Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....Skulason, Bardi G. January 19, 1871 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/or/orfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ila L. Wakley iwakley@msn.com May 30, 2007, 8:05 am Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company BARDI G. SKULASON. Among the men of foreign nationality who are contributing to the prestige of the Portland bar is numbered Bardi G. Skulason, a well known attorney, who has practiced successfully in the city for a period of sixteen years. The following account of his family and country appeared in the “Observations and Impressions of the Journal Man,” written by Fred Lockley for the issue of October 24, 1921: “‘When did your folks go to Iceland?’ I inquired. ‘My people have been there for over one thousand years,’ said Mr. Skulason. ‘I was born on my father’s farm in the northern part of Iceland, January 19, 1871. Yes, the northern part of Iceland touches the Arctic circle. Tell you about Iceland? What do you want to know about—the history, language, trade, geographical features, climate, government, literature, or what feature?’ ‘The ones you have mentioned,’ I responded. “Mr. Skulason smiled and said, ‘I can barely touch the high lights, for Iceland is a big subject and many books could be written about it. To begin with, my native country has a population of less than one hundred thousand people. It is about the size of North Dakota, having an area of somewhat over forty thousand square miles. Less than seven per cent of this is farmed, however. The low lands along the coast and the lands along the fiords and river valleys are cultivated. The high lands are of basaltic formation, or of volcanic breccia. There are many small lakes in the interior. The farmers raise cattle, sheep, potatoes, cabbage and root crops. Fishing is the great industry there. Seal and whale fishing, with cod, herring and flounder fishing, provide a dangerous living for a large part of the population. Iceland was settled in 876 by Norwegians. Because of our isolation the original Norse language has been preserved in almost its original purity. Because of greater accessibility, the Norwegian, Swedish and Danish tongues saw great changes. There was a time when there was more culture and enlightenment and a higher type of literature in Iceland than in all the rest of Europe together. That was about the twelfth century. “‘A very large number of my fellow countrymen have come to America. There are between twenty-five hundred and three thousand in an Icelandic settlement in Pembina county, North Dakota. This is the largest settlement of them in the United States. There is a colony of several hundred in Minnesota, not far from St. Paul. There are more than fifteen thousand Icelanders in the province of Manitoba, many of them being in or about Winnipeg. It is estimated that there are about forty thousand Icelanders and their descendants in Canada and the United States, the greater number in Canada. “‘During the World war the Icelanders in Manitoba formed an Icelandic brigade. The colonel and other officers were from Iceland, as well as the enlisted men. There was a higher percentage of voluntary enlistments among the Icelanders than among any other nationality. Three sons of my sister, Mrs. Sarah Smith, were in the war. My nephew Stanley went through the fighting at Ypres, Vimy Ridge Paschaendale and elsewhere. He was wounded and sent to England. Returning to his battalion in August, 1918, he was killed in the closing days of the war. Charlie, the son of my sister, Mrs. Annie Johnson, went all through the war but came back so seriously wounded that he will always be a cripple. I enlisted as a private in August, 1918, and got as far as Florida. My son, Rolfe W., who was sixteen, enlisted the day before war was declared and was assigned to the One Hundred and Sixty-sixth Infantry Forty- second or Rainbow Division. He spent eighteen months in France and served twenty-five months in all.’” The Skulason family made the voyage to Canada in 1876 and lived for four years in Manitoba. In 1880 they crossed the border into the United States and settled in Pembina county, in the western part of the territory of Dakota. The father, who was endowed with the strength, courage and resourcefulness of the true frontiersman, entered a homestead, and although without funds when he located in the west, through tireless effort and good management he became the owner of a productive, valuable farm. Bardi G. Skulason was a boy of nine when the family migrated to the United States and his early education was acquired in a rural school near the homestead. He assisted his father in cultivating the farm. In 1890 at Mountain, North Dakota, he engaged in teaching school and one of his pupils, now known all over the world as an Arctic explorer, was Vilhjalmur Steffansson, a quiet, studious lad, whose father and mother were from Iceland but he was born in Manitoba. Mr. Skulason read law at Grand Forks, North Dakota, and was there admitted to the bar in September, 1897. For fourteen years he followed his profession in Grand Forks and also aided in framing the laws of North Dakota, serving for one term in the state legislature. He was assistant prosecuting attorney of Grand Forks county for six years and secured a large number of convictions. As an educator he also became well known and lectured for ten years in the law department of the University of North Dakota. In 1911 he came to Oregon, selecting Portland as the scene of his activities, and is accorded a liberal clientele. While a general practitioner, he devotes his attention chiefly to civil cases and displays marked skill in the exposition of the law. By his first wife Mr. Skulason has two children. Rolfe W., who was graduated from the University of Oregon and completed a course in Yale University, is one of the prominent attorneys of Stamford, Connecticut. Dagmar, who was graduated from the University of California, is now living in Pasadena, California. Mr. Skulason’s second union was with Miss Hazel Dunn, of Des Moines, Iowa. They were married October 25, 1924, and reside in Milwaukie, Oregon, where Mr. Skulason has a fine country home, devoting his leisure to the growing of fruit and flowers. He belongs to the American Legion and along fraternal lines is connected with the Elks and the Masons. In politics he is a republican and lends the weight of his support to all worthy public projects. Mr. Skulason stands high in his profession and belongs to a race of men who are real assets to every community in which they are found. Additional Comments: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Pages 339-340 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/multnomah/bios/skulason383gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/orfiles/ File size: 7.1 Kb