A Candle in the Dark: Otto/Stony Hill Church
- Alfreda Erickson Duffy
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
By Alfreda Erickson Duffy
The writers in the Icelandic Roots Author's Group are regular contributors to our newsletter. Meeting monthly provides a prompt for articles. In March, the prompt was something that reflects a "candle in the dark", a touchstone, or something that brings comfort. Enjoy this reflection by Alfreda.
The Grunnvatns Settlement, sometimes referred to as the Lundar Settlement, is located east of Lake Manitoba, past the eastern edge of the town of Lundar itself. Between 1881 to 1886 the Canadian government sent out men to find and survey a good location for mixed farming. Why? Because they were planning to bring more emigrants from Iceland to settle in those far-flung regions.
What they found was bush country with open meadows (hence the name of Lundi which mistakenly became Lundar) where the grass grew exceptionally tall, and in the opinion of those few men it was an ideal place to harvest hay feed for dairy cows. In the Icelandic culture dairy products were and remain an essential part of their daily menus. This land encouraged many to leave their homeland between 1886 and the early 1900s. Then in 1901 a devastating flood in the Icelandic River Settlement forced the government to relocate several established Icelandic farmers to this new area. Including my maternal great grandparents, Eirikur and Steinnun Rafnkelsson, who were starting over again for the third time.
To make the land workable it took an intensive back breaking effort. First trees were cut down to build log dwellings for both man and animal. Cows could graze in the summer months but were kept indoors over winter so hay was required for those months. The tall grasses that grew wild in the open meadows had to be cut and stacked using only hand tools. Then hauled by horse and cart over difficult winter roads and re-stacked near the barn.
For growing any produce, the land had to be cleared first of the rocks and shrubs. Each year though as the sun thawed the land, the permafrost carried up even more rocks with its ascent to the surface. To these pioneers, rock picking must have seemed never ending.
The district in this Grunnvatns Settlement, given the name of Stony Hill, was where replacement land was granted to my great grandparents and several other families. Stony Hill, the name itself echoes their hardships. As does the name of the school they will build a few years later, Rocky Hill.
By 1910 my afi Kjeli and his new wife Dora had left the city of Winnipeg and moved to this district to farm near his parents, Eirik and Steina. Even then the district was still quite isolated; travel was not easy or always affordable. At the time of my afi and amma’s arrival there were many conversations about having a church and now the small community was focused on building one. There was always a need to have a meeting place, the common thread was their faith, and now the affordability was a reality. The Otto/Stony Hill Church was completed in 1913 and became for all, their candle in the dark, creating a stronger, more cohesive community.
They finally had a place to gather for other occasions as well, like weddings, funerals, occasional dances, even summer picnics where the children could play games and everyone could share their traditional food. Through all these events, they cemented friendships and created new relationships.
Today this church is rarely used but continues to be that light in the dark for many of us. Otto Church evokes memories of times past, of ancestors long gone, reminding us just how cohesive the settlers were. And of the strength and durability of our family relationships.
Just like Icelandic Roots, another candle in the dark that draws together all of us cousins living across North America, Iceland, and sometimes even further away.
Römm er sú taug! Strong is the bond!
