The Grain Case Of 1924

In 1924, a man by the name of John Powlyk was arrested while on Jasper Avenue in Edmonton over something that he did in Vermilion a few months earlier.

It all started when the Hayward Lumber Company had the local bailiff, J. Olmstead, seize 30 acres of wheat and 20 acres of oats that were standing in the field around the farm of Powlyk. Since the writ covered that area, he was not allowed to harvest any of it, but he did nonetheless.

In all, 400 bushels of the crop had been threshed and marketed in Vermilion, which was against the law as it technically did not belong to him, but to the lumber company that he owed money to.

The case was quickly reported and a warrant was issued for Powlyk. Then, he was found walking down the street on Jasper Avenue and quickly arrested.

According to Powlyk, he had the crop on half shares with another man and he did not understand English too well. He also said he had not received the writ in person, and did not know he was doing anything wrong by marketing the crop.

The excuse did not hold up and Powlyk was arrested and would go to trial. He was released on a $2,000 bail prior to going on trial.

As for what happened after that, nothing else appears in the newspapers but it is likely Powlyk never made that mistake again.

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