The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.2002, Qupperneq 47

Vol. 57 #3
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
131
the vivid blue, white and red of the
Icelandic flag — whether they knew what it
was or not.
It did not stop with the flag. Brent had
also made arrangements with the Icelandic
Ambassador to the United States, Jon
Baldvin Hannibalsson and his wife Bryndis
Schram, to join in the Olympic festivities
and events. EiSur Gudnason, the Consul
General for Manitoba, and his wife Eyglo
Haraldsdottir also attended as Iceland’s
representatives from New Iceland.
A highlight of the celebrations was the
reception on the 19th of February at the
Springville Art Museum, a Spanish mis-
sion-style art museum, originally built dur-
ing the depression. This event was the
largest gathering of Utah Icelanders in his-
tory. Over 800 people, several hundred
more than were expected, came out to hon-
our the Icelandic Olympic team and hear
the remarks of the Ambassador, Brent
Haymond, Eidur Gudnason and members
of the organizing committee including the
president, Ellert Schram (Bryndis’ brother)
and the chef de mission, Stefan
Konradsson.
The Olympics were also a family
affair—starting with my wife Jaye, the
CEO of operations here at Iceland House,
and my parents, Irvin and Lois Olafson,
from Gimli Manitoba. Mom brought
rullupylsa, hangikjot, vinarterta, smoked
fish and flags. My Dad brought the Falcons
exhibit. My sister, Kris Jenkyns, brought a
box of her new book, the ‘Culinary Saga of
New Iceland’. In addition, there was my
brother Marno, my nieces Victoria and
Olivia and Kris Stefanson, all from
Manitoba. Also on hand were cousins Eric
and Wendy Sigurdson from St. Louis—
more Canadians gone south.
The Olympics and Iceland House were
the perfect place for Icelandic Canadians to
celebrate the accomplishments of the 1920
Winnipeg Falcons and Canada's first gold
medal in Olympic history. Readers here
know that every member of the Falcons
team were Canadians of Icelandic descent,
save one. It's a story that has been well
described. So the idea took root and was
sanctioned by the United Icelandic Appeal,
an organization created to serve the inter-
ests of Icelandic people everywhere.
The United Icelandic Appeal commis-
sioned Luther Pokrant, a member of the
Royal Academy of Art, with the task of
creating a five by ten foot commemorative
artwork depicting the team and their
accomplishments. My father had the great
idea that the mural should be completed
and shipped to Utah in time for the
Olympics. The work arrived in Salt Lake
City just in time for the official unveiling,
press conference and reception for the
Icelandic Olympic team on Eebruary 21st.
My brother Marno, vice-president of
the United Icelandic Appeal set the stage
for the press conference including the par-
ticipation of news and television media in
part coordinated by our local press agency.
As a consequence, we were thrilled to have
Bob Nicholson and Sheldon Lanchbery
join us, president and chairman of the
Canadian Hockey Association.
Putting this in context, by Thursday
the 21st, the date of the press conference,
the Canadian hockey team had been deci-
mated by Sweden, scored only a minor vic-
tory over Germany, and struggled to a tie
with Czechoslovakia in the preliminary
round. Not a very auspicious beginning for
a team with a mandate to bring back the
gold -- or nothing.
The mural became the focal point of
Iceland House. It remained covered while
Marno explained the connection between
the mural, the Falcons, Icelanders,
Canadian Hockey, and Olympics past and
present. We were prepared for a few per-
functory comments from Bob and Sheldon
as they were under pressure to get back to
the team practice. Instead, we received
warm remarks from both dealing with the
importance of hockey, it's history, tradi-
tion and the significance of our celebration
of the Falcons and Canada’s first gold
medal in 1920 and with the effort that lay
ahead for Team Canada.
Suddenly, with the unveiling of the
mural, Iceland House and the Falcons had
established a connection with the Olympic
spirit of achievement, with Canada in
regards to nothing less than the country's
national sport, and with Icelanders every-
where. It was terrific.