Helga (Jonsdottir) Stephansson

Helga (Jonsdottir) Stephansson
Helga (Jonsdottir) Stephansson

Helga Stephansson’s life was marked by resilience, quiet strength, and a deep commitment to both family and community. Born in Iceland and married at 19 in the first recorded Icelandic wedding in the United States (1876), Helga’s early years were spent doing domestic work to support her family before starting her own.

In 1889, pregnant and seeking a better future, Helga moved with her husband Stephan to the Markerville area. There, they built not just a home, but a life rooted in hard work and mutual respect. Their marriage may not have been a romantic love story, but it was a true partnership—one in which Helga had equal say in farm decisions and retained ownership of her earnings, a rare and significant stance for a woman at the time.

Raising eight children over 21 years, Helga’s days were filled with childrearing, homemaking, and letter writing. She remained the steady hand at home while her husband traveled widely for speaking engagements. After the tragic death of her son Gestur, Helga developed a lasting fear of thunderstorms—an enduring symbol of a mother’s grief.

Beyond her family, Helga gave generously to her community. She was a dedicated member of the Vonin Ladies Aid Society, contributing to the care and well-being of Markerville and its residents.

Her story is one of quiet leadership, enduring strength, and the often-unseen labour that built strong prairie communities.

Today, visitors to the Stephansson House Historic Site see not just a poet’s workspace, but also glimpse the life of Helga—the steadfast partner whose contributions made it all possible.

💛 Celebrate Helga’s legacy: the unsung pioneer woman whose dedication and endurance shaped a family and community.

📍 Learn more at Stephansson House:
centralmuseumsab.ca/view/99/helga-(jonsdottir)-stephansson

From a Facebook Post by Central Alberta Regional Museums Network
June 25, 2025

Markerville’s Founding Date

In 1888, after arriving with the first group of Icelandic settlers in the area, Jónas Húnfjörður (Hunford) suggested June 27th be designated as Markerville’s official founding date. That first group included the following men and their families: Sigurður J. Björnsson, Ólafur Ólafsson from Espihóli, Benidikt Ólafsson, Einar Jónsson, Sigurður Árnason, Bjarni Jónsson, Jónas J. Hunford, Benidikt Jónsson Bardal, Gísli Jónsson Dalmann. The group also included single men: Guðmundur Þorláksson, Jón Guðmundarson and Jósef Jónsson. In Winnipeg, the families of Jóhann Björnsson and Eyjólfur Helgason, and one single man, Jón Einarsson, joined.

While the community was originally known as Tindastoll, after a mountain in Skagafjörður, Iceland, it was renamed Markerville in 1903 after Alberta Dairy Commissioner C.P. Marker, who established a government creamery there.

You can find some of Jónas’ account in the 1909 edition of the Almanak.

https://timarit.is/page/4661851

From Stephansson Provincial Historic Site Facebook page

See related post on C.P. Marker:
https://markervillephotos.com/book-launch-for-churning-butter/

Republic of Iceland 1944

The Republic of Iceland was formed on June 17, 1944, aligning with the birth date of Jón Sigurðsson, a key leader early in the fight for independence.

In keeping with Iceland’s peaceful nature and the preservation of its culture despite foreign rule, here are some key historical points on Iceland’s independence:

870s – 1222: Initial Viking settlement and clan wars.
1222 – 1264: Age of the Sturlungs, ending with unification under Norwegian rule.
Late 1300s: Union with Denmark, leading to harsh conditions for Icelanders.
1550: Execution of Reverend Jón Arason for resisting Danish religious changes.
1811: Birth of Jón Sigurðsson, who led the national awakening.
1904: Home rule granted, but Denmark retained control over key affairs.
1918: Iceland became a sovereign kingdom under Denmark.
WWII: British and later US troops occupied Iceland to prevent German invasion.
1944: Full independence achieved on June 17, with the US being the first to recognize it.

Throughout this period, Iceland maintained its cultural identity and built key institutions like the University of Iceland, consecrated in 1940.

Iceland’s Independence Day commemorates all these milestones while looking towards the future of this resilient nation.

From a post on Icelandic Roots Facebook page June 17, 2024

Veronica Graves Open Studio

The BUTTERMAKER’S HOUSE ARTIST RESIDENCY presents an Open Studio with Veronica Graves.

Several people dropped in to Fensala Hall for the Open Studio on June 12, 2025. This was the second session held for the public during her stay at the Buttermaker’s House. June 10th was a demonstration on wet felting, and today was needle felting with a hands-on approach that allowed some spectators to try their hand at the art.
It was an informative, enjoyable time for all, and a fun glimpse at the artistic potential of the craft. Participants were very happy with the guidance from Veronica, and were able to produce cute and wonderful pieces of art to take home!

Veronica Graves

Veronica Graves is a local Felt artist staying at the Buttermaker’s House Artist Residency. She is sharing her love of fiber art with the community through two open studio sessions.

Tuesday, June 10th, 2025 was the first session at the Creamery Courtyard stage. Visitors and local residents enjoyed viewing and handling some finished artwork to experience the textures of the silk and various wools that had been used in their creation. Then Veronica pulled out some materials and grabbed her spray jug of soapy water in preparation for a demonstration of creating a wearable piece of art!

