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Detail of Vatnabyggd Memorial
25 September 2005
Elfros, SK Canada

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Icelandic women played their part in the growing community. Several of the women were midwives, including Gudrun Goodman, who lived in Churchbridge before coming to the Foam Lake area.

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Helgason, Helgi on midwife Goodman, Gudrun
10 December 2005
Foam Lake, SK Canada

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[Helgason, Helgi]
Of course my grandmother, the Ejyolfson [Gudbjorg Eyolfson Halldorson], her mother was gored by an ox just before she was to be born, and Gudbjorg Goodman - no Gudrun Goodman, was the midwife and she happened to be staying at her place when this happened and so she saved the baby, she couldn't save the mother. And my grandmother had a nick on the back of her head where the horn had nicked her in the womb. she took that scar to her grave. So there was only one child from that - that was their first child, in fact he never even seen her till she was six months old, I think. He was working in Ontario and went back probably to work on the railroad or bush or something. So that's another big story but that's already been written up.

18

They also formed Ladies'Aid societies, ran post offices, helped with the farming or in some cases farmed themselves. This, on top of cooking, cleaning, looking after livestock, making their own woolen yarn and clothing the family with it, growing vegetables and picking berries, and all the other things that pioneer women had to do.

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Trunk brought by Icelandic emigrants
9 October 2005
Foam Lake, SK Canada

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Many of the Icelanders left Iceland with only what would fit in a small trunk. This example is 24" x 10" x 15" high made with approximately ½" wood, so the inside would be 9" x 23" x 14" for a volume of about one and a half cubic feet or .04 cubic meters.

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Eyolfson Cadham, Joan on the Icelanders' love of books
10 December 2005
Foam Lake, SK Canada

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[Eyolfson Cadham, Joan]
When they were coming over with all this limited space, if the tools and the books did not both fit into the chest they took out the tools and left them. They broght the books. They came over with books, and the first thing they did was they put all their books together and started libraries. In Wynyard there was an Icelandic doctor who was running a drugstore, and he had a lending library in the drugstore. They had books, which is why - and that just blows the Icelanders away all the time - we've got him reading poetry to her [for the Icelandic memorial statue]. And that'll do it to any Icelander we take out there.

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Detail of the Vatnabyggd Memorial
25 September 2005
Elfros, SK Canada

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Detail of Icelandic Lace (geometric)
1880

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Among the few items brought from Iceland by settlers were two rolls of bobbin lace, made by Bevill Bjarnason's grandmother. Bevill's parents, Thorarin and Helga Bjarnason, farmed in first the Gardar then the Sleipnir districts.

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Detail of Icelandic Lace (flowered)
1880

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Traditional Icelandic Dress
1 May 2005
Foam Lake, SK Canada