Blair Swanson

Blair Swanson grew up in Stonewall, Manitoba, but now lives in Winnipeg with his partner, Lizette. They also have a seasonal cottage north of Gimli, which he says allows him to stay connected to his Icelandic heritage; his mother hailed from Geysir, his father from Riverton, and his amma and afi had a dairy farm just a mile away from the Geysir Cemetery.

When a history book about Geysir was released in the early 1980s, Blair enjoyed reading about the people who formed the fabric of that tight-knit community. Wanting to share their stories more widely, Blair started a Facebook page dedicated to the pioneers of the Geysir district, where he posts photos of headstones from the Geysir Cemetery and short stories about each person. Less than two years after he started it, the page now has over 400 followers. It was while researching the Geysir pioneers that Blair became familiar with the Icelandic Roots community, and uncovering information that was not yet in the database ultimately led to him joining the volunteer team.

After spending nearly 38 years working with the Manitoba Telephone System, Blair is now retired. He has traveled to Iceland twice and even took Icelandic language classes at the University of Iceland on his second trip.