mountain, nd
Back in the latter half of the 19th century, tired of eating sviðasulta and otherwise starving under the cruel thumb of the Danish, lots of Icelanders migrated to communities in the Upper Midwest in the United States and also to Manitoba, Canada. These Icelanders made their way in the (much colder) New World and formed Icelandic-speaking communities that persist to this day.
One of these communities is the town of Mountain, North Dakota (which with a population of 133 is on the same scale of many Icelandic towns, such as Vík í Mýrdal on the south coast). Iceland Report regular and American Icelander Mindy hails from Mountain and recently told me about the big summer town party, called "August the Deuce". It's the big event of the year and Icelandic themed: August 2nd is the traditional date for American Icelanders to celebrate the Land. So looks like we just missed it for 2006, but maybe next year? Pönnukökur, anyone?
One of these communities is the town of Mountain, North Dakota (which with a population of 133 is on the same scale of many Icelandic towns, such as Vík í Mýrdal on the south coast). Iceland Report regular and American Icelander Mindy hails from Mountain and recently told me about the big summer town party, called "August the Deuce". It's the big event of the year and Icelandic themed: August 2nd is the traditional date for American Icelanders to celebrate the Land. So looks like we just missed it for 2006, but maybe next year? Pönnukökur, anyone?
posted by JB at 25.9.06
2 Comments:
Mountain is totally awesome. A bunch of Icelanders come every year to see what the Icelandic-American communities are all about, and generally people seem to enjoy themselves. It's in the middle of nowhere, but worth the trip! Only around August 2nd, though. If you come any other time it's pretty quiet.
In a totally unrelated comment, I saw Icelandic Heidi again today, parked in my neighborhood this time. She's just as shiny and well-kept as her sister. This time I stopped and left a note.
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