ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST

​​The first immigrants settled in Brantford at the beginning of the 20" Century in 1902,
almost 100 years ago. Most of these settlers were Lemkos from the village of Odrechowa
in Western Halychyna, at that time under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Many
came looking for work. Pratt and Letchworth began hiring and approximately 50 families
moved from Buffalo, NY to Brantford. Others came from Detroit, MI.

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Ukrainians followed the Greek Catholic Rite. Once settled, they began thinking about
arranging for Ukrainian Masses and in the long term purchasing a church of their own.

Visiting priests came from as far away as Buffalo and Detroit to celebrate weddings,
christenings and mass. For the longest time the settlers were fortunate enough to be able
to use the Chapel at St. Basils Roman Catholic Church. A committee was established and
a fund set up for the sole purpose of raising money to purchase a church. The people went
caroling at Christmas, held dances and put on theatrical performances.

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In June of 1911, the Brotherhood of St. John The Baptist was established, marking the
beginning of this parish. The name St. John The Baptist was chosen in memory of the one
they had left behind in Odrechowa. By 1913 there were 178 paid members of the church.
It wasn’t until August 22, 1917 that a large two-storey building at 100 Terrace Hill St.
was purchased from J.D. Watkins for $6,000. The first assigned priest to this parish was
Rev. Fr. M. Ircha.

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The top floor was used as a church and the lower floor as a residence and office for the
priest. This small community of Ukrainians began a new life in its very own church -
known as St. John’s Ruthenian Church at that time. (This was the name given to all
Ukrainian Churches at the time as Ukraine was once called Rus. It wasn’t until after
WWI that the name was changed.) They prayed and thanked the Almighty Father for this
new beginning.

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The parish was very active. It organized the youth, a school, a theatrical group and a
choir. At the same time the Sisterhood was established. The Brotherhood became
members of the Central Committee for Ukrainians in Canada, known today as the
Ukrainian Canadian Congress.

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There was need of a hall and the parishioners decided to loan their own money, interest
free, to this project so there would be no need for a mortgage. On November 27, 1928,
the permit was granted for this project with an estimated cost of $2,400. The contractor
was J.J. Bowden.

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On February 26, 1929, a catastrophe occurred. A fire burned down the second floor
where the church was, as well as the intcrior of the lower floor. The fire also caused
significant smoke damage to the remainder of the building.

“When the firemen responded to the telephone call that came in at 1.35am, they found the
streets a sheet of ice and they had to be very careful or they would not have reached the
fire at all.” “On arrival the place seemed to be a roaring inferno.” “The conditions were
terrible. As soon as water fell, it froze on all the equipment. The ladders, hose and footing
were all glazed with ice making the going very difficult. Chief Lewis ascended the stairs
outside the building and made a descent that could only be pictured in a movie comedy.
He declares that he only felt contact twice, halfway down and at the bottom.”

“While the men raised a 40-foot extension into the air so that the roof could be got at a
heavy stone coping fell from the cornice. It narrowly missed the firemen at the foot,
grazing Fireman Johnson’s back. It fell on the ladder, snapping it off like a toothpick. The
lucky escape served to make the department think more of human life than material
things and the water was sprayed until it was possible to leave the building for daylight to
tell its story.”

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(Excerpts from the Expositor - Wed. Feb.27, 1929)

Rev. Father J. A. Halowka thanked the fire department for succeeding in “bringing it
under control, saving the new hall addition with little damage, and saving also a portion
of the main structure.”

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(Excerpts from the Expositor - Thurs. Feb.28, 1929)

The parishioners received $9,000 insurance and began rebuilding the church that very
same year. On August 31, 1929, a permit was granted to begin the alterations and
addition to the present building. The contractor was J. Brock. The cost was $7,350. The
church stands to this very day. Rev. Fr. I. Kolsun became the assigned priest at this time
and the church was blessed on Dec 22, 1929. Parish life began again.