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Last edited by CycloneYoris (talk | contribs) 5 months ago. (Update) |
Lára Bjarnason (16 May 1842 – 17 June 1921), born Lára Mikaelína Guðjohnsen in Reykjavík, Iceland, was a teacher and a leader within the Icelandic immigrant community in Manitoba. She was instrumental in founding the Betel Home in Winnipeg in 1915.
Lára was the eldest child of organist Pétur Guðjónsson Guðjohnsen and his wife Guðrún Sigríður Lauritzdóttir Guðjohnsen (née Knudsen). She married Jón Bjarnason in 1870, and the couple emigrated to the United States in 1873. They moved in 1877 to the newly founded New Iceland settler reserve, where Jón Bjarnason served as minister and Lára taught Icelandic immigrant children in the community. Conditions in the settler reserve were extremely difficult, especially for families with young children, and Lára's work was unpaid. Jón and Lára left New Iceland in 1880.
The Bjarnasons returned to Manitoba four years later, when Jón accepted the position of pastor of Winnipeg's First Lutheran Church. Lára founded the Ladies' Aid of the First Lutheran Church in 1886 and took an active role within Winnipeg's Icelandic immigrant community throughout her life. From 1901, she successfully led the campaign for the opening of a seniors' home for elderly Icelandic immigrants, many of whom did not speak English. In 1915, the Betel Home opened in Winnipeg at 854 William Ave. It was relocated to Gimli the following year.