health. I had pneumonia when I was young
so at the first sign of a cold I well remem-
ber the hot ginger tea I had to swallow,
which I detested, and the hot mustard foot
bathes I had to take. It must have been the
right treatment for me.
So you see those pioneer women
besides being a good helpmate for their
husbands had to be industrious and skillful
in many facets. We gratefully acknowledge
their contribution to the building up of our
lovely land and the secure home life, which
they helped to promote for us. We revere
their memory. Thank you.
Hola School 75th Anniversary
Celebration - 1979
Mr. President and Friends;
It is indeed a pleasure and a privilege to
be present here at Hola on this 75h
Anniversary Celebration.
I thought perhaps, it might be of inter-
est to review the history of the school, a bit.
The first Hola School was built on my
father’s land, just east of the old home. It
was of log construction and its dimensions
were 18 feet by 26 feet, with a small ante-
room. Thor Gudmundson and my father
were chosen to be a delegation to legalize
the formation of a school district and to see
to the erection of the school. Logs were cut
out west some distance away and they were
floated down the river and hauled to the
building site. Everyone helped with the
building, which was completed and ready
in the fall of 1892.
John Gudmundson was the first
teacher and his only qualification was that
he had himself been to school for a short
period of time. There were 30 pupils and he
was able to help his pupils, greatly. Other
teachers followed, all from Eastern
Canada. The school filled a great need in
the district and the pupils came from quite
distant points to attend school. Quite a
number stayed with my parents for a peri-
od of time. This school operated for 12
years. It was also the centre of all social life
in the district.
Then in 1904 this present school was
built and, I believe, Asmundur
Christianson was the head carpenter at that
operation.
Hola comes from the word meaning
hilly. In Northern Iceland there is an
Agricultural School named Holar and it has
been in operation for a very long time. It is
out in the country in a beautiful setting.
There is also a church there as it is an
ancient diocese and also a high tower with
a circular stairway inside. This tower was
built as a memorial to Bishop Jon Arason,
who lost his life during the great religious
reformation which took place in Iceland in
the mid 1500’s. There are also other build-
ings such as the home of the principal and
John Harvard, MP
Charleswood St. James-Assiniboia
ittji Chair, Northern &
Western Caucus
3050 Portage Ave.
Winnipeg, MB R3K 0Y1
Ph: (204) 983-4501
/ Fax: (204) 983-4728
/ www.johnharvard.com
Room 774 Confederation Bldg. • Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Ph: (613) 995-5609 • Fax: (613) 992-3199
harvaj@parl.gc.ca