and (most of all) driving, so it's taken me a while to rest up and get back to normal.
Of course, I had a lovely time seeing everyone in Vancouver and in Calgary. However, this is my
family history blog, so I'll focus this entry on my time in our "ancestral town" of Fernie, BC.
The first morning, I spent some time taking pictures of the public buildings that were important to our family, starting with the Holy Family Church. This is where Jan Adamski and Mary Smolik were married, where Nellie Adamski was baptised, and where the funeral service for Jan was held after he died in a cave-in at the Coal Creek Mine. Nellie Adamski married "that nice Polish boy from across the lane, Johnny Miscovitch," at this church. In fact, the building was the centre of our baptisms, marriages, and funerals for all of the local
family, as well as the spiritual (and social) hub of the town every Sunday. I also took photos of the Courthouse, the High School, and the Post Office.
small flower garden, it is lined on one side with interpretive plaques and on the
other (garden) side with printed memorial bricks. There are some familiar names,
mostly friends of the family. The only related cousin name I saw was
Joseph Latak (Babcha's first cousin through her aunt Julia).
No Adamskis, Miscovitches, or Smoliks.
area. The Fernie and District Historical Society has done a wonderful job of
transforming an old bank building into an interpretive centre for the history of
the area. Their website shows how much volunteer time and effort went into the
project, and my timing was perfect to admire the nearly finished result.
Mike, the museum curator, had some suggestions on how to find the
Miscovitch and Adamski houses, and he also printed out the locations of 20+
grave markers for our family members buried at St. Margaret's Cemetery just
south of town. Both of these helps turned out to be invaluable in my
picture-taking endeavours later in the day.
Meanwhile, the local Library had opened, and I set to browsing their local history section. I found a lovely gem; a photo album of the houses and buildings of Fernie taken in the 70's or 80's. It's just a bunch of those dreadful magnetic photo pages in a binder, but the information contained therein - wow! The photos are mostly clear, all labelled with addresses, and some have the names of the owners as well. The gemmiest part of this gem is the page with photos of Arthur and Maggie Wakefield (Aunty Mary Adamski's parents) in their home, and Joseph Latak (Babcha's cousin again) out in his yard. The label mentions some oral history recordings, but unfortunately, the librarian said they had been lost some time ago. Can you imagine how fabulous it would have been if I could have gotten my hands on those? Ah well, I am satisfied to have found the photos at least. |
silk flowers for many of our relatives. Thank you, whoever you are.
photograph Babcha's house the next morning. Mike's hint (look on a land survey map
for the legal descriptions I had) indicated that the house was only a block or two
from my hotel. Family lore said that although the Miscovitch house had been
replaced, Babcha's house was now a hair salon. And so it was. I walked
the few blocks and, since the salon was open, went inside. The lady was excited
to hear that the house has been my great-grandmother's, and she let me take a
few pictures of the inside. I also took some pictures of the outside and of the
alleyway separating the Adamski and Miscovitch properties. The Miscovitch house
appears to have been replaced with a larger building. It still looks like a
home, but there is a computer service shop in it as well.
when I got to Crowsnest Pass. Teofil Smolik, Babcha's stepbrother is buried
there, but I regret to inform that after 4 hours in 3 different cemeteries, I
still didn't find his final resting place. Which made me even more aware of how
helpful Mike's list of burial plots for St. Margaret's was. I finally had to
give up, as my feet were killing me, and I was getting sunburnt in the gorgeous
but hot mid-afternoon sun. Next time.
So ended the strictly genealogy portion of my vacation. Now I have to get to work
on processing, organizing and archiving. Between my finds and the papers and
other items passed along to me Aunty Elaine and Aunty Jan (thank you!),
I should be busy for most of the fall...