Gearing up for the
108th Annual Deuce of August
Icelandic Celebration
August 3rd,
4th & 5th
Mountain, ND
THOUGHT YOU’D LIKE TO KNOW:
Our celebration will always be held on the
weekend preceding the first Monday in August!
This enables visitors to also attend the
Islendingadagurinn in Gimli on the first Monday in August.
2007-108th Deuce of August Celebration--Friday, Saturday, &
Sunday--August 3rd 4th & 5th
2007 is the 129th anniversary of the settlement of the Icelandic
Communities in Northeastern North Dakota!
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ICA Officer Contact Information
President,
Curtis Olafson-13041 84th St.NE-Edinburg,ND 58227-Ph.
701-993-8240-E-Mail-colafson@polarcomm.com
Vice-President,
Leslie Geir-8517 Hwy. 32-Edinburg,ND 58227-Ph.
701-993-8367-E-Mail-lesgr@polarcomm.com
Secretary,
Loretta Bernhoft-P.O. Box 204-Mountain,ND 58262-Ph.
701-993-8282-E-Mail-bernhoft@polarcomm.com
Treasurer,
Richard Wild-12450 Co. Rd. 1-Edinburg,ND 58227-Ph.
701-993-8612-E-Mail-rjw8612@polarcomm.com
Editor, Duane Halldorson-P.O. Box 064-Mountain,ND
58262-Ph. 701-993-8116-E-Mail-halldor3@polarcomm.com
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I would like to remind you that if you have any friends you think might
enjoy getting this newsletter have them drop us a line with their mailing
address or e-mail address and a brief note on how they heard about us. Please
feel free to contact us at any time at the Icelandic
Communities Assoc., PO Box 063, Mountain, ND 58262-0063, Phone# 701-993-8268 - E-Mail (august2@polarcomm.com) -
Fax,(701-993-8239) Also, don’t forget to
check out our Web Page (www.august2nd.com)
for up to date information on our celebration plans and other activities.
The 2007 Membership drive is underway.
Membership runs from
Jan. thru Dec.
$10.00 per
person
Any Membership
payment that arrives after November 15th of that year will be
applied to the following year.
NOTE: Membership dues are not
tax deductible, but any contributions over and above that is tax
deductible.
ICA has 501 c 3 (tax-exempt non-profit) status from
the Internal Revenue Service.
NOTE:
You may pay your dues in advance.
“Please
note on your check which year’s dues you are paying”
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2006 Deuce of August
$1000.00 & $500.00 ICA
MONEY RAFFLE.
Drawing was held August 6th after
Tractor Pull
2006 winners were
Larry Houser-- Park River, ND
Sonja White-- Monroe, WA
President’s Message
Curtis Olafson
Greetings to all friends of ICA! The 107th Deuce of August
Celebration is now in the history books and it was by any and all accounts a
huge success. From my vantage point, I
thought that the level of volunteerism and dedication was as high as it has
ever been since the 100th Celebration in 1999. I also believe that the number of people
attending over the Celebration weekend was the highest ever since the 100th. This success is, of course, the result of a
lot of hard work on the part of a lot of great people, and I want to take this
opportunity to thank everyone who worked, attended and enjoyed.
We also need to say a sincere thank
you to our keynote speaker, Iceland’s
Ambassador to the United
States, Helgi Ágústsson. Helgi and his wife “Heba” were once again a
warm and wonderful part of the Celebration weekend. They have ended their tenure in Washington, D.C., and
have moved back home to Iceland,
but we gave them strict orders to come back and visit us again soon, and they
assured us that they certainly would!
Some other events that were new and
created a lot of interest were: The Spirit Lake Dancers from Devils Lake,
the Vietnam Veteran’s Wall display, the State Tractor and Pickup Pulling
Contest, and we even brought back the Old Time Dance!
As we remember our past successes,
we are always looking forward to the future.
The community of Mountain has been working for quite some time exploring
the possibility of building a new community center. We received some very exciting news recently
by being approved for two major federal funding grants which should fund approximately half of the building
project. This is certainly an ambitious
project for a small community, but if any small community can do it, with your
help, we can! Please read Mayor Tim
Moore’s article in this edition of the Fjalla Blað for more information on this badly needed
community facility.
Looking forward to next year’s
Celebration, we have already heard from two choirs from Iceland that will be performing during the
Celebration weekend, and I am sure that we will soon be hearing from several
tour groups from Iceland
as well. Another event of interest that
is already on our tentative schedule is the dedication of the Thingvalla Church
Memorial. For more information on the
Memorial, please read the update immediately following this article. It is never too early to begin making plans
to attend the 108th Celebration in 2007!