She shared some insights and techniques of the felting process of making a silk shawl with Merino and other felting wools. She explained that Felting is a traditional and natural way to get a good workout, too! No gym membership required.

Thursday, June 12th will be the second open studio, and Veronica plans to demonstrate Needle Felting to create art pieces. Please drop by Historic Markerville at 1:00 pm to see the artist at work and maybe even try your hand at felting. Join us … have some fun!

Here are some photos from the June 10 open studio:

From the Artist Bio: Veronica Graves is a local Felt artist who was born and raised in a rural community of Central Alberta. She grew up wild and free playing and exploring deep in the woods, which fueled her passion for nature and art.

After traveling to Iceland for her honeymoon in 2015, she fell in love with the culture, people and the sheep with their beautiful wool. She was inspired to explore fiber art to reflect and represent Iceland. Since then, felting has been a journey of discovery, healing from trauma, and teaching others.

Veronica has no formal training with fiber arts although her background in other mediums was part of her normal upbringing with her family. Pottery, painting, and gardening to name a few. She loves trying new techniques and most of her work is inspired by nature. Wearable art, and wall decor is her favorite type to create with fiber.

Some publications Veronica was honored to be part of, were in Prairie Living Magazine, Celebrate!- a magazine collaboration from felt:: feutre Canada, and Red Deer Scene. Her art has also been featured in Galleries throughout Central Alberta.

Buttermaker’s House Artist Residency welcomes artists of many disciplines year-round to the idyllic rural community of Markerville.
https://www.historicmarkerville.com/buttermaker-house.html

The INLNA (Icelandic National League of North America) Artist Residency Award is available to qualified applicants beginning each fall, with deadline for submission on November 30th.
https://www.historicmarkerville.com/residency-award.html

Creamery in Tindastoll

Built in 1895, Helgi Jonasson decided to build a cheese factory west of Tindastoll. He felt that if farmers in the area sold him their cow’s milk, he could then make cheese to sell back to the community.
However, Jonasson found it very expensive to buy all the necessary equipment to operate the factory. The Icelanders had difficulty travelling all the way to the factory to sell him milk. As well, many were too poor to buy the cheese.
In 1897, Helgi went into partnership with Einar Johnson & expanded the enterprise to include buttermaking. They experienced business difficulties when another entrepreneur, Jon Benediktson decided to set up a small store & cheese factory just 2 miles north.
In 1899, the Dominion government approached 34 Icelandic farmers to form a joint stock company call the Tindastoll Butter & Cheese Manufacturing Association. Benediktson & Jonsson were convinced to sell their factories to the Association so it could develop one creamery for the community.
And…so it began. The Markerville Creamery opened in 1902 in the location where it stands today. A much larger Creamery for the community.

Above images and article originally posted on Historic Markerville’s Facebook page in June 2021.

You can find out more about the Creamery, the history of the dairy industry in Alberta, and how Markerville got its name.
CHURNING BUTTER by Rolf Buschardt Christensen is a newly released book available now at the Kaffistofa. The story is framed around the life and times of Christian Peter Marker, Alberta’s first Dairy Commissioner.

INLNA Artist Residency Award 2025

The Stephan G. Stephansson Icelandic Society (SGSIS) is thrilled to announce and congratulate the recipients of the Icelandic Nation League of North America (INLNA) Artist Residency Award for 2025.

The Icelandic National League of North America has generously donated $3000 annually to assist eligible artists coming for a Residency in the Buttermaker’s House in Markerville.

Congratulations to all our recipients of the
INLNA Artist Residency Award for 2024/2025!

Keep checking our sites (Facebook page and historicmarkerville.com) for news of our artists visits. Artists are encouraged to involve the community in some way during their project.

This year there are two winners meeting the criteria for the award.

  1. VERONICA GRAVES from Red Deer, Alberta is coming from June 8 -15. This artist specializes in wool. With felt as her medium, she creates wearable art and wall hangings.
  2. GUDRITA LAPE (Gintare′ Maciulskyte) of Iceland will be an Artist in Residence in 2026. As a chef and artist, Gudrita meshes her two specialties – cooking and art. Her project titled “Creamy Connections: A Vegan Celebration of Icelandic Traditions” will explore the culinary and cultural connections between Iceland and Canada.

The winners for 2024:

  1. KAREN SCARLETT from Innisfail, Alberta is a multi-disciplinary artist who creates fine art and craft in various mediums, including large murals. Karen gave an art talk to the community and has since finished two paintings of the area from her stay.
  2. CLAIRE BUTLER is a professional musician from Calgary, specializing in piano and violin. Claire embraced Markerville head on with a Free Music Workshop for kids in the Fensala Hall. As part of a jazz ensemble, the Clicquot Trio, she played for one of our Supper and Song Nights in the Creamery Courtyard.

You are all inspiring and talented individuals that deserve recognition and a place to rest, reflect, create and connect in our delightful retreat.

CALLING ALL ARTISTS to check out our Buttermaker’s House Artist Residency, available all year long.

INLNA Artist Residency Award applications open in the fall for 2026.

Download the Official Award Announcement in PDF format