Lögberg-Heimskringla - 17.03.1995, Side 9

Lögberg-Heimskringla - 17.03.1995, Side 9
Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 17. mars 1995 • 9 An American Visits lceland Conversations with Grimur, July 1994 By Ron duBois Stillwater, Oklahama, USA Regarding Sod Houses ooking at the cramped and dingy space within the interior of a sod house at Glaumbær, near Varmahlíö, Iceland, an American tourist from Florida commented loudly that he could sure understand why Icelanders moved to Canada and the U.S. To me he seemed the embodi- ment of the ugly American. Later I found out he was a banker from Florida. His status went up as I heard him comment that the best thing he had done in life was to marry an Icelander. My experience was similar and I decided that he couldn’t be all bad. Glaumbær is a complex of sod houses occupied until 1947. It is now a national museum and historic site. To modern Icelanders the interior space of sod houses seems impossibly cramped. The doorways appeared to be designed for people no more than five feet in height. The original Vikings were tall in stature but dwarfing occurred, we were told, through lack of sufficient food and a harsh life. The small proportions of sod houses appear to prove that human beings can literally shrink or expand in stature depending on the variables of life. Perhaps there are other explana- tions. Icelanders know their ancestors survived harsh conditions and are therefore not prone to take their pre- sent high standards of living for grant- ed. Sod houses were dark and damp and heated with fuel made from peat- moss mixed with dung, much like the patties made from straw and cow dung used throughout villages in India. In addition Icelanders knew how to make charcoal. The sites of huge earth pits designed to bum wood with minimum oxygen still exist. They cut their native birch trees without thought of replanti- ng. When only one tree remained, an unknown farmer cut it down to make charcoal. He needed it to heat his sod house. Today the government is com- mitted to reforestation. To an American tourist a frame house of lumber, heated with gas or coal and equipped with plumbing and electricity seems infinitely superior. Yet sod houses within the context of the times were remarkable constructions. Icelanders like humans everywhere used the materials available to them. Because wood was scarce they used thick slabs of earth similar to the earth sods used for landscaping today. Wood was essential for mainbeam and rafters, for staircases, upstairs flooring, for bed- steads, for doors and framing. Thora’s parents moved from a beau- FISH FRESH WATER PICKEREL • TROUT • CHAR, ETC. SALT WATER HALIBUT • COD • SOLE, ETC. SHELLFISH SHRIMP • LOBSTER • CRAB, ETC. SMOKED GOLDEYE • SALMON • TROUT, ETC. ICELANDIC HARÐFISKUR OPEN IN WINNIPEG MON.-SAT. ALL YEAR DIRECT FROM THE FISHERMAN TO YOU 596 Dufferin Avenue (ai McGregor) Winnipeg, Manitoba R2W 2Y9 Fax: (204) 586-1526 Mail Orders VVelcoine CQf\ 'l/1*7/1 Phone Totlay: (204) tiful, yet economically depressed coun- try to an uncertain life in Canada. Had her parents stayed in Iceland their lives would have been hard yet they would have shared in the dramatic economic and technological success of the last fifty years. Within that time Icelanders exchanged their sod houses for solid modern homes built of the best materials, with inexhaustible sup- plies of electricity, and heated with an endless supply of very hot under- While in lceland, her cousin, Jón Benjaminsonn presented Thora (Asgeirson) duBois and her husband Ron, with beautiful lcelandic sweaters. ground water. The sod houses of the past are testimony to the ability of humans tó survive and to lead mean- ingful lives in harsh conditions. Among other shadowy notions, my Continued on page 10 BILLBOARD COUNSELLORS Díd you know? ‘m That the Chair of lcelandic at the University of Manitoba is the only one of its kind outside of lceland ¥ That lcelandic or Old Norse is a root language akin to Latin That in 1952 $250,000 plus was raised in the community to facilitate the creation of the Chair of lcelandic and that the money was given by people in the lcelandic community, some giving $1,000.00 which would translate to $10,000.00 in today's money market and one gift of $50,000.00 by Ásmundur Johannson, translating to $500,000.00 today That the lcelandic collection is comparable to the Fiske collection at Comell University and more up to date with modern books, a major resource for scholars everywhere m That the Canadian government gave $300,000.00 for the ongoing promotion and study of lcelandic Canadian Literature and that we now have a full time assistant professor in the Department to facilitate that study. W That government cut-backs and University fiscal policy could endanger this magnificent achievement of the lcelandic community in North America W That a fund of $1,000,000.00 will secure the existence of the lcelandic department and the good works it provides for the foreseeable future “W That we are about $225,000.00 short of that goal ■« Thatyou could help... Please give generously, make cheques payable U. of M. Dept. of lcelandic and send to: HIP, care of 3030 Notre Dame Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3H 1B9 This space is provided monthly by Neil Bardal Inc., Family Funeral Counsellors, for the use of community groups. If your group would like to use this space, please call us at 949-2200. c>ym v_y (ftun SELLING AND BUYING MORTGAGES AND REAL ESTATE APPRAISALS Derrick Sigmar c.r.a. S. Murray Sigmar 100 - 575 ST. MARY’S ROAD WINNIPEG, MANITOBA R2M 3L6 TELEPHONE: (204) 233-9132 FAX: (204)233-9157

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