The remarkable Lucyks of Radisson

Lily Lucyk, 94

• born in Radisson, March 20 1911
• raised in Hafford; attended elementary school there and part of high school, which she completed in Saskatoon combined with a secretarial course
• worked in her father's business as bookkeeper until her marriage September 3, 1933
• moved to Whitkow, Sask (near North Battleford) where she helped husband, William, with his dry goods store while he taught, and was a councillor of Rabbit Lake District
• 1945, couple moved to Hafford, where William was involved with business and Lily supported him and helped him in business as well as being his bookkeeper
• Lily became involved as a Girl Guide assistant to the Captain in Hafford and attended summer camps as a volunteer with the N. Battleford Guides at Meota Lake and assisted son with his Scout activities
• Lily was a member of the Women's Association of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Hafford and was secretary of the Provincial Executive of the UWAC
• she curled at one time and took part in social activities in Hafford and was a great volunteer when baking was required
• she supported her children through the Home and School Association
• in 1965, the couple moved to Radisson, after husband retired from his electrical and building contractor work, but they still were able to continue working: they bought a MacLeods hardware store and Lily directed the business every day, and was in charge if husband was helping farmers with installation of furnaces or small electrical work
• Lily was always an avid gardener and took part in the Radisson Agricultural Fair and won lovely awards for her vegetables, flowers and arrangements
• she also helped new wives settling in the town with their flower gardens by sharing many perennials and other plants from her garden
• she had a beautiful vegetable garden and supplied many friends and passers-by with vegetables, raspberries and crab-apples
• unable to work in the garden at this time, she still delights in reading the McFadden Seed Catalogue and Gardening magazines
• it was the rarest of days that Lily got upset; she was stoic, stalwart, patient, hardworking and a great Saskatchewan pioneer

