Two members of Icelandic Roots' new Podcast Team dropped into Judy Dickson's most recent Samtal Hour and shared what they've been working on.
By Beth Finnson
The podcast team includes Cass Heigaard, Owen Roberts, and John (Jack)
Plumley. Those who attended the Samtal Hour were able to meet Cass and Owen. Jack had a time conflict but was enthusiastically represented by his mother Aldis Gislason!
Cass, Owen, and Jack met when they were Snorri participants in 2022. Cass is originally from North Dakota. Owen and Jack are from Canada. All three came back to North America from the “heimalandi” inspired to participate more in Icelandic Roots. Jack is even going back to Iceland this summer as an intern at the Hosfós Emigration Center.
Both Owen and Cass said that their host Icelandic families were interested in the ancestors who left and went to North America. Using the Icelandic Roots database, they were able to fill in gaps in the family stories. Owen said they showed people where the families separated in the past, and how they are still connected now-most especially with all of us living descendants.
With the use of the marvelous world of technology, the Podcast Team can create their podcasts. They don’t live near each other and are even in different time zones. Owen and Cass were quick to give credit to Jack for his talents as a videographer. His video of the 2022 Snorris is located at http://www.snorri.is/snorri.tml. Thus far, they have completed 3 podcasts and I listened to all of them today! The 1st dated March 24th was an interview with Sunna Furstenau for a quick introduction to Icelandic Roots.
The 2nd, dated March 31st, featured Julianna Roberts (Owen’s mother) and the Director of the New Icelandic Heritage Museum in Gimli. The 3rd podcast was three days ago and is titled “We Three Snorris-Meet your Hosts”. They talk a bit about themselves and their Snorri adventures, Icelandic immigration, and what they hope to achieve in their podcasts. Their general focus is monthly podcasts about “anything and everything Icelandic”. If you have an idea for the Podcast Team, send an email to outreach@icelandicroots.com
You can find these podcasts at https://www.icelandicroots.com. Click on “News & Events” in the menu bar, then scroll down to the podcasts. Very easy!
I encourage everyone to check out these podcasts and look for new ones monthly. They are so informative and enjoyable. We are fortunate indeed to have Jack, Owen, and Cass on our Podcast Team.
Next Samtal Hour is Monday, April 24th featuring the author Aldis Sigmundsdóttir. She is best known for her Little Books on Iceland series.