Descendants of the first Icelanders to the Gimli area and guests took part in an annual Walk to the Rock last Saturday to pay tribute to the settlers who arrived 148 years ago.
About 35 people set off from the New Iceland Heritage Museum at the Waterfront Centre, heading south along the breakwater then trekking through the sand along Lake Winnipeg, scaling rocks and making their way to the big white rock on Willow Island where the first wave of Icelandic immigrants pitched up on shore on Oct. 21, 1875.
The Colvile steamboat, which was towing the Icelanders north on a barge, cut them loose during a fierce storm on the lake and forced them to make camp on the beach.
Glen Martin and his sister Sandra Kolomic make the pilgrimage to the rock every year to commemorate the landing of their descendants on that fateful day and remember the hardships they faced. On a plaque attached to the white rock, their forebear is named as the first Icelander born in western Canada on Oct. 22, 1875.
“Jon Olafur Johannson is our great, great grandfather,” said Martin. “Johannson was the first baby born here. Our mother was a big fan of coming on this walk and we do this each year.”
Elder Ruth Christie spoke about her connection to Oct. 21, 1875, landing on Willow Island, as well as the assistance her great grandfather, John Ramsay, gave to the first Icelanders during their first Manitoba winter.
After acknowledging they were on Treaty 1 territory and the homeland of the Metis nation, Christie said her great, great grandfather was on the barge with the first wave of settlers.
“When the barges came here on Oct. 21 1875, my great, great grandfather, James Monkman, was with [the Icelanders]. The captain of the Colvile cut the tow ropes and let them drift in. And that’s where Jon Olafur Johannson was born that night and became the first son of New Iceland,” said Christie. “When the scouts were coming to look for a reserve for the Icelandic people, my great grandfather, Joseph Monkman, helped them look for land where they could settle,” said Christie. “My connection at Sandy Bar [east of Riverton] is with John Ramsay, who is my great grandfather.”
Ramsay was instrumental is helping the first Icelanders survive a Manitoba winter, teaching them to fish and hunt and build shelters. The New Iceland Heritage Museum created an exhibit to honour Ramsay.
Christie thanked the crowd for allowing her to speak at the rock. She feels confident sharing her personal history and is glad to further the spirit of truth and reconciliation as Indigenous people “come into the light,” she said, becoming politicians, artists, musicians, lawyers, police officers, nurses and doctors.
Lynnette Sisterson and Johanne Kristjanson were among the walkers making the chilly, windswept six-kilometre walk to Willow Island.
“Since we moved back to Gimli almost 20 years ago, I have done almost all the walks,” said Sisterson.
Kristjanson said she walks every year to remember the Icelanders who experienced the harsh, unforgiving lake and the less-than-ideal conditions on the beach.
“I like to celebrate those original settlers who toughed it out in October and made it through to develop a community here,” said Kristjanson.
Connie Magnusson, her mother and her aunt started the annual walk to the rock years ago to pay tribute to their descendants, and Magnusson thanked everyone for taking part in the memorial.
“I’m so happy we’ve continued with this tribute to our Icelandic forebears,” said Magnusson. “And I’d like to lay roses on the rock in memory of those people.”
Descendants traditionally read a poem at the monument, and Magnusson’s daughter, Marilyn Valgardson, read a poem called Willow Point.
After the ceremony, the walkers were treated to refreshments at the museum.
Express Photos by Patricia Barrett
