Spotlight feature:
GUDRUN VIOLA (VI) BJARNASON-HILTON
of Winnipeg, Manitoba

If there ever was a more vibrant, outgoing great-grandmother than Gudrun Viola (Vi) Bjarnason-Hilton, she would be difficult to find.

Vi is Icelandic through and through, with both sets of grandparents being transplants from Iceland, and she is very active with her ancestral heritage, history and traditions.

Vi was born as Gudrun Viola Bjarnason in October, 1935, in Churchbridge, a town in Saskatchewan situated along #16 Yellowhead Hwy. She was born late in the day at 4 p.m. and, jokingly, she says that’s her excuse for being chronically late. But better late than never. She took grade one at Pennock School on the corner of their farm.

After grade one, her family moved to Minnedosa, ‘Manitoba’s Valley Paradise,’ the ‘oasis on the prairie.’ Minnedosa is two hours west of Winnipeg, again on Hwy #16. Minnedosa had, and still does have, a strong agricultural base. Back then, Vi’s mom, also named Gudrun, worked the farm herself for three years while Vi’s father, Barney, worked longer hours for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) during WWII. Vi’s grandmother on her mother’s side, Amma, lived with them and helped take care of Vi and her brother, Sigurdur Johann (Sammy-Joe). Amma means grandmother in Icelandic.

When Vi registered for Grade two, her teacher thought that Gudrun Viola Bjarnason was too complicated, so her mother gave her the name, Gertrude, instead of Gudrun. It wasn’t until she attended Brandon College in 1957 that she insisted her name be changed back to Gudrun, after someone nicknamed her ‘Gertie Garter.’ The only other nickname Vi had was ‘Barney.’ It was her father’s name, and Vi’s mom and brother both took on ‘Barney’ as a nick-name, as well.

(Read full story in the June 30 issue of Senior Scope)

Identity Theft:
Could it Happen to You?
by Cst. Ben Doiron, Winnipeg RCMP

Maybe you never opened that account, or ordered an additional card, but someone else did.... someone who used your name and personal information to commit fraud. Identity theft occurs when a person’s personal identifiers are used by
a criminal to impersonate that person for the
purpose of committing a financial crime. In 2008, Phonebusters received 11,091 ID theft complaints from Canadians for a total loss of $9,542,363.66.
You can protect yourself by taking some
simple precautions:

(Read full story in the June 30 issue of Senior Scope)

Naval Centennial

The year 2010 will mark the one hundredth birthday of the Royal Canadian Navy for it was on May 4, 1910 that the Naval Service Act became law. Later that year two cruisers, HMCS Niobe and HMCS Rainbow, were purchased from the Royal Navy and this was the begining of the Royal Canadian Navy.

Plans are underway for celebrations to take place from coast to coast to coast. In addition to major international fleet assemblies taking place at the Naval bases in Victoria, British Columbia, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, ships will visit ports on the east and west coasts and along the the St. Lawrence River and in the Great Lakes.

Of course, the ships are unable to visit places where there is no deep water access, so the navy will be presenting a 'Road Show' which will travel across the country. This will be a musical revue entitled "Sailors and Songs." In addition, it is planned to present every Canadian city, town, region and First Nations peoples, that had a ship named after it, with a framed picture and the
history of the ship.

To assist in these presentations, if you served in any of the ships named after places in Manitoba, please contact the Naval Reserve ship in Winnipeg, HMCS Chippawa. The ships with Manitoba names were as follows. The Pas, Transcona, Winnipeg, Morden, St Boniface, Daerwood, Brandon, and Churchill.

HMCS Chippawa is located at 1 Navy Way, Winnipeg MB R3C 4J7, or telephone the ship's office, on weekdays, at (204) 943-7745 extension 3221.

Supporting Families at Canadian Virtual Hospice:

A huge crash from the bedroom alerted Christine Tworo, 53, that her father was in trouble. Rushing to the bedroom, Christine could see her 91-year-old dad lying on the floor with a gash in his shoulder from where he had hit a sharp corner of a dresser.

Luckily for both of them, Christine had
discovered Canadian Virtual Hospice
(www.virtualhospice.ca) earlier that morning. Since her fiercely independent father, a former Royal Canadian Air Force pilot, seemed to be getting weaker, she read through an article about how to handle falls.

(Read full story in the June 30 issue of Senior Scope)

June 15, 2009 proclaimed World Elder Abuse Awareness Day in Manitoba

Healthy Living Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross,
Minister responsible for seniors, has proclaimed June 15th Elder Abuse Awareness Day in Manitoba at a provincial recognition event and official launch of the It's Everybody's Business elder abuse video at the St. Vital Silver City in Winnipeg. The video will serve as an important tool in increasing awareness and preventing abuse
across Manitoba.

(Read full story in the June 30 issue of Senior Scope)

MNPAOA names
winners of first recognition award

The Manitoba Network for the Prevention of Abuse of Older Adults (MNPAOA) recognized the outstanding achievements of three winners who made outstanding contributions in preventing elder abuse in Manitoba over the past year.

In conjunction with the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) event in Winnipeg on June 15, the 2009 awards were given to: Mary Lou Schroeder, Geriatric Specialist, Eden Mental Health Centre, Winkler; Harry Paine, President, Manitoba Society of Seniors; and the Assiniboine Regional Health Authority’s (ARHA) Elder Abuse Awareness Network.

(Read full story in the June 30 issue of Senior Scope)