Rev. olexa Harbuziuk Legacy
Пастор олекса Романович Гарбузюк
Elmhurst, south side
First house, at 836 N. Wolcott Avenue in Chicago, was owned jointly by Olexa and Sophia and John and Martha Harbuziuk. Olexa and Sophia's family lived on the first floor. Alex is held by his father. Helen is standing. John and Martha Harbuziuk with their son Lothar lived on the second floor. (The other people probably are real estate agents.) The children attended Talcott Elementary School. For a while, Mrs. Klimushyna rented a room on the second floor. Renters lived in a basement apartment, including the Maevsky family for a short time. Then Ksenia and her aunt Marta Kluchkowska lived there. When Ksenia
married Gabriel Blonsky, they lived in the basement apartment. After the John Harbuziuk family moved, the second floor was occupied by Kathy Bilecka and her mother. The house was about a half mile from the church where Olexa was pastor. Olexa and Sophia borrowed the money for the down payment for the mortgage from Joseph Yakimow Sr., a member of the Chicago church.
This is the second house owned by Olexa and Sophia. The family moved into it in 1957. It is situated at 458 Elm Avenue on the north side of Elmhurst. In January 1963, they listed it for sale for $20,500. This image is taken from the real estate listing. After this house was sold, the family moved to a house on the south side of Elmhurst. Notice the garage way in the back. Guess who had the privilege of SHOVELING the snow from probably the longest driveway on the block?
Elmhurst, north side
The second house in Elmhurst, at 690 Berkley Avenue. This was the family home from 1963 to 2015.
Here is another view of the house on the north side of Elmhurst. When Olexa's employer -- Automatic Electric -- moved from Chicago to Northlake, Olexa decided to move to Elmhurst to be closer to work. You may notice that Leela is sitting near the curb. The big enclosed front porch was a refreshing place to sleep on hot summer nights.Those elm trees were cut down eventually because of Dutch elm disease.