Section 18

An icon of a small wooden stage frame. Community Work

Our Cultural Society was a dedicated venture and continued to grow. The members consisted of conscientious and good-natured workers, some of whom were John Hegrych, John Bodruk and Onyfry Hykaway, later editor of the Canadian Farmer. In their spare time they walked from school to school where the settlers gathered to enjoy their lectures and listen attentively of several new immigrants who were Ivan Hrychyk, Ivan Virstuk, brothers Fichuk, and began staging plays. Our main difficulty was putting these plays on in the very small schoolhouse. After building a stage, there wasn’t much room left for our audience.

A cramped log school with a low stage and an audience seen from behind.
Illustration: a play in the very small schoolhouse, after the stage was built.

Illustrated online edition. The memoir text follows the 2011 copy compiled by Rene Nicholas Bilodeau.