During this Holiday Season as we
gather together with family and friends, may we always remember the greatest
Celebration of all-the Celebration of Christ’s birth. From all of us here at ICA, best wishes for a Blessed Christmas and
for Peace and Happiness in the New Year.
Until next time……. “Hvað er svo glatt sem góðra vina fundur?”
Thingvalla Church Memorial Update
Submitted
by: Curtis Olafson
Progress continues on the development of
the Thingvalla Church Memorial. We are
planning to have the dedication of the Memorial on Friday evening during the
Celebration weekend in 2007. A 6.5 foot
tall bronze Christus statue has been sculpted and is now on storage in the
sculptor’s warehouse awaiting shipment to us.
The statue will replicate the Christus statue which stood on the altar
in the church, and is the work originally sculpted by Bertel Thorvaldsen, who
was the son of an Icelander who settled and worked in Denmark. The statue will be the centerpiece of the
memorial site and will once again give the site “landmark” status. As many of you know, a composite replica of
the statue was here for the 2006 Celebration weekend, and was on display for a
short time on Saturday on the Vikur church grounds. All who viewed the statue were visibly moved,
and I know that it will be especially moving at the Thingvalla site once the
bronze version is installed.
Work is underway to assemble text,
photos, and historical information which will be used to create interpretive
panels that will be distributed around the grounds. The site will not only commemorate the Thingvalla Church, but will also help tell the
story of the rich history of our pioneer ancestors. We will keep providing more information as
the Memorial development moves forward.
We also would invite you to visit our new website for more information
on the Memorial plan. Our special thanks
to Pam Furstenau for designing and maintaining the website. The web address is: www.thingvalla.org
From the
Secretary’s Desk
Loretta Bernhoft
“Icelanders in Dakota” debuts at 107th
Icelandic Celebration
The production of the
video “Icelanders in Dakota” has been a work in progress for several years
through the cooperation of PlusFilms in Iceland (under the direction of
Sveinn Sveinsson) and the Icelandic Communities Association. A grant from the North Dakota Humanities
Council helped fund the English texting of the film, which is narrated in
Icelandic. Almost 100 visitors attended
the local debut of this video on Saturday and Sunday, August 5th and
6th in Mountain and Gardar.
This video supports one of the primary goals of the ICA, which is to promote the Icelandic
heritage and culture. We have currently
sold over 150 copies of this story and if you are interested in purchasing a
copy, you can contact Jeanne, our souvenir chairperson, at jeanne1@polarcomm.com. The DVDs are selling for $15 each and the VHS
copies sell for $12. Special thanks to
Shirley Olgeirson for all her work on this project and to Jeanne Halldorson who
spends many hours year round to ship souvenirs like this around the world!
From The Mayors Desk
Tim Moore
Mountain, ND USA
Greetings to
everyone! I hope you all had a Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year. This
last year has been very busy and exciting.
Mountain is again the official site of the North Dakota State Tractor
and Pickup Pull. Except for a downpour
at the end of the parade, the celebration was another success.
We have some very
exciting news in regards to our new community center project. Early last spring, we applied for two USDA
grants; Rural Business Enterprise, and Community Facilities to assist the City
of Mountain in
building a new community center and fire hall.
Only two applications on the state level are considered to be sent on to
Washington DC.
Our application was a strong one as it left the state of ND as the #1
grant application! The City of Mountain’s application
scored highly on the national level, and has been funded!
USDA has given the City of Mountain a time frame to utilize these
funds. Currently, we have secured
Architectural and Engineering Services and set up steering and fundraising
committees. Floor plans and elevations
are nearing completion.
Please look
forward to more information to be sent to you in the near future.
Genealogy Center
…………………………………………………………George Freeman
Time for reflection and Planning…………………………………
gfreeman@gra.midco.net
The Genealogy
Center this produced two
remarkable stories this year. First, one of the greatest contributions I have
seen to date happened this year. Tim & Sue Sigurdson Powers bought a house
and fixed it up with the expressed purpose to provide a place for the Genealogy Center.
Many people helped getting the house ready. Just before the weekend Tim
became ill with an extended illness and then sisters Judy Olafson and Kathy
Thorlackson and her son Eric helped us get ready for the Celebration. They even
had food in the refrigerator for us. Then Jana, Andrea, and Karen Abrahamson
helped packing up when it was over. I
told the ladies I felt like a “kept man” and I kinda liked it! Erling Davidson
deserves many thanks for bringing his computer equipment to help. Pam Furstenau
had a special event in the Genealogy
Center. The below article
was reported in Lögberg-Heimskrinkla
of Winnipeg and Morgunblaðið
of Reykjavík, Iceland.
