| Notes |
- John started to work for the CPR by taking the job of cleaning out the 'ash pit'. It was very tough work, however, he took it on and did a very good job. John later rose to be Foreman of the job. As Foreman, he hired son's Steve & George when they were old enough. [Phone conversation with Isabel SHAPKA, 19 Mar 2013].
- Shapka, John and Annie [written by Gaylene Shapka, 1975]
John came to Canada in 1910, at the age of 18 from Chernowitz, Romania. He travelled through the western provinces, working his way, briefly revisited his homeland, but returned to settle in Calgary in the fall of 1913. In 1918 he made his home in the Albert Park area.
The woman he was to marry, Annie, whose maiden name was also Shapka, arrived with her family in Calgary in 1913. Annie?s father Michael was the proprietor of a large dairy farm adjacent to Calgary?s original Red Light district which was where the large zoo animals are now exhibited. Her brothers, Andrew and John worked in their father?s dairy farm. Andrew and his wife, Molly moved to Albert Park in the late 1950?s.
Annie and John were married in 1918: they bought a house across the street at 2534 ? 10th Ave. S.E., which is also still standing and is still owned by a member of the Shapka family. Their other three children, Steve, Helen and Isabel were born and raised in this home. Mrs. Bahan was the attending midwife for all three. This house was among the first in the area to acquire electricity.
Originally their house was on a small tract of land, but over the years, John bought surrounding parcels of land, eventually totalling approximately 30 lots. They added chickens, a few cows, pigs and horses. They were extremely proud of their buggy and horse, Nellie the one-eyed trotter. Their children were perhaps the first ?milkmen? in this area: they delivered about 60 quarts daily to neighbours.
During the depression, this self-sufficient couple shared their food resources with less lucky friends and neighbours. They were also one of the first to purchase a car; John?s first vehicle was a 1929 Ford quarter ton.
John worked in the stockyards from 1913 until the mid-1920?s when he was awarded a contract by the CPR to unload coal and wood for steam engines and to remove cinders from the ash pit. At the peak his business employed 58 men.
When the First World War came, employees were difficult to find as many men went overseas and so John relinquished the contract. He then went to work in the coachyards, the car department of the CPR, where he was employed until his retirement in 1958.
Until his death in January of 1969, John spent his time at his home in Albert Park.
His widow, Annie, lived on in the family home until she died in February of 1974.
Two of their children, Steve and Isabel, have homes in the same block as their parent?s home, in the Albert Park district.
[Extracted from ?Hub of Three Hamlets: Community Cooperation East of Calgary? Author Jean Elliot. Calgary Century Publications, Calgary 1975. Found on site www.ourroots.ca . September 28, 2013]
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1892 - 1969 (76 years)
