In his own words: A remembrance by Magnus Eliason

Author: Karen Botting, Winnipeg, MB

It is amazing the little gems you find as you declutter. While sorting the never-ending papers in my file boxes, I came across this paper written by Magnus Eliason on November 19, 1991, entitled My Acquaintance with J.S. Woodsworth, by Magnus Eliason. I believe this was written to be presented at a Woodsworth House Historical Society event, on which both Magnus and I were board members.
Magnus was born near Arnes, Manitoba, in 1911 to very liberal-minded parents. Having moved to the Peace River area of British Columbia, he subsequently became a founding member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) in that region and was deeply committed to the social democratic cause throughout the entirety of his life. In 1968, Magnus was elected to the Winnipeg City Council in 1968.
Equally as passionate about his Icelandic heritage as he was about his politics, Magnus worked tirelessly for the Icelandic community and the Scandinavian Cultural Centre (SCC). How many older SCC members received a fundraising call from Magnus? “Hello -----, it's Magnus here. I have the raffle tickets to help pay for the Scandinavian Centre building. $100. How many do you want? You can just mail a cheque.” How could you refuse someone who gave so much to the community?
Magnus died in 2005, but his legacy lives on. Below are his words about James Shaver Woodsworth, a Canadian Methodist minister, politician, and social activist, who helped found the CCF in 1932, which eventually became the New Democratic Party (NDP).

My Acquaintance with J.S. Woodsworth, by Magnus Eliason
“My first real awareness of J.S. Woodsworth was in the federal election campaign of 1921. In 1919, during the Winnipeg General Strike, the strike leaders were my heroes, but I just cannot recall Mr. Woodsworth's name as being among them. The 1921 election was quite spectacular to me. Some 65 Progressives were elected, among them Mr. Woodsworth for Centre Winnipeg and Agnes Mc Phail from Ontario, the first lady Member of Parliament.
“I somewhat followed Mr. Woodsworth's career through the twenties, the Old Age Pension legislation and what have you. By 1932, I was looking for a third political party to be formed. In November of that year, we received a bundle of Edmonton newspapers and were browsing through them in our cabin on the homestead near Dawson Creek, British Columbia. There, my brother came across the news item about the August 1st Calgary convention, where the decision was made to form a new party. I remember asking my brother if he thought it was genuine. He replied that it must be, since J.S. Woodworth was heading the move. My immediate response was ‘let's start organizing in the Peace River portion of British Columbia.’ I did, and that was my first formal venture into politics.
“In December of 1933 I was in Winnipeg. I rode into the city on a freight train which was the mode of travel if you did not have money to buy a rail ticket in those days. I began to think I ought to call on Woodsworth to seek advice on how to spread the ‘Gospel’ of this new movement. By this time the Regina convention was history, and the party had been named Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, CCF for short. I wondered about this approach. I thought an M.P. must be a rather imposing personality. I almost backed out but then decided that I would not return to Peace River country and admit to the neighbours that I had been in Winnipeg and chickened out in looking up the Leader of Canada's new political party. I looked up the Winnipeg telephone directory and there it was – Woodsworth, J.S., 60 Maryland Street. I dialed the number and a voice on the end said ‘Hello.’ I asked for Mr. Woodsworth and the reply was ‘This is Mr. Woodsworth.’ I told him that I was from the Peace River and was interested in the CCF. His reply was ‘Good, I'd like to meet you, can you come over to the house.’ I said I would shortly.
That meeting with J.S., as we usually referred to him, still stands out in memory as does the layout in the office which was the old den. All four walls were lined with bookshelves about three deep. And these shelves were filled with books, magazines and reports and papers. I told J.S. that I was going to work at Arnes during the winter. I planned to set up a meeting to organize a club in my old hometown. I wanted to know if he could speak at such a meeting. He told me he was too busy elsewhere. Then he told me that if I read all the material he would give me, I could speak as well as he could. I took up his challenge, worked and studied all winter and gave my first political speech on April 4th, 1934 in Arnes hall.
“Woodsworth impressed me on this my first encounter with him. His dedication, enthusiasm and singleness of purpose were electrifying. I saw him on numerous occasions after that. I was at the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver on March 29th, 1942. The occasion was the Memorial Service for J.S. Woodsworth in British Columbia. The speaker was Bill Irvine, the then former M.P. for Wetaskiwin, Alberta, who had spent many years in Parliament with Woodsworth. J.S. Woodsworth left a lasting impression on me which has sustained to this day.”