Two small Icelandic settlements developed south and west of Leslie in what is now Saskatchewan. One was named after Mt. Hekla in Iceland, but the other was called Hólarbyggð, same as the settlement way south in the Qu´Apelle Valley east of Tantallon. As time passed by, the two were united and gradually became part of the Foam Lake, Leslie and Elfros settlements as settlers tended to obtain supplies in the closest village. The population of each was small, just over 20 families and individuals homesteaded in each settlement. The land in both was quite similar, uneven with grass-covered open spaces between bluffs of poplars interspersed with sloughs with willow bushes around them. The land was difficult to break so each farm consisted of a small field and sections of land for haymaking. During the dry cycle in the thirties, this turned out to be a blessing as farmers managed to gather enough hay for their animals, but the ground was so dry that the fields could not be seeded.
Hekla Settlement: The Hekla Settlement was directly south of Leslie, and in the center of which the Hekla School was built and opened in 1908. It also served as the community hall for the settlement. First to arrive were three families in 1904: Bjarni Guðmundsson and Ingibjörg Jónsdóttir from Árnessýsla, Jóhannes Pálsson (Johannes Borgford) and Elísabet Snorradóttir from Borgarfjarðarsýsla, and the widow, Arndís Sigurðardóttir (Arndis Olson) from Gullbringusýsla, and her sons, Ólafur, Ellert (Ellent), Stefán Guðmann and Ingvar. Ingvar settled in Foam Lake, where he opened a store while the others homesteaded in the settlement. The fifth son, Ögmundur, settled further north and west. During the next few years more families as well as single men drifted in and claimed land.
Hólar Settlement: Most settlers here arrived in 1905, a total of 9 families and 5 individuals and a year later 7 families and two individuals claimed land. The Holar Post Office was built and just north of it the Walhalla School was built. A Lutheran congregation was formed, using the school for religious services. The school was also used for concerts and other entertainment. The most significand settler in the settlement had to be Valdimar Jakobsson, better known as Judge Walter J. Lindal. He was just one year old when he emigrated in 1888 from Iceland with his mother, Hólmfríður Anna Hannesdóttir. His father, Jakob L. Hansson, had emigrated a year earlier. Young Valdimar lived with his parents until 1905 when he homesteaded in the settlement. He worked his land in the summers which enabled him to cover his higher education expenses. He became a well-respected Lawyer and later Judge. Other settlers, to name a few, were Ágúst Árnason and Sigurveig Þorláksdóttir from N. Þingeyjarsýsla who emigrated in 1905, Arnljótur Kristjánsson, a single man from Skagafjarðarsýsla, who emigrated in 1899 to Winnipeg, and Árni Torfason and Sigríður Hákonardóttir who emigrated from S. Múlasýsla in 1903.
English version by Thor Group.