Stephansson House Provincial Historic Site

10/18/2026

In 1929, the Famous Five -- Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney (whom Stephan met in 1918), Irene Parlby and Henrietta Muir Edwards -- took their case to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council of Great Britain in London, which was then Canada’s highest court of appeal. On this day, the historic decision to include women in the legal definition of “persons” was handed down. This gave women the right to be appointed to the Senate of Canada and paved the way for women's increased participation in public and political life.

In Iceland, women’s rights had moved further along by that point. In 1907, the Women’s Rights Association was founded by Iceland’s most famous suffragette, Bríet Bjarnhéðinsdóttir. The following year women gained local suffrage and the right to hold local office, with women over the age of 40 gaining national suffrage and the right to hold office in 1915. By 1920 all women had gained national suffrage and the right to hold office.

Find out more about Iceland’s Equality story at

Explore the history of women’s rights in Iceland, from early suffrage and legal reforms to modern milestones, progress, and lasting influence in society.

10/16/2026

Happy Day!

One of the archival collections we regularly interact with as we continue to research the stories of Stephan, Helga and the rest of the family is the Icelandic Collection at the University of Manitoba. The Icelandic Collection was relocated in October 2000 to an expanded, renovated and modernized space in the Elizabeth Dafoe Library. A world-class facility, The Icelandic Collection section is home to The Iceland Reading Room, a centre providing for the teaching and research needs of the 21st century by offering state-of-the-art reading, seminar and study rooms.

The physical collection currently includes over 34,000 items! Most importantly – thanks to Finnbogi Guðmundsson – it contains a large number of books from Stephan’s personal library, currently housed in the Elizabeth Dafoe Library.

“Finnbogi was determined to rescue those items that had belonged to Stephansson — his writing desk, writing set, books, pictures of he and Helga and various other gifts that had been given to the poet during his lifetime — that remained in the house….Wisely, Finnbogi realized that dispersal of the belongings was not in the best interests of the maintenance of the Stephansson legacy. “It is unwise to my mind to send one thing to Reykjavik, another north to Skagafjörður and the third to Winnipeg for preservation, if they could all . . . be preserved in one place.” There were two obvious places that could be the repository of the Stephansson material, the National Museum in Reykjavík or the University of Manitoba. The National Library had Stephansson’s literary works so it made a great deal of sense if the contents of the poet’s study were to be sent to the National Museum in the homeland. However, Stephansson was as much a Canadian poet as an Icelandic one, so in the end Finnbogi, after negotiating the loan of this material with the family, had the items sent to the University of Manitoba where they remained on display until the early 1980s.” (Poet of the Rocky Mountains, p. 156-157)

Explore their holdings at https://libguides.lib.umanitoba.ca/icelandic.

LibGuides: Icelandic Collection: Home

10/14/2026

Tillykke med jubilæet!

On this day 35 years ago the Dickson Store Museum officially opened.

Dickson is the oldest Danish settlement in Western Canada, as well as the home to the largest Danish settlement on the Canadian Prairies. It was settled in 1903 by seventeen Danish settlers from Nebraska. The 17 original Danish settlers came to the Dickson region in hopes of owning their own land and establishing a future for their families. The struggles and hardships of homesteading were endless, but the pioneers worked together to build the community of Dickson.

In 1905, Carl and Laura Christiansen, two of the original settlers, opened a post office in their home. In 1909, Carl built and opened the General Store in Dickson. The family lived on the second floor. The general store contributed largely to effort of building the community. Carl Christiansen bartered with farm produce and lumber allowing pioneers to obtain essential supplies. The Christiansen family continued to operate the store until it closed in 1980.

Restoration of the store began in 1987 through the unselfish efforts of many dedicated volunteers, and in 1991 it was officially opened as a museum by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. The Dickson Store Museum is a 1930’s restoration of the general store, post office, cold room, and living quarters. Outside facilities include a grassy picnic area and the restored lumber shed. Old-fashioned candy, souvenirs and local artisan crafts are available in the museum store and Foothills Ice Cream is served in the quaint Ice Cream Room.

Along with the Danish Canadian National Museum, the Markerville Creamery and Stephansson House, the Dickson Store Museum is part of the “Scandinavian Trail”, a self-guided day-trip that connects you with the area’s Scandinavian heritage. Visit us all next summer!

Images courtesy of the Dickson Store Museum

10/13/2026

Last week, Anne Carson, a Canadian poet and Icelandic citizen, won the 2026 Nobel Prize for literature.

Carson lives in Iceland for part of the year and was granted Icelandic citizenship in 2022.

Iceland therefore has its second Nobel Laureate in Literature, following Halldór Laxness, who received the prize in 1955.

Born in Canada in 1950, she studied classics and has taught Ancient Greek and classical Greek literature at several North American universities, including McGill University, Princeton University and New York University.

She has published numerous collections of poetry, essays and translations of Ancient Greek literature. Her works frequently combine poetry, academic writing, mythology and contemporary themes.

Til hamingju, Anne!

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2026 was awarded to Anne Carson "for her bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature"

10/12/2026

Happy þakkargjörðarhátíð!

