The Arsonist Who Hated Harry Hawryluk

On April 25, 1922, the wife of Harry Hawryluk was sitting up at night tending to a sick child. As she sat near the window, next to her sleeping son, she looked out the window and saw someone jump over a fence and run into the field away from the home outside of Vermilion.

Then, the barn built by her husband Harry suddenly went up in flames.

She quickly alerted her husband to the fire and he raced out into the cold night to rescue the animals inside.

Inside the barn were cows, pigs and chickens were panicking as the fire began to spread.

Hawryluk was able to get into the barn and he rescued several cattle from the barn, with great difficulty according to the reports in the newspaper. Unfortunately, several calves, chickens and two pigs were killed. All of the gear inside the barn, including harnesses, were destroyed in the fire.

This wasn’t the only fire to hit his farm. In the autumn of 1921, several stacks of hay and green feed just harvested was burned in a similar manner. No one was ever arrested for the matter.

Hawryluk was well liked in the area. He was married with seven children, and was one of the most successful farmers in the district.

The damage from the fire was estimated at $1,200, which included $800 for the destroyed barn.

The next day, Hawryluk’s home was burned to the ground. His children escaped thanks to the oldest son who rescued them from the flames. Everything inside the home was lost, with damages put at over $1,000.

It was clear someone had it out for the Hawryluk family.

The day after the house fire, Nick Hawryluk, the brother to Harry, was arrested by provincial police. He was charged with setting fire the barn at first. Further charges followed and he was sent to trial for the crimes.

I was unable to find out if Nick Hawryluk was sent to jail. A Nick Hawryluk continued to appear in newspaper police reports for the next few years. In 1926, he was convicted of murdering a grocer in Edmonton named Jacob Milner.

Whether that is the same Nick Hawryluk, I can’t say for certain but it is possible.

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