What’s open and closed Monday

Wasily (William) Talashkevich came to North America in 1907 as part of a wave of eastern Europeans who were attracted to the New World’s promise of land and opportunity.

His first port of call, however, was the United States, to which he and a group of Russians travelled from Liverpool via the S.S. Noordland. The group included seven men whose intent was to see a “friend” (Daniel Shimon) in Berwick, Pa. Shimon may have been an acquaintance from Russia or he may have had job offers for the men. Almost all of the Russian immigrants, including Talashkevich, gave the place of their last permanent residence as Libau (now Liepāja), a Latvian port on the Baltic Sea.

Talashkevich next surfaced in Montreal in 1914 when on May 22, at St. Peter and St. Paul Russian Orthodox Cathedral, he married Annie Bereza. Their parents were recorded as Maxim and Paraska Bereza, and Laurenti and Malanie Talashkevich.

According to a newspaper account, the Talashkeviches next lived in Toronto before moving to Niagara about 1924 for work on the Welland Canal. Here, William and Annie made their home at 27 Ormonde Ave. in St. Catharines and raised their two daughters and two sons (Mary [Yasny], Michael Laskov, Sophie [Tatarnic] and Joseph Laskov).

This New World idyll was shattered on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 1928, just before noon, when the construction worker was crushed in the Welland Canal Lock 6 gate collapse at Thorold.

In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy — when it was difficult (a.k.a. Wasily Talaskevitch or Talaschkewitz) Nov. 10, 1890 (Russia) Aug. 1, 1928 (Section 3, Lock 6, Thorold)

gate

crushed by lock

reamer on a riveting crew, Steel Gates Co. Ltd. Victoria Lawn Cemetery, St. Catharines (Old Section Q, R.C. Singles, Row K, Grave 4)

to identify the victims — Talashkevich’s wife “suffered the distress of first being informed her husband was dead, next that he had been rescued unhurt, and then again, within five minutes, receiving definite confirmation that he had been killed,” reported The Toronto Daily Star the next day.

The undoubtedly surreal, shocking nature of the situation for the survivors was apparent to the same reporter when, during the interview, he observed that, “the youngest a boy of five, who, mercifully unmindful of the tragedy, played happily in the yard …”

St. Barnabas Anglican Church in St. Catharines was chosen as the venue for the funeral service apparently because of its affiliation with the Orthodox rite. Talashkevich’s remains were interred at Victoria Lawn Cemetery.

In this context, it is worth noting that the official identification of “Russia” as Talashkevich’s country of origin in 1907 was unavoidably imprecise, referring to geopolitics rather than to ethnic identity. Indeed, 19 years later, relatives who came to live with the family in St. Catharines identified “Poland” as their homeland.

Ambiguous ethnic identification of incoming eastern Europeans was matched by the inconsistent Anglicization of their names. Thus while the Cyrillic version of the surname was first transliterated for Talashkevich in 1907 as “Talaschkewitz”, those who came in 1926 became “Talashkevitch”. Two years later, the victim of the gate collapse was identified as “Talashkewich” on his death certificate, but as “Talaskevitch” on his headstone at Victoria Lawn Cemetery. (His wife’s headstone 46 years later was “Talashkevich”.) He even appeared as “Talaskedick” and “Talashdewich” in press coverage after the tragedy, and as “Talaski” and “Talaskovick” in St. Catharines city directories. — This article is part of a series remembering the men whose lives were lost in the construction of the Welland Ship Canal. The Welland Canal Fallen Workers Memorial Task Force will unveil a memorial to the workers in the fall. To learn more or to make a donation visit www.stcatharines.ca/donate. Several services and businesses will be affected by Monday’s civic holiday. Municipal offices will be closed. Canada Post will be closed Monday. There will be no home delivery. Most major retailers will be closed Monday. LCBO stores will be open, check the LCBO website for individual store hours. Select Beer Stores will be open. Garbage and recycling collection will not be affected throughout the holiday. Landfills will be operating on holiday hours. St. Catharines Public Transit will be on holiday schedule Monday. St. Catharines Transit’s administration office will closed. There will be no Monday print edition of this newspaper and offices will be closed; see the latest news online. FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre will be closed. Carlisle Street and Garden Park parking garage will be closed for regular maintenance from 6 p.m. on Friday to 6 a.m. on Tuesday. Pools at St. Catharines Kiwanis Aquatics Centre are still closed for repairs to the ceiling and lighting fixtures in the pool area. The lobby and community rooms at the facility remain open on Monday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. St. Catharines’ older adult centres will be closed throughout the weekend, including Dunlop Drive, Port Dalhousie and West St. Catharines. Happy Rolph’s Animal Farm will be open. City splash pads and outdoor pools will be open. Welland Transit does not offer service on the civic holdiay Monday. This includes WellTrans, Community Bus, TransCab, Port Colborne Link & Community, Niagara-on-the-Lake Link, and Niagara Region Transit Service There is bus service to Port Colborne on Saturday during Canal Days, but routes have been affected by street closures. Check the Welland Transit page at the City of Welland website www.welland.ca/transit/ TransitNotices.asp. There is no service to Port Colborne on Sunday. Niagara Falls Transit is offering its regular holiday service on Monday.

William Talashkevich, 37