House story brings people together

Article content

My column last month about a stone house on 26 Sylvia St. in Waterford brought responses from as far away as Alberta.
The structure was painstakingly built over a span of two years by William E. Culver and, in 1948, was sold to the Slavic Pentecostal Church. It remained as a church with upstairs living quarters until 1973 when it was sold and converted to a single-family home.
Elly Esson, who now lives in Alberta, lived at 32 Sylvia St, next to the church, when she was Eleanor de Vries. Her brother, Barend, sent a copy of my column to her and wondered why it mentioned nothing about the Kibalenko family.
In an email, Esson states: “There were a number of young girls my age living on Sylvia Street and one of them was Angela Kibalenko. Her family attended the Slavic Pentecostal Church and lived on the top floor.
“Angie had an older brother, Gary, a younger sister, Ledya, and the youngest, David. At the back of the building was a door leading up to their apartment, but there were also tiered steps and places for flower and vegetable gardens by the steps. I remember stone pillars on each side of the property at the front and we kids would put huge piles of leaves by one and jump off the side of the pillar.”
Esson also sent photos of herself and her sister, Tilly, as children, as well as a photo that showed the back door of the church building and the stonework.
My friend, Ledya Burton, is the younger Kibalenko sister who lived at 32 Sylvia from her birth to age four when her family moved to a house on Church Street West.
She remembers that her mother grew lots of flowers, especially roses. And she recalls attending services with Sandra Senko, daughter of Rev. Walter Senko, who was pastor of the Slavic church from 1966 to 2010.
By coincidence, I was contacted by Sandra Senko, now Sandra Nunn.
She tells the story of her Ukrainian parents in her biography, He Loves Me Not … He Loves Me, which she wrote with Rose McCormick Brandon.
Nunn’s father met her mother, Martha, at a German work farm in the 1930s when he was 14 and she was 12. they had been taken from their homes in Ukraine. The book book tells of the couple’s loss and their journey to Canada, where they settled in the Waterford area.
Sandra is the oldest of nine children and was given the heavy responsibility of tending her two-year-old brother when she was only four and her parents had to work on the farm fields.
The book is also is an affirmation of faith for Sandy and her husband, Ernie, recounting their journey through decades of bitter estrangement to their renewed love.
Lives so often intertwine, and it’s amazing how a simple story about a house can bring together people. During a visit to Waterford a few years ago, Esson and her sister, Tilly, met a man playing a guitar. He said he lived at 34 Sylvia St., next door to where they grew up.
So, they had a good chat and each went their own way.
Carol Steedman is a freelance writer who lives in Waterford. Readers can contact her at goffsteedman@execulink.com.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

House story brings people together Back to video