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The History of the Icelandic Canadian Club of TorontoThe following is a review of the history of the ICCT prepared by one of our founding members, Rósa Hermannsson Vernon, some years ago. Gígí Friđriksson has kindly read through the text and added information in 1993. More recent additions have been added, in turn, by the Club's Past Presidents. In the spring of 1959, friends of mine, Steina and Kobbi Kristjanson of Winnipeg, called to say that they were in town. I invited them to come for afternoon coffee. I also invited Steina's sister, Rikka Bailey, her daughter, Billy Bailey, Alda Palson and Ásta Palson Lunney. During our conversation, Ásta suggested that we form a group to entertain Icelanders when they visited Toronto. All agreed that it was a good idea, and to this end we met again at Alda's home, at which time twelve ladies attended. 
Founding Members Erla Macaulay offered her home for the third meeting. Thirty-five ladies attended that meeting. We then realized that if the group were to grow at the current rate, a hall would have to be rented and males invited to join us. Erla mentioned that she had heard of a young lady from Iceland, namely Sigga Elvin, whom she invited. Instead of her coming to our meeting, she invited us to join a group of ladies from Iceland who were planning a get-together. We accepted their invitation and met at the home of Fanney Peacock. We selected our first executive at this meeting and decided on the name - the Icelandic Canadian Club of Toronto. At the same time, we decided to hold our meetings in English. To build up our membership, I spent many hours looking up names in the telephone directory. I then gave the names and numbers to Fanney and she contacted these people. The first year we decided to hold a Ţorrablót (Icelandic Food Night) in February, treating our friends and relatives to delicious Icelandic foods. We also served Canadian foods for those who preferred it. This has become a tradition and has been the highlight of every year both socially and financially. To raise money for our club, we held raffles, tombolas, handicraft fairs, dances, film and slide presentations, musical offerings and speeches on Iceland and our heritage. For 25 years, we held a yearly Picnic at the farm of Erla and Cam Macaulay near Erin, Ontario on the Sunday nearest June 17th (Iceland's Independence Day). In 1981, a choir from Skagafjörđur, Iceland sang for us; in 1987 the Reykjavík Band entertained us. In 1995, we started rotating the venue, and for four years it was a fall pot luck picnic - twice at Lynda and Gunnar Helgason's Gimli Farm near Colborne, where everyone enjoyed visiting with the Icelandic horses. In 1997, Thorsteinn and Hildegarde Helf invited us to a Viking-themed pot luck at their place near Shelburne, and in 1998 we went to the Kinmount Fall Fair, where we took partook in the parade as well as other fair activities. In 1999, we went back to holding our picnic in conjunction with Iceland Independence Day, and were invited back to Gimli Farm once again. In 1981, a choir from Skagafjörđur, Iceland visiting Toronto attended the event and entertained as did the Reykjavík Band in 1987. In December 1978, we initiated an annual Christmas dance. This included a bar and buffet. After two years we discontinued it as the numbers of people attending were not as great as we had hoped. In December 1994, the Christmas event was reinstated, featuring Icelandic Christmas carols and demonstrations of food preparation and crafts. It returned in 1995, as an afternoon affair with more emphasis on the children and traditional dancing and singing around the Christmas tree. It turned out to be very popular, and plans are to make it an annual event. About twenty-five club members went to Ottawa during Centennial year to attend the unveiling of a trilingual plaque (English, Icelandic, and French) donated by the Canadian Icelandic descendants on April 14, 1967 and placed in the new Library and Archives Building on Wellington St., Ottawa. The title, "A Chapter in Canadian History," depicted the discovery of America by the Vikings in the year 1000. In 1961, we entertained the President of Iceland at a cocktail party at the Granite Club; she visited us again in 1998 when she was presented with an honourary doctorate by the University of Guelph in acknowledgment of their Iceland-Guelph Student Exchange program; at that time our club hosted a wonderful luncheon for her. Then in 1967, the club was again honoured by the visit of the president of Iceland, the Honourable Ásgeir Ásgerisson, who attended a gathering at the Albany Club; in 1972 Guđmundur I. Guđmundsson, Ambassador of Iceland, paid us a visit. Another president, the popular Vigdis Finbogadottir, visited in August of 1989 and a reception was held at the King Edward Hotel. In 1977, at the urging of Fanney Peacock, a scholarship fund was set up. It continues to