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Audio clip from an interview with Caroline Gunnarsson, 1988

A full body portrait photograph of an elderly woman in black and white. She is seated with hands resting on her lap. She is wearing glasses, a long white dress, white gloves, and a dark cape with a white fur trim. On her head she has an ornamented crown with a white veil falling over her shoulders.

Image courtesy of timarit.is

Audio: “The Winnipeg Icelanders” – Caroline Gunnarsson, tape 1 of 2, 27 November 1988, Icelandic Canadian Frón Fonds, Archives of Manitoba (1990-204)

Bio: Caroline Gunnarsson was born on September 21, 1903, in Suður-Múlasýsla, Iceland. Her parents were Gunnar Gunnarsson from Gullbringusýsla, Iceland, and Gróa Þuríður Magnísdóttir from Suður-Múlasýsla, Iceland. Caroline died on March 20, 1994.

Duration of Audio Clip: 2:29

Transcription of Audio:

Laurence Gillespie, interviewer: I’ve heard there was a bookstore not far from there.

Caroline Gunnarsson: Oh, yes. It was a good bookstore. And the bookbindery.

Laurence Gillespie: Both in one place?

Caroline Gunnarsson: One place. David Bjornsson.

Laurence Gillespie: Did you ever know him at all?

Caroline Gunnarsson: Oh, yes. I knew him.

Laurence Gillespie: Why did he run the bookstore?

Caroline Gunnarsson: Well, he, I guess that was the business he was interested in. And there were lots of … there was, good sales for them. And you could buy Icelandic Christmas cards there with Icelandic words. That kind of thing.

Laurence Gillespie: And how long did that business last? Do you have any idea?

Caroline Gunnarsson: It lasted quite a while. The people used to like to gather there too and talk to David.

Laurence Gillespie: Was there any room to do that?

Caroline Gunnarsson: Oh yeah, it wasn’t that small.

Laurence Gillespie: Can you remember what it looked like inside?

Caroline Gunnarsson: In the bookstore?

Laurence Gillespie: Yeah.

Caroline Gunnarsson: Oh, it was just a store, you know, with books on the counter. He was, I can show you a book that he bound for me.

Laurence Gillespie: That would be interesting.

Caroline Gunnarsson: I’ve got Skugga-Sveinn as a matter of fact.

Laurence Gillespie: Skugga-Sveinn, that seems very appropriate for an Icelandic cultural center like that. Did he have any other sort of financial support on the side with the bookstores and book buying the sole source of income

Caroline Gunnarsson: I really don’t know whether he had anything else.

Laurence Gillespie: Did he have any, do you know was there any other place to buy Icelandic books at the time

Caroline Gunnarsson: No … I kind of … you could order them. And quite often, people would advertise old books in the paper, and then you’d just order them.

Laurence Gillespie: Did he ever hold any events, like book launchings or anything in his store?

Caroline Gunnarsson: Oh, no. Oh, I don’t think anybody … that’s relatively new, I think, all this launching of books. And the autographing and stuff.

Laurence Gillespie: What about, did he sell English books there?

Caroline Gunnarsson: I think so.