Home > Canada > Alberta > Cold Lake Census Division > Smoky Lake > Holy Trinity Orthodox Church Cemetery > Metro K Skoreyko

Metro K Skoreyko

View larger map

1 / 1

❮ ❯

Metro K Skoreyko

Birth	:	1899 Ukraine
Death	:	3 Jan 1967 Smoky Lake, Cold Lake Census Division, Alberta, Canada
Burial	:	Holy Trinity Orthodox Church Cemetery, Smoky Lake, Cold Lake Census Division, Canada
Coordinate	:	54.1231194, -112.4769135
Plot	:	U - 01
Description	:	From the book :- Our Legacy History of Smoky Lake and Area - 1983. Metro made his way into this world in the year 1900 in a small unknown town in Austria, when his parents were making their way over from the Ukraine to settle in a new home in the Smoky Lake area in Alberta, Canada. His parents settled on a small farm approximately 8 miles north and east of Smoky Lake. Eventually there were ten in the family - 5 boys and 5 girls. Metro farmed on his father’s land until he and his wife had... Read More	From the book :- Our Legacy History of Smoky Lake and Area - 1983. Metro made his way into this world in the year 1900 in a small unknown town in Austria, when his parents were making their way over from the Ukraine to settle in a new home in the Smoky Lake area in Alberta, Canada. His parents settled on a small farm approximately 8 miles north and east of Smoky Lake. Eventually there were ten in the family - 5 boys and 5 girls. Metro farmed on his father’s land until he and his wife had two daughters - Mary and Olga. He then acquired a homestead approximately 25 miles north and east of Smoky Lake. Times were hard and the weather was fierce. Necessities like flour, sugar and tea were replenished only a few times a year when Metro made his 4-or-5 day trip (depending on weather conditions) to Smoky Lake by team. In the winter, when the weather made his trips to town impossible, Metro used to say, “Mary and Olga ate moose meat in place of bread.” In 1936 the girls were ready to go to school so Metro moved his family into the town of Smoky Lake. They lived in a small house at the bottom of the only hill in town. The municipal office was at the top of the hill. The hill was a popular place for sliding and on any winter day, children of all ages could be seen sliding down the hill on the seat of their pants, winter coats, card board pieces and the odd box. I even had a sleigh. Metro made his children a box on runners and one day cousin John Tomchyshyn gave them a push and sent them into a barbed wire fence on the other side from where their house was. Olga who was in front, got the barbed wire pushed into her mouth and had to go to the hospital and have two front teeth removed. Dr. Powell presented her with a box of cracker jack and that brightened her day somewhat. Mary just fainted and had a few superficial cuts so she got nothing. Was she angry!! It wasn’t long before Metro purchased a half interest in a large livery barn and a large house in the middle of town. The barn was red and one of the largest for miles around. Farmers from great distances would lead their teams here to be fed and stabled while they did their shopping etc. in town. In the winter when weather conditions were severe, they all brought their heating paraphernalia (rocks, jugs, bricks etc) into the house and one could see them in the back of the stove at all times of the day. Payment for the services ranged from ten cents to fifty cents, depending on the length of time and the feed consumed by the horses. Mary and Olga were often seen helping their dad cleaning out the stables. Metro’s hobby, the one which he loved and one which helped him subsidize his meagre income, was cutting out his own patterns and sewing leather, generally deerskin jackets, gloves, mitts and moccasins. He bought the hides from the Indians in the beginning and then later from the Edmonton tannery. He used the same treadle Singer Sewing Machine till the time he passed away - some fifty years later. He used a three-sided needle in order to be able to cut through the leather and whenever anything went wrong with the machine, he repaired it himself. He worked hard during the day at different jobs but on