The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.2002, Page 46

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 57 #3
Young University, the largest centre for
Scandinavian studies west of the
Mississippi, as a segue to navigating Norse
scripts in Iceland and throughout
Scandinavia.
Visitors to Utah from Iceland and
New Iceland are taken aback emotionally
by reminders of those early immigrants
from Iceland. The cemetery at Spanish
Fork filled with old Icelandic names, the
Icelandic names in phone books, the mon-
uments, the Icelandic library, the annual
Islendingadagurinn, and the Icelandic
Association of Utah — as active as any in
America. There’s even a billboard exhort-
ing visitors to eat at ‘Amma’s Kitchen’.
Of course, Mormon missionaries are
prepared to travel around the world, result-
ing in the highest concentration of language
and translation skills in the world. The
Mormons think big, taking into account
the very smallest countries in the world,
including Iceland. In fact, Clark
Thorsteinson completed his mission to the
Faeroe Islands and his son went to Iceland,
as have over a dozen missionaries in the
past 10 years. Young Utahans like Matt
McQuire, back from a two-year mission in
Iceland and fluent in the language, was an
escort to the athletes from Iceland. What
are the chances of that happening anywhere
in the world outside of Iceland?
The Mormon influence tends to sur-
face in any conversation about Salt Lake
City. My personal observations are that
Mormons are enormously generous, caring
and a wonderfully committed and industri-
ous people.
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The Olympics
But my purpose is not to describe the
history of Mormon Icelandic Americans,
but to share our story of the 2002 Winter
Olympic Games.
First, let me introduce you to the cur-
rent Honourary Consul, Brent Haymond.
Brent is enormous in physical size and
character. He has experience in many fields
and undertakes projects with resolve and
dedication. Brent gets things done and we
are grateful for the privilege to have helped
in making Iceland's presence at the Games
something special for the athletes and the
country.
Brent had already approached us on
the idea of hosting a hospitality centre, or
what he had come to call ‘Iceland House’.
It seemed like a good idea. However, on a
visit back to Gimli for my father's 70th
birthday, this became a commitment. And
it became combined inextricably with the
continuing saga of the Winnipeg Falcons
that many of you have read about recently
in the Logberg-Heimskringla, Macleans
Magazine, and the Winnipeg Free Press.
Brent was designated as the official
Olympic Attache for the Icelandic
Olympic team. In three trips to Iceland in
the months preceding the Olympic Games,
Brent convinced this tiny country — field-
ing a team of only six athletes, none of
whom have any real ambition of striking
into the medal territory — that they should
enjoy all the benefits of Utah Icelandic hos-
pitality.
This included the establishment of
‘Iceland House’ at our company headquar-
ters, Tomax. We have a great location right
across the street from the Olympic Plaza in
downtown Salt Lake City. Our office is a
100-year-old, restored candy manufactur-
ing/warehouse building. Four stories tall, it
was just able to accommodate the largest
flag in Icelandic history: 33 feet by 22 feet.
Valgeir Thorvaldsson at the Icelandic
Emigration Centre in Hofsos, Iceland,
constructed this enormous flag. Needless
to say, much of the world and certainly any
traveler to Salt Lake City could not miss