Icelandic Canadian Club of Toronto
The Unveiling of the Kinmount Monument
Club Highlights
In 1961, we entertained the President of Iceland at a cocktail party at the Granite Club. Then in 1967, the club was again honoured by the visit of President Ásgeir Ásgeirsson, who attended a gathering at the Albany Club. In 1972, Guðmundur I. Guðmundsson, Ambassador of Iceland, paid us a visit. Another President, the popular Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, was feted at a reception in the King Edward Hotel in August of 1989; she visited us again in 1998 when she was presented with an honourary doctorate by the University of Guelph in acknowledgement of their Iceland-Guelph Student Exchange program. At that time our club hosted a wonderful luncheon for her.
About 25 club members were invited to Ottawa during the Centennial year to attend the unveiling of a trilingual plaque (English, French, and Icelandic), donated by Canadian Icelandic descendants on Apr. 14, 1967, in the new Library and archives building on Wellington Street. The plaque depicted the discovery of America by the Vikings in the year 1000.
Projects Undertaken
We have greatly expanded our library via donations and purchases, and also catalogued it and made the list available via print as well as on the World Wide Web. It contains both Icelandic and English books; authors vary from Icelanders, to Icelandic-Canadians, to non-Icelanders writing about things Icelandic. Accessibility was increased by securing a permanent home at the Unitarian Hall.
In recent years we have taken over projects related to the Kinmount Icelandic Settlement from the INL. 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.
We also organized the commissioning, and erection of a memorial at Kinmount to commemorate these people. The memorial consists of an original statue by Gudrun Sigursteinsdóttir Girgis, with a base containing plaques in English, Icelandic and French. This is to be dedicated in the year 2000 as part of the Millennium Celebrations.
The ICCT scholarship fund was set up in 1977, with the first scholarship being awarded in 1990 to Carolyn L. Stinson. In 1997, we added a grant of $500 for a child to attend Icelandic Heritage Camp each summer. We have also been offering beginner & intermediate language classes over the years, and have been very lucky with the talented teachers we have had. We will continue to offer them as long as there is and interest.
Publications
We publish the official Icelandic Canadian Club of Toronto newsletter called the Fálkinn approx. 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”. Our 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.
Through the years the club has really grown and prospered. In the words of Rósa Hermannsson Vernon, “It is difficult to believe that it was once just an idea discussed among three founding members, Ásta Lunney, Alda Palson and myself.”
For further information, see: Icelandic Canadian Club of Toronto website, http://icct.info.