William Lucyk, 99

• born near the turn of last century, helped his dad with oxen; was the mechanical son, yet was not inspired to work on the farm, nor did parents want that for him.
• William was a teacher during the depression; he boarded with different families as they did not have money to pay him.
• made wonderful Christmas Concerts; this was the only entertainment around, and a teacher was also judged by his concerts.
• taught himself how to play the mandolin and had a mandolin orchestra.
• last Christmas time, a lady from North Battleford, Kay Tkatchuk, now in her 80s, drove out to Radisson with another family friend, Wanda Bahrey, who was a nanny for the family (William was a teacher and a councilman, Lily looked after the store in Redfield by Whitkow). By giving this young girl a job, the couple helped her family who had just come from Poland and were living in a boxcar. Wanda says if not for the couple bringing them extra food, they may have not made the winter. Wanda was inspired by William who mentored her to take up teaching. Having read about the couple’s 70th Wedding Anniversary two years ago in a North Battleford paper, Kay contacted William and a year later, last Christmas time, on January 3, she came with Wanda to Radisson. Kay had not seen William since she was 9 or 10 yrs old and how she remembered him over the years as being a very good teacher
• William has a story in which he was helping the kids to make a few extra cents: he would take them out to drown gophers; they would get a few pennies for each tail. The superintendent came around and asked William, who was short, to point out the teacher. William said it was he
• in some schools he had over 50 pupils, sometimes 60 and once 70; he coped by having the older kids help teach the little ones
• answering an ad for a teacher who was a disciplinarian; when he was met at the station, the farmer and board member greeted him with "We asked for a disciplinarian". He decided to do his best and teach this board something but not stay -- teachers would leave after a short time. He put a small mirror in the corner so that while writing on the blackboard, he could check to see who the trouble maker was. It turned out to be a large boy and the son of the trustee. After a few warnings, he walked up to the kid and with all his energy lifted him by back of his shirt collar and took him across aisle to his desk. This established some respect and this boy changed. A few weeks later the trustee came asking William to sign a contract with him, stating he heard good things about the classroom. William said he was not staying as he was told at the station that they wanted a disciplinarian. The trustee pleaded with him and they eventually agreed to 500-600 dollars, a lot of money then. William taught the year, the troublemaker became his assistant and all went well!
• William should have gone to University but he helped his four sisters to go to higher education and three of them went to Teachers College. He no doubt would have been an engineer as he had such an aptitude for electricity: learning it from books and then taking his journeyman's exam without any practical work; or architecture: he liked reading all the plans when he was in his building phase. The school had twice been built by William.
• he would check on the Hospital in Wakaw, or the seniors home north of Meadow Lake. Simply too honest and too good to make a lot of money in contracting, he rather had a lot of satisfaction. Many, especially with his electrical business, never paid him.
• always wanting to learn himself, he was strict but fair with the kids: they could not get the car until they could show him they could change the tire.
• he is still lucid and witty; only a little hard of hearing, having lost hearing while working with the caterpillar tractors; they did not wear the protective earphones then. He just finished his shift when one of his workers arrived drunk. William would not allow the man to work but did another long shift and since then has had problems.
• in his 60s he developed ear problems. Doctors told him there was nothing that could be and he should learn to live with it. The nausea made him vomit at times and he had loss of balance. He went to the library in Saskatoon and researched the first known nutritionist, Adele Davis, and bought the suggested powdered supplements in Health Food Store. He drank this and got better; since then knew he had to be in charge of his own health and read many books on nutrition. He says if it wasn't for supplementation he would not be alive today.
• his father was in Austro-Prussian war as young man; he was in the cavalry -- he fell and broke his arm, which was not as functional as required. Having understood some German, he overheard that he was going to be left behind or shot as he was not as useful. He escaped from that camp and gradually made it to Canada. He had many brothers in Ukraine and they had a tsymbaly orchestra; the father came twice to Canada to fetch his son back to Ukraine, especially when he saw how William’s father was living in a sod house; William’s father would not return and by second visit he had married a young Ukrainian girl who also came out to Canada alone. They were employed by German people near Rosthern, but then settled at Fish Creek where William was born, by a large hill near a sacred and historic spot.
• for his high school he went to college in Prince Albert and stayed in a Presbyterian Boarding school where he got more time off by learning recitations. The childless couple in charge of the school wanted to adopt him, but his parents would not hear of it.
• as a child he played a lot of tricks: one time when his parents were working on the field, a older lady, Mrs. Saganski, was asked to baby sit him and older brother John (2 1/2 yrs older). The boys had fun and William lured the lady into the chicken coop and then they locked her in for awhile so that they could play and do what they wanted.
• will be 100 January 3/06, was born in the historic area of Batoche and Fish Creek, Sask; raised in Krydor, near Blaine Lake
• a teacher, a developer (he built the hospital in Hafford and many schools in the area)
• brought power to the town of Hafford before the province did, when farmers desperately needed water for their animals, he built them dugouts, wired their farms and always helped his neighbours.
• before there was ambulance care service in the province, because he had a station wagon the Hafford Hospital use to call on him to drive critical patients to a Saskatoon hospital, often at night after hard day's work.
• after retiring from Hafford and living in Radisson, being an electrician and handyman he used to answer calls in the cold winter nights when furnaces would stop; he drove elderly people to the hospitals -- his volunteering was endless in wishing to help his neighbour. His community service is endless.
• at 85 years of age, he was asked to chair the Housing Board in Radisson; a few years ago he was asked to be a scrutineer for the election. Over the years he was a returning officer and assisted in many elections, saying he has never missed a vote as he feels this is his civic duty.
• a few years ago he drove to Rabbit Lake and checked out the culverts on the roads -- they are still standing. During the depression as a young teacher and councilman he helped the farmers save their farms from being taken over by the banks as money was scarce to pay taxes. He organized farmers to bring their horses and equipment to carry stones and small boulders and they made culverts for the roads. After keeping track of their hours and work, he then wrote to the government so that this work could in lieu cover their taxes.
• nearly 100, he is still in his own home with Lily, tends to the garden, fruit trees, picks pails of fruit to deliver to his neighbours and still offers to help widows rototill their gardens.

From information provided by daughter Zora