Thanksgiving wasn’t part of Icelandic immigrants’ history, but they were certainly aware of it. Increasingly, of course, they embraced these traditions.

Do you have any stories about how your families and Icelandic forebears celebrated?

(Our translation app translates this article as follows: “It has been announced in the Government Gazette that a public holiday will be observed throughout the Kingdom on Thursday, November 18th. This holiday is the annual public Thanksgiving Day.”)

We hope you enjoyed your kalkúnn!

Image from September 30, 1886 edition of Heimskringla courtesy timarit.is.

10/09/2026

Happy Leifur Eiríksson Day!

Five hundred years before Christopher Columbus sailed to the Americas, an intrepid band of Vikings hailing from Iceland and Greenland set up the first known European settlement in North America on the eastern edge of Canada, around the year 1000 C.E.

Leifur Eiríksson led these bold travelers, whose journeys were first documented in the Icelandic “Saga of the Greenlanders” and the “Saga of Erik the Red,” and later verified by the discovery of more than 2,000 Norse artifacts and evidence of an 11th-century Viking settlement at L’Anse-aux-Meadows in Newfoundland in the early 1960s.

Leifur Eiríksson (or Leiv Eiriksson if you’re Swedish, or Leif Eriksson if you’re Danish,, or Leifr Eiríksson if you’re practising your Old Norse) is also referred to as Leif the Lucky.

Of course, he is an important figure to Icelanders, but that name holds a special place in our heart as Calgary’s Leif Erikson Icelandic Club played a crucial role in restoring Stephansson House!

“In the spring of 1974, the [Alberta] Icelandic clubs decided to form a committee to lobby the government for designation of the Stephansson house as a Provincial Historic Resource. Each of the three clubs appointed one member to represent them. Al Arnason, honourary Icelandic consul, represented Edmonton’s Norðuljos Icelandic Club; Joe Johannson represented the newly formed Stephan G. Stephansson Icelandic Society of Markerville and Bjorgvin Sigurdson, Calgary’s Leif Erikson Icelandic Club. Naming themselves the Stephan G. Stephansson Homestead Restoration Committee, the three took a proactive approach to attain their goal. They set out to purchase the homestead site from Edwin Stephansson plus an additional 1.5 acres from a near-by Hutterite Colony that owned a wedge of land adjoining the homestead. The Committee also took the responsibility to have a legal survey of these parcels of land done and to have the legal title transferred, once the purchase had gone through, to the Leif Erikson Icelandic Club as it was the only club registered with the Alberta Societies Act and therefore incorporated. It took until late 1975 before the club received title to the land. The $2240.00 it cost the clubs to buy the land was money well spent, the Committee reasoned, if that would help ensure that the government would designate the Stephansson house as a Provincial Historic Resource and would undertake stewardship of the site.” (Poet of the Rocky Mountains, p. 159)

And they did – on May 16, 1976!

Image from the May 20, 1976 edition of the Daily Herald Tribune courtesy newspapers.com.

10/07/2026

Random Acts of Poetry Day is about bringing poetry into the public square, either literally or figuratively. There are many ways to leave a poem somewhere to inspire someone, or introduce them to poetry.

Why not take your favourite Stephansson poem and leave it somewhere for someone to discover? Follow the link for some ideas and let us know what you did!

Random Acts of Poetry Day is about painting poetry in the public square—literally or figuratively. Stop by Tweetspeak Poetry for a few good act ideas.

10/06/2026

Til hamingju með afmælið, F***y og Jenny!

On this day in 1889, Stephan and Helga’s twin daughters – Stephaný (F***y) Guꝺbjörg and Jóný (Jenny) Sigurbjörg are born.

Do you have any photographs or records of F***y and Jenny? Let us know!

Image from Wakeful Nights, p. 383 (courtesy of the Stephansson Family archives).

10/04/2026

Did you know it’s National Newspaper Week?

National Newspaper Week is a chance to reflect on the essential service newspapers provide with diverse, local, original content that cannot be found anywhere else.

This was especially important for Icelanders in Canada, as their communities were scattered across the country. A large number of newspapers were published in Winnipeg, and from there made their way to Icelandic communities throughout North America, where they were often passed from household to household.

Find out more at “Preserving the Most Precious Heirloom.”

Between the early 1870s and the outbreak of the First World War, thousands of Icelandic migrants arrived in North America. They made their new homes in many places […]

10/03/2026

On this day in 1853, Stefán (Guꝺmundsson) Stephansson is born at Kirkjuhóll, in the Skagafjörður region of Northern Iceland.

“The odds were against a child born in Iceland at that time, as one out of four died in infancy. Those children who did survive, if they were of a poor farming family, had little hope of prosperity or material success. However, an extraordinary fate awaited this little boy. He was to emigrate to another hemisphere, where he would take the name Stephan G. Stephansson and earn a reputation as one of Iceland’s greatest poets – the only Icelandic literary figure of such humble origins to achieve such recognition.” (Wakeful Nights, p.30)

Til hamingju með afmælið, Stephan!

Image courtesy Provincial Archives of Alberta A15947