Settlement in New Iceland – Selkirk, Hecla, and Fishing on Lake Winnipeg
- Gerry Stefanson
- 6 days ago
- 8 min read
By Gerry Stefanson
Gerry Stefanson is a member of the Icelandic Roots Author’s Group, and we are pleased to share his musings through poetry, a craft he has honed in more recent years. Many of Gerry’s poems have been previously published in our Newsletters. He has also published poet “Chap Books” through Spillwords. You can see more of his work, including Passages and Bouleversant HERE.
For June, we are profiling the New Iceland area on Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba as part of our North American settlement series. In this article, Gerry addresses his Icelandic heritage and growing up in Selkirk, Manitoba.
This article combines two narrative elements: First, in prose, Gerry tells us "what he knows" and "what he doesn’t know" and the "why" when it comes to presenting the history of the area and that of his Icelandic family. Then he captures that history in a series of sagas, but in poetry form.
From Gerry:
Things we Know – Things we Don’t Know – Things We Don’t Know We Don’t Know
I picked this title as I have put myself in The Pickle Jar, really. I belong to the Writing Group with Icelandic Roots; I am a poet for them and with them. This is a good thing for me, as I’m of double-sided Icelandic dissent. My name, Gerald Walter Stefanson, respects both sides of the family: Walter from my mom’s side as she was a Walterson, and Stefansson is the family name from my father’s side.
Selkirk Manitoba is where I was born and raised, as were my parents (to the best of my knowledge). This is mentioned as my father passed over in 1974 at 63, and my mother departed 20 years later. Dad knew all family matters on both sides.
These things I know well.
Missing them dearly, I am wishing I now had his advice, help and knowledge. I’m learning much about here-say and rumour, and to research deeper and ask questions. My siblings, Ken and Myrna, have also departed, so being the youngest in the family doesn’t grant me poetic license, but possibly a little wiggle room. All my aunts and uncles have crossed the Norse Rainbow bridge, so my ‘A’ line of those who have thinned out leaves me reaching out to cousins, contacts, and old neighbors to connect the dots.
Again – things we don’t know, but we know we don’t know.
I do know in a moment when “I should know better.” I offered to write on Icelanders in and about The Big Island or Hecla Island, Icelanders in and from Selkirk, and fishing in general on Lake Winnipeg for Icelandic Roots. On reflection, all that is a vast subject, hence –
Things we don’t know, we don’t know.
Now this as where this gets tricky – you know. So, to quote my dad’s favorite poet Robert Service “a promise made is a debt unpaid.”
Ah – poetry I love, storytelling I love. The common denominator that makes story telling a little awkward is that I am blessed with being dyslexic, which holds an advantage for poetry but a challenge for story writing. Note: I failed a grade eleven math exam on my interpretation or creative spelling. Poet’s note: over 40ish spelling mistakes so far, a sprinkling of grammatic "oops" and only three scoops of my loving wife’s advice so far.
I have solicited that, in Icelandic tradition, I will write these five tales as a series of Saga’s. Maybe a highbred Prose Poem or, Haibun, closing with appropriate Haiku.
SAGA 1: WESTLANDER The first in a series of five sagas on the settlement in New Iceland area of Manitoba.
arriving in 1875 New Icelanders to this land came
Iceland to the new Kanada, land of promise, of land
Keewatin yet Manitoba to be, 200 in their claim
Sir John A. shook hands with Mr. Jonas, deal done.
lake to fish, winter would freeze
land to farm yet held snake and mosquito
new ways to fish, new way to farm, smallpox disease
first nation & Meti taught them both, convenient harmony.
many new lessons to know, learn, fish, sow
home to build, coffee to drink all require money
schools, churches, add up to never let low
yet the Dakotas call Mountain some folk to go.
wagons, dreams, hopes Icelandic River to Riverton became
Hecla, Alborg then Selkirk claimed too
land of opportunity grew, then a train
pulling together, so much done and yet do.
dottir and son added – dottirs and sons
Althing idea leads to woman vote overdue
education, schools, papers of news, bums in pews
fishermen, farmers, writers, social, clergy, politic views
Doctors, Falcons to the front flew.
this Saga never stops – all knew where they’re from
knowing where they would go
West they went West.
STOP
when there
becomes here
SAGA 2: Stepping Stone at WEST The second in a series of five sagas on the settlement in New Iceland area of Manitoba.
there it was, small stone all alone, one name
there father pointed, I only recall, JONAS
there is your name from whence you came
upper northwest corner Hecla Island 2nd cemetery
he wanted me to know, see, understand – believe
pass it down /pass it on
Big Island / *Hekla Icelandic samed
this seam re-ties the thread of our lives
partonic naming not in my head or compass
now Finn er Finnson er pass coming forward
with other monikers, Jonas (my people)
an answer me not with knowledge of question
oldest living Icelander was a forefather
my father with the key in hand
me searching for a lock.
as father, I brought my children to same stone
now attempt turn into a known path.
Hekla Iceland’s renounced volcano
barks & roars – heard round the world
think 2010, shuttering all
Christians thought gateway to hell Hekla
Pagan Hearts knew Norse after world was freezing/frozen well
the world knows and lesson’s its ferocity – respect its heritage
New Icelanders – picked a strong name from their past to claim a mark
for a Kanada start
start they did and spread WEST.