this day. In 1997, we decided to expand this idea by giving a grant for a young child to attend Icelandic Heritage Camp near Gimli. Icelandic classes have been offered sporadically through the years; ...and continuously since 1995 - teachers have included Brandur Olafsson, Katrín Jonsdóttir, and Gudrun Sigursteinsdóttir Girgis. Music And EntertainmentMagnús Paulson entertained by playing the piano for singsongs on numerous occasions. Alda Palson, pianist and Music Director at Havergal College, gave recitals and accompanied soloists at club affairs. Rósa Hermansson Vernon not only entertained at our club but at the Scandinavian Club where she, dressed in Icelandic costume, performed a recital of Norwegian and Icelandic songs in 1975. In 1977, she started a mixed voice choir of members of the club with Begga Robson as accompanist. The choir, with Rósa singing solos and conducting, performed at several gatherings. This included a Lucia put on by the Scandinavian Club at the Ontario Science Centre. All five Scandinavian groups performed and decorated a tree depicting their national heritage. For several years the Valhalla Inn displayed Christmas trees around their swimming pool and invited the various ethnic groups to decorate them ethnic style. The Icelandic decorations won awards on more than one occasion. Icelandic dolls (decorated by some of the ladies) and Icelandic flags of all sizes were included. Jenny Drummond and Ethel Hair were always there when piano accompaniment was needed for the choir or soloists that entertained at our meetings or special occasions.. In 1968, Ragnar Bjarnason, a celebrated singer, recording star, radio and TV personality from Iceland was in town on his way to New York, and an informal gathering was held at the home of Hannes and Begga Petursson. In 1980, Sigfús Halldórsson, composer and artist, Guđmundur Guđjónsson, soloist, and Bill Holm, pianist, gave an entertaining program. Guđmundur sang a number of Sigfús' songs with the composer at the piano. In 1982, the late Haukur Morthens on tour played at a dance in Valhalla Inn. In 1987 the Canadian Opera Company offered a performance of Rigoletto featuring Kristján Jóhannsson as the Duke of Mantua. Members of the club who attended were thrilled by his glorious tenor voice. On June 18, 1987, Pearl Palmason, violinist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for forty years, gave a recital at the Unitarian Church, and all receipts were donated to the Club. On November 9th, 1993, Sigrún Eđvaldsdóttir, acclaimed Icelandic violinist, performed for us, accompanied by Ţorsteinn Sigurđsson, pianist. We invited renowned pianist Nina-Margret Grimsdottir from New York to present a recital for us on November 17th, 1996. In addition to this, the club has sponsored and contributed to numerous other events. Some Examples of Speakers and Entertainment at Meetings:
Other AccomplishmentsKinmount Icelandic Settlement Research and Erection of a Memorial:We took over the leadership on this INL project. Don Gislason devoted innumerable hours to researching every facet of the settlement story, including their arrival in 1874, departure in 1875 and arrival at Willow Point to establish New Iceland. A 25-page illustrated booklet was produced. Under the chairmanship of Fran Moscall, we also organized the commissioning, and erection of a memorial at Kinmount to commemorate these people. The memorial consisted of an original statue by Gudrun Sigursteinsdóttir Girgis with a base containing plaques in English, Icelandic and French and a map of Iceland. This is scheduled to be dedicated in the year 2000 as part of the Millennium Celebrations. Publications:We publish the official Icelandic Canadian Club of Toronto newsletter called The Fálkinn approximately six times a year. This newsletter is the mail communication to our members, detailing upcoming events, news stories from Iceland, and articles about our members. In 1996, we became the first Icelandic-Canadian club to set up a website on the World Wide Web. In 1998 we added a youth website, entitled “Vikings”. The website contains the latest news of club activities, newsletters, a list of our library books, information about our club shop, and links to other clubs and websites pertaining to Iceland and things Icelandic. An illustrated booklet containing the entire Kinmount story was produced in 1998, based on extensive research by Don Gislason, and written by him. Presidents in Chronological Order from Past to Present:
All the information that I (Rosa) have offered in this report has come from Notices of Meetings that I have kept and through conversations with my good friend, Gígí Friđriksson whom I would like to thank for her help. Through the years the Club has really grown and prospered. It is difficult
to believe that it was once just an idea discussed among three founding
members, Ásta Lunney, Alda Palson and myself.
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