 Tanya on Grímsey Island in 1999. Anyone from the Edmonton area who’s done the Snorri Program in recent years has probably been in touch with Tanya Hofforth (née Hiebert), scholarship coordinator for the Icelandic Canadian Club of Edmonton. What they may not realize, however, is that not only is Tanya a Snorri Program alumna herself – she’s one of the original 1999 Snorris. We spoke with Tanya about her experience as a Snorri pioneer and the role that her heritage continues to play in her life all these years later. Answers have been edited for length and clarity. Tell us a bit about your Icelandic heritage. Was it a big part of your life growing up? I was born and raised in Langley, British Columbia. My grandpa was from a little Icelandic town in Saskatchewan called Tantallon, and I knew his family was from Iceland, but he didn’t know much about their story of immigrating to Canada. It wasn’t until I did the Snorri Program that I learned that story. How did you hear about the Snorri Program? When I graduated from high school and was getting ready for university, we discovered there was an Icelandic club in Vancouver that offered post-secondary scholarships. I applied and received one, and my mom joined the club. It was in one of the club’s newsletters that she read about a brand-new program for people of Icelandic descent. It seemed like a great opportunity to see Iceland and possibly meet family, so I applied and was one of the lucky 19 to be accepted. Heading into that summer, what were you expecting? How did the experience compare to those expectations? I remember just being excited to get to see Iceland and see where my relatives came from. I didn’t know I had any family still living there, so I wasn’t expecting to meet any relatives. My experience exceeded all of my expectations! We were the first group, and we only spent one week in Reykjavik at the start of the trip, but it was so great to see all of the sights there and learn a little bit of the language. I didn’t get to stay with my family members for the homestay, but I remember I got a family tree done at the library in Akureyri, and the couple I stayed with in Dalvík took it upon themselves to drive me around on the weekends to meet some of my family who still lived in the area! Do you remember what you found most surprising or strange about Iceland? I would have to say the landscape! When we arrived, I remember thinking I had never seen anything quite like it. It was like a different planet. I also remember seeing waterfalls everywhere I turned! As for the strangest thing, I’d say trying all of the “delicacies,” like fermented shark. What are your most vivid memories from the program? Two things really stand out. First, two other girls on the program were staying up north not too far from me, and we all really wanted to go to the Arctic Circle, so we arranged to take the ferry to Grímsey. It was amazing to be that far north – and that’s where I first saw and fell in love with puffins. Second was visiting the family homestead. I was volunteering at a bed and breakfast, and the local girls who worked there asked me what I really wanted to do or see. All I knew was that I wanted to see the family farm. My family was from the east, from a little farm in Mjóafjörður. So the girls decided to drive me all the way there! We followed a narrow dirt road down to the tiny village, where we happened to meet a man who had written a book about the history of the fjord. He ended up arranging for me to meet a relative who grew up there. After exploring the fjord and camping overnight in a field, we headed to the next town over and met Sesselja María. She was 95 years old at the time and didn’t speak English, so one of the girls stayed and interpreted for us. I was so surprised when Sesselja María took out a photo of my grandpa, grandma, mom, and aunt! That meeting with her changed my life.
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 Diann and husband Russ at Minjasafnskirkja Church in Akureyri. Diann Barbacci Winston Salem, NC Snorri Plus 2024 Most Snorri and Snorri Plus participants are several generations removed from their Icelandic ancestors, descended from those thousands of Icelanders who emigrated across the Atlantic starting in the mid-19th century. In that regard, I’m a bit of an outlier, since I was born in Iceland and raised there to the age of 10. My Snorri journey began at my mom’s funeral in 2022. After the service, my cousin Magnea started talking about our great uncle Óli, who emigrated to Canada in 1911. As our family historian, Magnea had done some research in the Íslendingabók genealogy database and found that Óli departed Iceland with his wife and four children. This was all news to me, and we had little else to go on, but I promised her I would continue the search and find a living descendant of Óli’s in North America. That research led me to the Icelandic Roots database and the Snorri Programs. After moving to the US as a child, I spent many subsequent summers traveling back “home” with my mom, Alda, to visit Amma and Afi and the rest of the family. My American father, John Barbacci, was stationed in Iceland during World War II. A little history refresher may come in handy here: After the Nazis invaded Denmark and Norway, Britain invaded Iceland on May 10, 1940, to prevent a potential German occupation and secure a strategic location for British naval and air patrols. On June 16, 1941, with British troops needed elsewhere and the US having entered the war, the US military officially took over the occupation of Iceland. At the end of the war, having been in Iceland for a little over two years, Dad returned to Pennsylvania and quickly found work as an aircraft mechanic for Lockheed Airlines. That job took him to France for a year, and at the end of that year, he was asked if he would like to return to the NATO base in Iceland and continue working there. It was upon Dad’s return to Iceland that he met my mother, Alda. The establishment of the NATO base at Keflavík at the end of the war had brought commercial air travel to Iceland. American Airlines began service to Iceland, and my mother got a job as a waitress at the American Airlines café on base. That’s where she met my dad, who was a prolific coffee drinker! Dad later transitioned to working with the US Department of Defense as a civilian contractor. Mom and Dad were married and raised me and my siblings, all while living off base with my Icelandic grandparents in Ytri-Njarðvík. My grandfather was a highly respected fisherman in the community and did quite well for himself. My dad spent a total of 20 years in Iceland and assimilated well, even learning the language. My siblings and I attended the NATO school on base at Naval Air Station Keflavík, but Mom made sure we spoke Icelandic fluently – and kept it up after we moved to the US. |
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