|
This is what Stjarna saw when she looked out the window on March 29, 1875. Mount Askja, in Iceland, had erupted and was sending streams of burning lava down its mountainside. Huge bursts of steam were shooting out of the ground in places on their farm. The thick ash from the lava and the poisonous sulfur fumes destroyed all the farmland in her town. Her parents and many of the other families decided they had to move away and many of them chose to go to Canada.
In Canada they would get a huge plot of free farm land in an area the Canadian government called New Iceland. Since 2020, there have been many volcanic eruptions in Western Iceland. Many families in several towns have had to leave their homes until the dangers caused by molten lava were over. The picture you see here shows what a volcanic eruption in Iceland looks like near the town of Grindavik. |
Photo Credit: www.visiticeland.com/eruption
 This is
|
This is what Stjarna's home in Saenautasel probably looked like, built into the side of a hill. On page 65, Stjarna's father describes how their sod home in New Iceland would be different from their sod home back in Iceland. Stjarna's father was a blacksmith. This is what his blacksmith work area probably looked like. Notice the blade sharpener in the far left corner. Manitoba is not very hilly so Stjarna's sod home in New Iceland could not be built like her old home. Stjarna's father explains on page 65 that they would have to build their new home with four walls of sod bricks with one door and one window on each of the sides. At the back of the home they would attach their sod barn. This picture shows what the finished home would look like. |
Activities and Discussions
(1) If you had been born in Iceland, what would your name be? Look at what Stjarna said to the the captain of
the Sardinian on page 17 to help you with your answer.
(2) Have you ever kept a big secret from your parents like Stjarna did? How did that work out?
(3) Do you have a mean older brother or sister? What do they do? How do you handle it?
(4) If you were on a steamship crossing the Atlantic for two weeks, how would you spend your time if there
were no TV s, phones, iPads, or electronic games for you to use?
the Sardinian on page 17 to help you with your answer.
(2) Have you ever kept a big secret from your parents like Stjarna did? How did that work out?
(3) Do you have a mean older brother or sister? What do they do? How do you handle it?
(4) If you were on a steamship crossing the Atlantic for two weeks, how would you spend your time if there
were no TV s, phones, iPads, or electronic games for you to use?