An Unexpected reunion in
Mountain
By Pam Furstenau
A surprising coincidence at the annual Deuce of August Icelandic Celebration
in Mountain, ND resulted in an unexpected family reunion. Two sisters who grew
up one mile east of Gardar, ND
and a man from southeastern Iceland
were reunited in the Genealogy
Center.
The Genealogy
Center had a new location
this year. Tim and Susan (Sigurdson) Powers had purchased a house in Mountain
and renovated it in time for the celebration. Tim, Susan, and numerous other
volunteers spent many hours preparing and modernizing the home for the Genealogy Center. The high speed internet access
for three computers, in addition to the tables, bookcases, chairs, couches and
air conditioning, were wonderful assets for the genealogists and also for the
visitors.
The Laxdal sisters, Norma Thompson from Onamia, MN and Laurel Bowles from
Milton, ND, came into the Genealogy
Center looking for
information on their grandmother, Sigríður Jónatansdóttir. She had left Iceland in 1888 and her family ties to Iceland
had vanished.
A volunteer found the names of Sigríður's parents and facts about their wedding and Sigríður's baptism
in the church records for Myrká, Eyjafjörður,
Iceland. All
this information is located on a microfilm and the Laxdal sisters were advised
to get this microfilm for a wealth of family information.
Sigþór Guðmundsson came to Mountain with a tour group from Iceland.
He entered the Genealogy
Center and waited for an
available volunteer. The Laxdal sisters thanked the volunteer and started to
leave. Sigþór set down his paperwork on the table and said, "I am
searching for information on my grandfather's family that left Iceland
in the late 1880’s.
The volunteer scanned the first page of his family tree to see if any
names looked familiar, and quickly discovered that his grandfather and the
Laxdal sister's grandmother were brother and sister.
With much excitement, she cried out to the Laxdal sisters as they were
leaving the center, "Come back, come over here! You are second
cousins!" It took a few minutes for the Laxdal sisters and Sigþór to understand
the genealogist's explanation, because they were so surprised and overcome
with emotion.
Laurel Bowles and Norma Thompson attend the Icelandic Celebration
annually to visit with friends and relatives. They are the daughters of Leo and
Sophie Laxdal. They both attended school and graduated from Gardar High School,
Norma in 1949 and Laurel
in 1956. They have been working on their family history for over 20 years;
this time their persistence paid off in a wonderful way.
Many years ago, a book was put together on the paternal lineage of the
Laxdal family, but the girls continued to be interested in the maternal line.
They had a copy of the Laxdal book with them and gave it to Sigþór. One of the
difficulties that confronted Sigþór was that Sigríður's husband was named
Sigmundur Sigurðsson in Iceland
but went by the name Sigmundur Laxdal in America.
Sigmundur and Sigríður settled on a farm near Gardar,
ND and an uncle, Jon, went to the Mozart area
in Saskatchewan, Canada where he wrote letters back
to the family in Gardar. There were so many Sigurðssons in the Gardar area that
Jon suggested changing their name to Laxdal. The family agreed because they had emigrated
from the Laxárdalur area in Iceland.
George
Freeman and Pam (Olafson) Furstenau are the primary genealogists that volunteer
their time and resources each year during the Icelandic Celebration. They have
access to many Icelandic resources but they can also search for ancestors of
any nationality. Countless others volunteer their time, energy, and resources
to produce a wonderful celebration each year to honor our Icelandic heritage.
Other families reunite with each other during the celebration, but with
the help of the Genealogy
Center at the Icelandic
Celebration, two families are now reunited.
See you in August!
GARDAR TOWNSHIP RECORDS DISPLAY
By Rosemarie Myrdal
More than
fifty people came to the Gardar
Church on Sunday
afternoon, August 6, 2006,
to look at Gardar Township Records and share memories with friends. The Records on display covered about 100
years (1880 to 1980) of township history.
An extensive collection of items related to the Gardar School District
26 from 1880 to 1963.
On
Saturday the Icelandic Tour buses brought Mountain Celebration visitors to the Gardar Church. Of special interest to the Icelanders were
the church and Ladies Aid records written in Icelandic. Visitors also found interesting collections of information about
the many Gardar Community organizations and business ventures.
These
records have been sorted and organized by Ingeljorg Johannesson, Dorothy
Thomasson and
Rosemarie Myrdal.
This
collection of township records will be preserved in the archives at the Heritage Center
at Icelandic State Park. Anyone wishing to look at the records or
researching Gardar family history is welcome to use the material in the
conference room at the Park.
ICA
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
2006 PRESERVATION NORTH DAKOTA “BOARD
AWARD”
PRESENTED TO SUSAN
SIGURDSON
The Preservation North Dakota Honor Awards recognize
outstanding achievements and excellence in historic preservation across the
state of North Dakota. Recipients are selected by the awards
committee from a pool of nominations, submitted by professionals and citizens
from across the state.
