Living Landscapes

From Broad Axe to Clay Chinking
Miworth
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In 1914, William Hretchka came from the Ukraine, leaving his wife, Martha, and two children, Dorothy and Pauline, behind. He came to Port Arthur (now part of Thunder Bay), Ontario to work at the harvest. A year later he came to Prince George. As there were a lot of homesteads to be had at that time, he enquired at the Government Office and in doing so, chose a homestead on the east side of the Nechako River, at Miworth, just three miles west from Prince George. His wife and children had now joined him. In 1916 Bill was born, followed by two more but one, who was an invalid, died at two years of age. Then William Hretchka decided to move across the Nechako River, to the west side because he liked the black soil that was there. It was a great place for growing a garden and they grew potatoes, turnips, and lots of cabbage. He would take vegetables to town and sell them.

Their first house was a sort of tent with a wooden floor and walls made of lumber built up about four or five feet and then covered with a canvas roof. In time they built a house, barn, and other log buildings and William went to work at a sawmill owned by Matt Androlang. Five more children were born to the Hretchkas, so they were a big family.

In May of 1926, a big fire at Miworth burnt the Hretchkas out. They lost all their buildings. Mrs. Hrecthka had walked to town, with an infant child, to see her husband, who was in the hospital undergoing an operation for appendicitis. They saw the smoke from the hospital window and she did her utmost to convince him that it wasn’t close to their place, but he knew better. When she returned home, she saw that the fire had surrounded their home and she feared for her children. However, when the oldest girl, who was fifteen, saw that the place was doomed, she drove away all the cows, goats, and chickens, and got the all children to safety. They ran to the river and crouched under the pontoons of the ferry, which was operational at that time, and watched as the small branches from the trees, all afire, would sail out across the river and on to the other side, setting fire wherever they fell. There were people at the river that helped them. When they went back to their home next day, all was gone. Bill said the chicken coop had burned and all these roasted eggs lay on the ground and he said, “That was our breakfast.” A good rain put the fire out.

All new buildings had to be built and the barn was built around 1926 or ‘27. The new log house is covered over with gyproc and bears no resemblance to a log house anymore.

There was a lot of timber in that area and in the wintertime, the father hacked ties. These ties were hauled down to the siding at Miworth. They only had a few head of cattle and horses because not much land was cleared, which made getting enough hay to feed them a problem.

Matt Androlang, besides being a mill owner, was a farmer, his land being a mile up the road from the Hretchkas. This was his house. He would clear land and set fire to the brush piles and a wind would come along and the fire would get away. According to the Citizen Newspaper, he was found guilty of burning on his land without a permit between May 9th and 12th, in the year 1925, and was charged. He also had a bad fire at his sawmill at which time he lost 100,000 board feet of lumber and around 300 sawn ties. He was not at the mill but the Forest Service went to the fire and then the Canadian National Railway ran down a tank car, which was kept for such emergencies, and the blaze was soon smothered.

Living Landscapes


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In 1914, William Hretchka came from the Ukraine, leaving his wife, Martha, and two children, Dorothy and Pauline, behind. He came to Port Arthur (now part of Thunder Bay), Ontario to work at the harvest. A year later he came to Prince George. As there were a lot of homesteads to be had at that time, he enquired at the Government Office and in doing so, chose a homestead on the east side of the Nechako River, at Miworth, just three miles west from Prince George. His wife and children had now joined him. In 1916 Bill was born, followed by two more but one, who was an invalid, died at two years of age. Then William Hretchka decided to move across the Nechako River, to the west side because he liked the black soil that was there. It was a great place for growing a garden and they grew potatoes, turnips, and lots of cabbage. He would take vegetables to town and sell them. Their first house was a sort of tent with a wooden floor and walls made of lumber built up about four or five feet and then covered with a canvas roof. In time they built a house, barn, and other log buildings and William went to work at a sawmill owned by Matt Androlang. Five more children were born to the Hretchkas, so they were a big family. In May of 1926, a big fire at Miworth burnt the Hretchkas out. They lost all their buildings. Mrs. Hrecthka had walked to town, with an infant child, to see her husband, who was in the hospital undergoing an operation for appendicitis. They saw the smoke from the hospital window and she did her utmost to convince him that it wasn’t close to their place, but he knew better. When she returned home, she saw that the fire had surrounded their home and she feared for her children. However, when the oldest girl, who was fifteen, saw that the place was doomed, she drove away all the cows, goats, and chickens, and got the all children to safety. They ran to the river and crouched under the pontoons of the ferry, which was operational at that time, and watched as the small branches from the trees, all afire, would sail out across the river and on to the other side, setting fire wherever they fell. There were people at the river that helped them. When they went back to their home next day, all was gone. Bill said the chicken coop had burned and all these roasted eggs lay on the ground and he said, “That was our breakfast.” A good rain put the fire out. All new buildings had to be built and the barn was built around 1926 or ‘27. The new log house is covered over with gyproc and bears no resemblance to a log house anymore. There was a lot of timber in that area and in the wintertime, the father hacked ties. These ties were hauled down to the siding at Miworth. They only had a few head of cattle and horses because not much land was cleared, which made getting enough hay to feed them a problem. Matt Androlang, besides being a mill owner, was a farmer, his land being a mile up the road from the Hretchkas. This was his house. He would clear land and set fire to the brush piles and a wind would come along and the fire would get away. According to the Citizen Newspaper, he was found guilty of burning on his land without a permit between May 9th and 12th, in the year 1925, and was charged. He also had a bad fire at his sawmill at which time he lost 100,000 board feet of lumber and around 300 sawn ties. He was not at the mill but the Forest Service went to the fire and then the Canadian National Railway ran down a tank car, which was kept for such emergencies, and the blaze was soon smothered.