Gerrard was searching for photographs from the period 1870 to 1910 for his upcoming book "Silent Flashes," which examines the photographic record of Icelandic settlers in North America.
"Icelandic River Saga" and "The Icelandic Heritage" were earlier works by Nelson Gerrard. These books document the history of Icelandic settlement in North America and include hundreds of family histories and genealogies.
Examining this photographic record led Gerrard to organize a photo
exhibit from the period that became the "Silent Flashes" exhibit on
display at the Icelandic Emigration Center in Hofsos, Iceland.
After stops in Squamish, Vancouver, Seattle and Point Roberts, Nelson
Gerrard found himself in Blaine on the Saturday of the Vigil sculpture's
dedication.
Like the grandmother, mother and little boy of the vigil sculpture family, Gerrard has been waiting a long time to bring "Silent Flashes-the book" to completion.
"This project has been twenty-five years and counting," said Gerrard as he adjusted an old family photo on his portable scanner. His laptop computer took only a moment to load the image into it's memory. Gerrard quickly checked the scan on the computer's monitor. Then he typed an identifying title as he saved the image on the computer's hard drive.
"Silent Flashes" will be published in both English and Icelandic, to reach the largest possible readership, Gerrard said. The projected publication date is the fall of 2008.
With the end in sight, will the project truly be complete?
A wry look on his face, Gerrard noted that since the cut-off date for the photos in this collection is 1910, this "leaves open the possibility for a sequel."
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If you have some old family photos from 1870-1910, Nelson Gerrard would like to hear from you. Leave an email message here and we will forward it to Nelson.