most evenings, he would be seen sewing by the light of a kerosene lamp - later electricity - and even later back to the lamp on the farm, where he had no electricity. All he would need were a person’s measurements and in no time at all he would create a beautifully-made deerskin jacket with a lot of fringes. He strived for perfection and people from miles around would seek him out. This hobby of his sustained him during great time of stress. He loved to sew. Because he had no specific trade or profession, he was a jack of all trades. He could fix bicycles, automobiles, farm machinery, etc. He had a team of horses and a dray and he would order car loads of coal (marcus) from a mine near Rocky Mountain House and sell and deliver it to almost everyone in town and in the country. He would also unload and deliver car loads of flour and canned goods for the store owners. He ploughed gardens, cleaned chimneys, worked on the roads and helped build buildings, like the town hospital, Bank of Commerce, the Roman Church and many farm houses and granaries. It wasn’t too long after Metro purchased his half share of the barn and house, when trouble arose and Mr. Popowich decided to sell his share of the property. No one would buy, so Mr. Popowich proceeded to saw the barn and house in half and to remove the lumber. It was quite a fiasco and people used to stand around for hours and watch the great Red Barn reduced to half its size - the house too. Ann, Metro’s wife, passed away in 1940, leaving him with still another daughter, Sylvia. With the help of hired housekeepers, he maintained his family for a couple of years and then remarried. Another daughter, Judy was born. Times were difficult but he always managed to give his family the basic structural needs and maintained a cohesiveness which remained to this day, His health started to give way, so he sold his property in town in 1947 and moved onto a small farm, one and a half miles north and west of Smoky Lake. He repaired the farm house - a typical Ukrainian home, two rooms with a porch in between, logs packed with clay and straw and white washed on the outside. A few years later, he built a new house approximately a quarter of a mile south of the old one, all by himself and with a minimum of tools. Here he made a living by having a large garden, renting the farm land to others and selling sand and gravel which was plentiful on his land. Metro trusted everyone. He always said, “I know him a long time - he’s a good man.” Thus in some of his dealings when he lent people money, he never got paid back. Children loved him because he always took time to talk to them and make them laugh and if he had any change, they always got a nickel or a dime. He was kind and always told his children, “ No matter what - keep happy.” He lived on the farm but would walk into town almost everyday. Whenever the family came to visit, they would check to see if he was in the pool hall playing pool (his first love and then the hotel cafe where he generally had cherry pie) his second love. In 1955 and 1957, two grandsons, Kenny and Brent Boutilier, were born to Olga and Ken. Metro loved them dearly and spent hours with them on the farm, pointing out the different beauties of nature. Not having had any boys of his own, he even forgave them easily for accidentally setting a haystack on fire, which they put out after about half the stack was gone. Three other grandchildren, Linda, Graham and Susan were born to Sylvia and Ian after Metro died. He passed on in 1967 and Bill Miller’s daughter, about 8 years old at the time, took her savings and bought a wreath for him, which she insisted on placing on his grave by herself because she wanted to say her own special good-bye to a very dear friend. A great tribute to a very good and kind man. One of his dogs, who was afraid of everyone, climbed under the granary and died shortly after Metro’s death. Metro rests in the grave yard of the Russo Orthodox Church which is a mile east of his farm, while his first wife Ann, rests in the Roman Catholic grave yard, kitty corner across the road. Contributor: Monica Nesbitt (50445026) •