The “Board Award” recognizes the PND Board Member of the
Year, and is presented to an individual for extraordinary dedication to the
work of the organization in promoting historic preservation in North Dakota. It was created to recognize the efforts of
PND board members, while keeping the annual Honor Awards available for the
general public. The award recognizes the
volunteer efforts of an individual who has demonstrated a passion and
dedication to historic preservation in North
Dakota.
The Preservation North Dakota 2006 Board Award was presented
to Susan Sigurdson of Moorhead, MN and Mountain, ND; a dedicated
preservationist. Her enthusiasm,
commitment, effort, and passion are evident in the time and energy she has
displayed in shaping the future of Preservation North Dakota.
Susan Sigurdson has served the organization as a board
member since 1998. She has fulfilled the
duties of three elective executive offices, and is currently co-president of
the non-profit organization. Susan was
instrumental in organizing the 12th Annual Historic Preservation
Conference in Fargo
in 2005. She co-chaired the silent
auction for the conference in Valley
City in 2006. She has attended board member training out of
state, and numerous strategic planning and educational retreats across North Dakota. She is always there for volunteer projects,
and has helped shape Preservation North Dakota into its present form.
Susan is married to Tim Powers of Moorhead and has two sons. She is a member of the Fargo-Moorhead
Icelandic Club and the F-M Scandinavian Festival.
From the Editor’s Desk
CURTIS
OLAFSON APPOINTED DISTRICT 10 STATE SENATOR
Curtis
Olafson, of Mountain, ND, has been appointed to the North Dakota Senate by the
District 10 executive committee. Senator
Olafson will be filling the remainder of the term left vacant by the
resignation of Tom Trenbeath who has become Chief Deputy Attorney General for
the State of North Dakota.
Senator Olafson, a lifelong resident of Pembina County,
is the grandson of Icelandic immigrants.
Curtis is the father of two children, Renata of Fargo, ND, and Drew, of
Argyle, MN. He is married to Bjork Eiríksdóttir and has three
stepchildren, Heimir of Reykjavik, Iceland, Einar, a freshman at Edinburg High School,and
Linda, a freshman at Mayville
State University. Curtis is involved in many community
organizations which include the Icelandic Communities Association, the Mountain
Community Center Capital Campaign Committee, and the Thingvalla Cemetery
Association. (Continued)
He has worked extensively to promote tourism in northeastern
North Dakota.
The 10th Legislative District is made up of most of Pembina County,
all of Cavalier County,
and the north portion of Towner
County. Senator Olafson is looking forward to serving
the constituents of District 10 and would appreciate hearing from you regarding
any concerns you may have. He may be
reached at 1-888-635-3447 or colafson@nd.gov.
From the Editor’s Desk
Duane Halldorson
I would like to take this time to apologize to our readers
for this edition being late. Two things happened.
In this day and age we expect to push that old button
and away we go. Well, I went to push that old button on our newer printer
and it was a "NO GO”!
Brainstorm #1:
“Warranty”. Of course the warranty had expired.
It wouldn't have done any good anyway because you have to ship the
printer back to the factory.
Brainstorm # 2:
This is the 16th. I will just fire up the old black &
white printer on Monday and still have time to get it out. That will give me Sunday the 17th to get
up my outside Christmas decorations.
Well!
While putting up the first decoration on the front of the garage
the bottom of the extension ladder slipped on the ice and down I went.
Splatt!
I must have been stunned for a couple of minutes. When I came
to I found myself clutching the ladder flat on the driveway and saying some
very expletive words in English and Icelandic. I have never been that fluent in
Icelandic so it must have triggered some memories every kid picks up when
helping around the farm. I don’t care
what my parents used to say about that kind of language not helping, it sure
did seem to make me feel better.
As it turned out none of my injuries were real serious.
I pulled some muscles and got a few bruises. But I still had
to spend the rest of Sunday, Monday and part of Tuesday having tests done.
Would you believe that my Doctor and “She Who Must Be
Obeyed” didn't give a hoot about any old Newsletter?
But they love me.
Ending up 2006 like that means 2007 has got to be better. Right?
Happy New Year to all.
Icelandic
Communities Association 2007 Annual Meeting
Saturday, January 27th, 1:00 PM
One of the things on the agenda will be the election of new directors
and officers.
The Icelandic Communities Association continues to enjoy
great success and support and our membership has grown considerably. The interest, participation, and attendance
at the annual August 2nd Celebration has continued to be very
strong. This is all very positive and
gives us reason to be very optimistic about the future of the ICA.
The 2007 Membership drive is underway.
Membership runs from Jan. thru Dec.
$10.00 per person.
As
every Farmer has found out at one time or another.
A
bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
Góða nótt!
