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Audio clip from an interview with Jorundur Eyford, 1989

A black-and-white portrait of a Jorundur Eyford in a pinstriped suit, seated and looking directly at the camera. He wears a patterned tie and white shirt, with neatly combed hair. The background is softly blurred, creating a formal studio setting from approximatly 1930.

Image courtesy of Dr. Ryan Eyford

Audio: “The Winnipeg Icelanders” – Jorundur Eyford, tape 1 of 4, 19 January 1989, Icelandic Canadian Frón Fonds, Archives of Manitoba (1990-204)

Bio: Jorundur Eyford was born on August 2, 1910, at Siglunes, Manitoba. His parents were Framar Jónsson from Eyjafjarðarsýsla, Iceland, and Baldrún Jörundsdóttir from Suður-Þingeyjarsýsla, Iceland. Jorundur died on May 4, 1997.

Duration of Audio Clip: 2:24

Transcription of Audio:

Laurence Gillespie, interviewer: How old were you when you started to read Icelandic?

Jorundur Eyford: Oh, I started when I was about school age. I started a little bit.

Laurence Gillespie: Well, were you reading Icelandic before you went to school?

Jorundur Eyford: No, not at all, no. They didn’t go out of their way to teach us Icelandic, you know. We learned it. Anyway.

Laurence Gillespie: What books did you learn to read Icelandic on? Like, was there any book in particular your parents used to show you?

Jorundur Eyford: Oh, they had the Stafrófskver. Yeah. And we had Lögberg, Heimskringla. And there was Sólskin, a section of Lögberg. It was for the young people.

Laurence Gillespie: And who edited that part?

Jorundur Eyford: Dr. Johannesson was the editor when that was started, I think.

Laurence Gillespie: And who was he?

Jorundur Eyford: Oh, he was a prominent doctor in Winnipeg here.

Laurence Gillespie: Did you ever have any dealings with him yourself?

Jorundur Eyford: Pardon me?

Laurence Gillespie: Did you ever have any dealings with him yourself?

Jorundur Eyford: With the doctor? Oh, yes, yes.

Laurence Gillespie: How did you get to know him?

Jorundur Eyford: Well, my sister got diphtheria about 1921, and he came out with horse and cutter and a livery man from Lundar, over 40 miles. It was in January, and he saved her. And nobody else got it.

Jorundur Eyford: What sort of payment would he get for this kind of work?

Laurence Gillespie: Pardon me?

Jorundur Eyford: What kind of payment would he get for doing that?

Laurence Gillespie: Oh, I don’t remember. The livery was $35 for the … that’s all I remember. And the doctor was a personal friend of my father’s. He wouldn’t press him. And he was a very kind man.