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Metro K Skoreyko's memorial?
Metro K Skoreyko's memorial is located at: Holy Trinity Orthodox Church Cemetery, Smoky Lake, Cold Lake Census Division, Canada.
When did Metro K Skoreyko death?
Metro K Skoreyko death on 3 Jan 1967 in Smoky Lake, Cold Lake Census Division, Alberta, Canada
Where are the coordinates of the Metro K Skoreyko's memorial?
Latitude: 54.1231194
Longitude: -112.4769135

Family Members:

Parent

Kerylo Skoreyko

(1861 - 1935)

Maria Hunchak Skoreyko

(1877 - 1964)

Spouse

Anna Ewanciew Skoreyko

(1907 - 1940)

Mary Skoreyko

(1915 - 2001)

Siblings

Ann Skoreyko Huculak

(1907 - 1968)

Sam Skoreyko

(1909 - 1967)

Peter Skoreyko

(1917 - 2005)

Lillian Skoreyko Zotek

(1919 - 1999)

Children

Judy Skoreyko

(1942 - 2010)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery
Smoky Lake, Cold Lake Census Division, Canada
Coordinate: 54.1233440, -112.4747660

2. Our Lady of the Atonement Roman Catholic Cemetery
Smoky Lake, Cold Lake Census Division, Canada
Coordinate: 54.1211050, -112.4745940

3. Holy Ascension Ukrainian Orthodox Church Cemetery
Smoky Lake, Cold Lake Census Division, Canada
Coordinate: 54.0933900, -112.4796800

4. Sunrise Community Cemetery
Smoky Lake, Cold Lake Census Division, Canada
Coordinate: 54.1517600, -112.4408700

5. Saint Anthonys Cemetery
Warspite, Cold Lake Census Division, Canada
Coordinate: 54.0979700, -112.6216000

6. Smoky Lake Hutterite Cemetery
Smoky Lake, Cold Lake Census Division, Canada
Coordinate: 54.0353140, -112.4552074

7. Saint Elias Russo Greek Orthodox Cemetery
Pakan, Cold Lake Census Division, Canada
Coordinate: 54.0347000, -112.4211500

8. Saint Pokrova Orthodox Church of Edwand Cemetery
Edwand, Cold Lake Census Division, Canada
Coordinate: 54.1279500, -112.3001400

9. Chahor Sts Peter & Paul Russo Greek Orthodox
Barich, Cold Lake Census Division, Canada
Coordinate: 54.1801700, -112.6254000

10. Saint Paraskevia Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery
Smoky Lake, Cold Lake Census Division, Canada
Coordinate: 54.2396900, -112.5001000

11. McDougall Graves
Pakan, Cold Lake Census Division, Canada
Coordinate: 53.9987900, -112.4100500

12. Northbank Russo-Greek Orthodox Cemetery
Northbank, Cold Lake Census Division, Canada
Coordinate: 54.0245100, -112.6327400

13. Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Delph, Lloydminster Census Division, Canada
Coordinate: 54.0044040, -112.6768430

14. Saint Volodymyr Ukrainian Orthodox Cemetery
Waskatenau, Cold Lake Census Division, Canada
Coordinate: 54.0936040, -112.7772790

15. Wahstao Cemetery
Bellis, Cold Lake Census Division, Canada
Coordinate: 54.0640900, -112.1895300

16. Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Cemetery
Kahwin, Lloydminster Census Division, Canada
Coordinate: 53.9903100, -112.2560300

17. Bellis United Church Cemetery
Bellis, Cold Lake Census Division, Canada
Coordinate: 54.1513230, -112.1629220

18. St. John's Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Cemetery
Bellis, Cold Lake Census Division, Canada
Coordinate: 54.1515000, -112.1523900

19. Waskatenau Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery
Waskatenau, Cold Lake Census Division, Canada
Coordinate: 54.1223000, -112.8086600

20. Sunland Holy Trinity Orthodox Cemetery
Andrew, Lloydminster Census Division, Canada
Coordinate: 53.9785770, -112.2545580

21. Waskatenau United Church Cemetery
Waskatenau, Cold Lake Census Division, Canada
Coordinate: 54.0783400, -112.8253500

22. Dickiebush Russo Greek Orthodox Church Cemetery
Smoky Lake, Cold Lake Census Division, Canada
Coordinate: 54.0436700, -112.1359100

23. Sprucefield Cemetery
Sprucefield, Cold Lake Census Division, Canada
Coordinate: 54.1875000, -112.8515600

24. Limestone Lake Cemetery
Andrew, Lloydminster Census Division, Canada
Coordinate: 53.8897660, -112.5297510