Selecting a location for a new station was simple for Canadian Pacific Railroad (C.P.R.) engineers once the tracks had reached present-day Wynyard in 1908, as it was directly south of the C.P.N Canadian National Railroad (C.N.R) Quill Lake station. The strategic position attracted quite a few businessmen as well as professionals, some were Icelandic, but the majority was of a different nationality. Despite being a minority in the village, Icelanders, most of whom originated in N. Dakota, made their presence felt in many ways. When a new school district was established in the west of Wynyard in 1906, it was called Mountain.
Sveinn Oddsson Photo VÍÆ 1
Business and public life: Jón Frímann Jónsson (John F. Johnson) opened a small retail store on his farm, less than a mile west of present-day Wynyard in 1905. He moved into the village once it had been established and operated a dry-goods store there for a few years. Halldór Jónatansson (Halldor J. Halldorson) moved his house into the village in 1908 in which he had managed a grocery store and post office since 1905. During 1909-1920 quite a few Icelanders were involved in businesses in the village. Jónas Eyjólfsson opened a drug store in 1916 and his brother Arne Ágúst joined him in 1918. Printer Sveinn Oddsson moved west from Reykjavík in 1903 and worked at Lögberg for the rest of the year in Winnipeg. He moved south to Minnesota and worked for Gunnar Björnsson, editor and publisher of the Minneota Mascot in Minnesota from 1904-1909. He returned to Winnipeg and printed the Lögberg from 1909-1911 when he moved to Wynyard. There he founded the Wynyard Advance and began publishing in 1912. Two brothers, Bogi and Páll Bjarnason joined his publication for a few years. Sveinn began a weekly paper in Icelandic, but it lacked support probably due to the fact that the majority of the population in Wynyard was not Icelandic. Two Icelandic congregations were formed, and both had a church built, but due to the constant struggle in obtaining ministers, both faced declines. The Icelandic settlement trend continued, reading societies were established, as were ladies’ organizations. An annual Icelandic summer festival, Íslendingadagur, was popular for years throughout the province, with people attending from places like Saskatoon, Yorkton, Churchbridge, and all the different rural communities. A Judicial district was established, and a courthouse was built in Wynyard. The Rural Municipality of Big Quill Lake was incorporated in 1909, Egill Laxdal being the only Icelander elected reeve.
Remarkable move
This photo was taken in March of 1908, snow covers the frozen ground. The house was placed on skis and 17 oxen used to pull it into the village where it was placed in a chosen spot. The house continued to be Halldór´s home, his store and Sleipnir post-office. Photo RbQ
Here Halldór Jónatansson´s house is shown on his land near Wynyard. He had it built in 1905 and it included a small store as well as the Sleipnir post-office.
Wynyard from the air. The Big Quill Lake is in the distance. Photo MacDougall