John and Anisia Lysack and Family

Mom’s Story – Nina Hrychuk (nee Lysack)

July 21, 1929 – the date that our Mom’s family arrived at Pier 21. Mom was only 4 years old (the second youngest child), so didn’t remember much about the trip, but she remembered the stories that her parents and older siblings told. Her parents made the difficult decision to leave their families and their home with the beautiful orchard in Ukraine to give their children (5 daughters and two sons) a better future. After the long goodbyes to their families and friends, they took a train to Warsaw and then on to Gdansk where a small ship took them to Danzig. There they boarded the S. S. Lituania to cross the Atlantic to Halifax. Mom remembers the stories that her two older brothers told about the long ocean trip – seeing whales and large schools of fish, climbing anchor chains, and seeing moving pictures for the first time. It was a big adventure for them.

As they got close to Canada, the children had a competition amongst themselves – who would see Canada first. It was very exciting when they saw land on the horizon - their new home.

At Pier 21, they all had to go through the routine physical exams. One of Mom’s sisters had a rash (chickenpox or measles), so she had to stay in isolation and be treated. One of her older sisters stayed behind in Halifax with her while the rest of family boarded the CN train to Winnipeg. The two sisters left Halifax two weeks later and were reunited in Winnipeg.

The train trip to Winnipeg was long and hot. They all only spoke Ukrainian, but the older children quickly learned how to say ice cream in English. Mom’s Dad got off the train in Quebec to buy some food, but missed the train, so now the family was even more separated, with two of the children still in Halifax and our grandfather alone in Quebec. We can’t begin to imagine what our grandmother was going through. Then the two boys decided to pick blueberries when the train stopped at a siding in northern Ontario. Their Mom panicked when she couldn’t find them when the train started up again, but eventually they innocently sauntered down the aisle – they had just been playing in another area of the train.

Eventually, the family was all reunited in Winnipeg and they were able to leave for their final destination – the village of Minitonas in the Swan River Valley of Manitoba. There they farmed, the children went to school, and they became part of the community.

Mom excelled at school and felt that she was destined to be a teacher, so after high school, she moved to Winnipeg to attend Normal School to get her teacher’s certificate. Her first job was in Flin Flon Manitoba, where she met her future husband – our father, Bill Hrychuk. They had six children – three born in Flin Flon and three born in Atikokan in northwestern Ontario. Dad worked for CN and Mom continued to teach. They moved to The Pas and then Lynn Lake in northern Manitoba before finally settling in Saskatoon where they eventually both retired.

On the 50th anniversary of her arrival at Pier 21, Mom wrote: “We have had such a rich and full life. I feel ever so grateful to my parents for having had the courage to leave a comfortable life in the old country and, facing the unknown, the many hardships and the seemingly endless toil, in order to make this pleasant and comfortable life possible for us.”

We, her children, are also so thankful, and will always remember our grandparents with love and gratitude.

• Sandra Hrychuk – partner Arran Wilson
• Barb McFarlane – husband Bruce; son Scott (wife Bianca and children William and Grace); son David (wife Sarah and daughter Anna)
• Caryll Tawse – husband Bruce
• Paula Hrychuk
• Bill Hrychuk
• Chris Gordon – husband Bruce; daughter Jillian (husband Corey and daughters Payton and McKayla); son James (wife Shelby)

Dad died in 1998 (age 72) and Mom died in 2013 (age 87).

Our grandparents died in Edmonton – Grandpa (John Lysack) in 1972 (age 87) and Grandma (Anisia Lysack) in 1974 (age 87).