Month: September 2025

Lutheran Church [~ 1905 to 1907]

Helga, like Stephan, had been raised within the tenets of an orthodox Lutheran Church in Iceland. Unlike Stephan, however, Helga continued to engage with her faith throughout her life. While both she and Stephan attended church in Wisconsin and Dakota, by the time they were settled in Markerville Stephan had cut ties with the church and organized religion. Even so, “it appears that Helga was concerned for her children’s moral upbringing. Family members, sans [Stephan], partook in readings from the Bible and attended the Markerville church whenever Hjalmsson or another minister preached.” (Poet of the Rocky Mountains, p.108)

Perhaps she may even have attended an Easter service at the Markerville Lutheran Church.

Image courtesy Provincial Archives of Alberta, “Markerville, Alberta”, [between 1905 and 1907]. A4661.

Obtained from an Easter 2025 post on the Stephan G. Stephansson Facebook page.

A black-and-white photo from between 1905 and 1907 shows a group gathered in front of a white wooden Lutheran Church with a tall steeple. Men, women, and children stand in formal attire on the grass and church steps.
A black-and-white photo from between 1905 and 1907 shows a group gathered in front of a white wooden Lutheran Church with a tall steeple. Men, women, and children stand in formal attire on the grass and church steps.

Baldur Stefánsson

Happy birthday, Busi!

Baldur Stefánsson was born on September 25 in 1879 at Shawano, Wisconsin. At the age of ten he would leave with his family for their new home near Markerville, in the North-West Territories (now Alberta).

The photo below was taken in Dakota, shortly before they left. Baldur is on the left, Gudmundur in the center, and Jakob on the right.

Image courtesy Provincial Archives of Alberta, PH75.28.3.

Three young children in old-fashioned clothing pose for a vintage black and white studio portrait; Baldur is on the left, Gudmundur is seated in the center, and Jakob on the right.
Baldur is on the left, Gudmundur is seated in the center, and Jakob on the right.

Creamery Closes in 1972

On September 15, 1972, the Markerville Creamery closed its doors. It would re-open as a historic site in 1986.

The Creamery was started by the Tindastoll Butter and Cheese Manufacturing Association Limited, which was formed in August 1899 in Tindastoll, now Markerville, Alberta. The association was composed of a board of directors, which included a president, vice president, and three directors. The members of the first board of directors included Dan Morkeberg, J.M. Johnson, S. Goodman, J. Benedickson, and G. Thorlakson, with Stephan G. Stephansson as the first secretary. On March 5, 1910 the name of the association was changed to the Markerville Butter and Cheese Manufacturing Association.

Images of Dan Morkeberg at the Creamery, 1899 P7725, the Markerville Creamery [1901], P7726 and Markerville Creamery [1908], P7726 courtesy Red Deer Archives.

Black and white photo of the creamery. Two people stand in the doorway.
A black-and-white photo of a wooden house with people on the porch. Two horse-drawn carriages are parked in front on rough, unpaved ground—a rural scene reminiscent of the early 20th century, possibly before the local creamery closes in 1972.
A black-and-white photo of the Creamery, wood piles, and a chimney. Three people stand outside the Creamery, and a horse-drawn carriage is on the right near a fence and trees.