What the Deuce is an Islendingadagurinn
Where could they reside, spoken as a non-goolie point of view.
They are Icelandic summer fest Deuce in North Dakota
Islendingadagurinn in Gimli oh so close to Hecla Island
On Lake Winnipeg North of Selkirk, a brisk walk above Lower Fort Gary
Whew, get a map. Lots of history – flash back Lord Selkirk, settlers earlier 1800’s
Seven Oaks Massacre, Upper Fort Gary, Norway House (N. Lake Wpg), Louis Riel,
Royal Northwest Mounted Police, Battle of Duck Lake, Doomed Dumont, executed
Louis. Fast forward, Icelanders made it work!
Roll this all up equals Manitoba, Mountain the Dakotas not without adventure.
Icelanders get a new cut of the cards. Yet they made it work there, across Canada, USA,
numbers say/show they came to say/stay.
Think – marsh to farm, a lake that freezes over, mosquitoes, snakes (Man. Garter snake
capital of the world) winter deep winter, summer hotter than the hubs of Hell.
New world. New lives. All memories now so far East their so West.
fulfilled now empty promise that was kept
SAGA 3: Baited the Hook to Immigrate The third in a series of five sagas on the settlement in New Iceland area of Manitoba.
fish ‘n farmland, in new land
landed papered, owned future hope
crops to grow/grow from dreams/to own land
Away from cranky Volcano
perhaps nasty neighbour
Hymns of song new
We yearn to learn
we rose to the bait
maybe cast by the Fate’s
and fish to feed, little restriction, open water
pull magnated to free men everywhere, siren’s call west
come west, fish farm and sow sweet land
as their ancestor’s answered a millennium past, west
yet much to learn, a lake that froze, land that flooded
cursed Smallpox that found them
found the Skraeling* and Metis
suffering loss, futures now shared
guided us the new by them who know
Icelander knew of Skraeling from Saga’s
Now lived with them
They taught them the ways of west lake fish
They caught them through water
They brought them to pull via ice
They dragged them through Pox
Farming a new game too
This was marshy, floodish, new crop
New ways, new everything this west
Pickerel, lake trout, bull head, sauger, bass
Not cod nay salmon as back East
Yet big sea, shallow lakes both feed on men.
So so much to leanlearn.
So so much to leaveleft
Then came grasshoppers
The all new west.
* Skraeling or skraelings was used by the Norse, in particular the Vikings, in reference to the indigenous peoples they encountered when exploring North America in the year 1000 AD.
SAGA 4: Community Clan-Ish Core Chores The fourth in a series of five sagas on the settlement in New Iceland area of Manitoba.
a Viking somewhere, some time
gave way to a forever rhyme
did travel to Ethiopia for bean
where they come across cathine
who knows I don’t, the why are still
obvious now it’s here
every New Iceland home had rarities
even with disparities
was a sad house that didn’t offer coffee
was a sad house without books
was a community without library/school
church shortly had a place
or were placed everywhere
Selkirk Evangelical Icelandic Lutheran
Where my so-called teeth were cut
even hints of ‘sight’, hidden folk
13 Christmas elves, Freya’s cats, who now shares
Odin’s hat
so, around a millennial back Icelanders in Mass converted
hark King Olaf’s Host swords sing “was a miracle”
Icelandic Althing hums softly
not to bend a knee.
tales tall tell even churches
can do the splits
as congregations do what fits
Odin but true, that is what most religions due
new world west, leads to new times.
those “are not nice woman” helped lead
parades, speeches, parliament floors
Manitoba heard the
ring at all the doors
votes for who/yes woman too.
then back to Iceland in 1975
the ladies strike hard strived
these for equity rights
within a decade a Shieldmaiden
became 1st Female president international
the blood holds true, law keepers’ peoples again fashionable.
a country without a king
a true a proper a true thing
Democracy for the people.
SAGA 5: FISHING The LAKE The SELKIRK TAKE The fifth in a series of five sagas on the settlement in New Iceland area of Manitoba.
The fish were in the lake – check
The market was in WPG. – check
The Rapids were in between – check
The docks were in Selkirk. – check
So was BOOTH Fisheries and other locals
So was Stefanson Bros Fisheries
So were the commercial docks and still are
So is the Lift Bridge built 1934 still lifting
So is the train that ran to Gimli
So train the boats to get the fish to Winnipeg
We had fishing stations along the lake
We had the main gathering station and camp (on stilts)
We had Mouth of the Red River
We freighted to and fro
On to Winnipeg and Chicago.
On the paths of Gimli, Riverton
On they all did go, did and done.
Selkirk dock set the stage for the Lakes, the North
Filled the dock to and fro
Still do as for long as done.
Many waved good-byes to the Suzanne E
Never to hello again.
Stories of boats and builders of them Purvis’s led these crews right down the Red
Paddle-wheelers and Ships out to Pacific coast & ferry Big North Tukutuku too.
Net pullers, seeming-on Needles, Ice, fish processors, 60’s mercury restrictions
Quotas,1st nations twinned/paired with Icelandic ambitions.
Chuck the Cat Fish (look him way up) in vision treaties one treaties five.
We joined
We lived
We survived.
Resources and Additional Information
CBC Article about the sinking of the Suzanne E: Memorial planned to honour lives lost in Lake Winnipeg
Icelandic Roots Icelandic Roots | Genealogy Ancestry
Spillwords Books by Gerry Stefanson