The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1954-08-06
By Laura Creole

,
The first question Erwin White
Jr. of Manteo says he has to ans
wer when some one discovers he
has just returned from a year in
Iceland is Didn't you nearly
freezer" That, he says, is the first
of series of misconceptions
about Iceland and he confesses
he had them himself before he
spent year working on an army
air base there.
No, he says,the climate is little
colder than here. About like that
of Western Europe. An island of
about 10000 square miles, only
slightly larger than Ireland, the
northern end of Iceland lies
within the Arctic Circle. In the
south the warming effect of the
gulf stream keeps average jan
uary and July temperatures at
about $50 and so degrees. In the
north the weather is colder and
about one fifth of the land is
covered with glaciers. Some
snow does fall in the south, Mr..
White says, but strong winds
quickly blow it away. He con-
siders it ironical that this land
of temperate climate bears the
name Iceland while its neighbor,
ice covered and uninhabitable,
is called Greenland.
Another false idea about Ice
land he finds everywhere is the
belief that the country is inhab-
tied by Eskimos. On the con-
trary, the Icelanders are Scandi-
navian, generally tall and fair.
The first Viking settler, the an
cestor of present day Icelanders,
came to Iceland in 874, 1872 years
before William the Conqueror
invaded England.
Mr.. White went to Iceland on
June Is, 1858 as a civilian cleo
trician to work on an army air
base under construction there.
He thinks the income first at
tracted him. THE pay scale is
no higher in Iceland" he ex-
plains, "but we got time and a
half for overtime and everyone
worked overtime"
Mrs. White and their five chill
originally planned to join
NJ White in Iceland but illness
the family made it impossible
for them to go. They lived in
their home in Manteo during his
absence. While in Iceland Mr..
White made collection of
slides which, Mrs. White says,
''the children never tire of see
ing"
Their children range from 13
year old Margie to four year old
Joseph. The middle ones are
Raymond and Mary Charles and
Shirley Frances. The whole fam
lily has become Iceland conscious
and even little Joseph can give
pertinent facts of Icelandic geo.
graphy.
Mr.. White with his corps of
assistant lecturers will explain
that Iceland is a republic 900
miles northwest of Great Britain.
1t is considered a part of Europe
and has population of $4,000.
It's capital, Reyjavik, in the
southwest is the Only really
large town with a population of
$4,000.
The country is largely rocky
and barren although along the
coast and in the valleys one finds
fertile soil. The island is, geo.
logically speaking, of recent ORR
gin built up by volcanic erup-
tions. During the 100 years that
the country has been settled 100
eruptions from 20 volcanoes
have been reported.
Even today, according to Mr..
White, Mt. Hekla continues to be
active, sending up clouds OF vol
canic smoke. In March OF l947,
he says Mt. Hekla erupted with
terrifing force. He can testify to
the lava rock soil, Mr.. White says
grimly. 81 wore out a pair OF
shoes in two weeks on the sharp
loose rock. Then slipped and
seriously injured my shoulder on
the same rocks"
Mr.. White shows a number OF
pictures of hot springs, evidence
Of seething volcanic activity un-
der the soil. Iceland is famous
- her hot springs. The Amerl-
NJ word 'geyser' had its origin
~ Icelandic 'Geysir', the name
II the country's most famous
spring. Unlike Yellowstone's Old
Faithful, Geysir doesn't spout on
schedule but at unpredictaole
intervals will send up a spout Oh
over 200 feet.
Unable to get picture OF Gey-
sir in action, Mr.. White has sew
eral pictures of smaller springs
a,,a caldrons of boiling mud,