Professor N.P. Lewchuk

In the beginning there was GRAMPA

On April 30, 1896 in the village of Svedeev in the Ukraine, Nicholas Paul Lewchuk was born. His mother placed a piece of paper and a pen in his tiny hands, for it was believed he would then grow to be a wise and intelligent man. At age 6, in 1902, his family immigrated to the NEW LAND called Canada. At age 17, in 1913, his future fate rolled into town, a magician was to perform at the local theatre. The long awaited day finally arrived and upon buying a ticket to the show, he found the theatre filled to capacity. Magical Miracles were performed one after another, followed by thunderous applause. He had come to the revelation ""this was it!"". The spectacle of live performance mixed with the mysteries of the unknown was too much to pass up. He decided ""this is the life I want to have and I will be the happiest man on Earth... I will find myself a wife and we will travel and perform a magic and vaudeville show.""

Anastasia
Now came the time to look for a suitable bride, one who displayed high moral standards and had the potential skills to appear on stage. It seemed at first that all efforts were hopeless, he could not find his bride among the local settlers in the area. But of course things do not come to you when you are looking for them... it's Murphy's Law. One day, while shopping at Goldsteins store, Nicholas came across an attractive girl that he had never seen before. When the girl left, Nick asked Mr. Goldstein who she was and he replied"" Oh, she is the daughter of Harry Humeniuk who lives 12 miles south of here."" Soon after, on June 11, 1916, they were married.

Now began the task of planning and creating a 2 1/2 hour show. It would consist of magic,sideshow feats,hypnotism, juggling, feats of strength, fire eating and even music played on a carpenters saw! Nicholas asked many friends and even a priest and Municipal Secretary what their thoughts were on the feasibility of a travelling Vaudeville sideshow. Some thought it was a great idea, but a few had said ""just forget about it. People might think that the show is a work of the Devil"". Nonplussed, Nicholas Paul Lewchuk was to become the very first Ukranian magician and sideshow owner in Canada!

N.P. Lewchuk had described professional magic as a very interesting, but not an easy occupation to pursue. ""Famous professional showmen are born, not made. Those with a deep love for mysticism may eventually make the grade and achieve success.""

Johnny the Dwarf
The first show was performed in the late fall of 1920, in the village of Stenon Saskatchewan. From there the theatrical troupe, which consisted of 5 performers and a booking agent traveled by train across Canada. While playing in Arran Saskatchewan, Nick met John Chornoby, a dwarf who stood just 29 inches high. Nick found that John had a wonderful singing voice and decided to train him to be a true vaudeville performer. Johnny became a very popular attraction in the show and Nick was expanding his new found horizons. This was the beginning of my Grandfather's credo, that no human would be exploited for his deformity or malady... and would be employed as a performer, not as a freak.

Johnny sold his pictures and assorted candy kisses during intermission and kept the money earned from his extra enterprises as an added bonus. Each year the show would change and slowly the Lewchuk's began to have children to incorporate into the show. As they grew up one by one they took leading parts in both performance and other tasks. The members of the family who took part in the show were Mary, Anne, Elizabeth, Earnest, and of course Nick and life partner Anastasia. The show was now becoming a family run business with little need for outside help. Earnest became the advance agent, booking the theatres two weeks in advance and also had the prestige of being the Master Of Ceremonies.

A Mentor
In the fall of 1927 Nick received a letter from a 16-year-old boy who had seen the show in Waskentenau, Alberta his name was John Umrysh and he wrote that the show had left a great impression upon him. He asked if he could join the show. Nick was delighted to learn of the boy's decision and invited him to Canora. The bond was immediate, they were very like-minded and John became a good friend and stage partner. John brought to the stage his own unique brand of comedy and Magic and was the perfect foil to Nick's personality. For many years he travelled with the show and before long, became a member of the Lewchuk family when he married Nick's oldest daughter Mary.

Also During this time, strong man and escape artist Mike Yanyk joined the show performing feats of strength such as bending iron bars in his teeth and escaping from ropes and chains.Nick would perform The HUMAN PINCUSHION and Anastasia would SWALLOW 7 SWORDS at one time! During the Depression years the show rolled on and Nick opened a side company called New Era Publishing, which printed posters,catalogues and calendars etc. This was another time of innovation for as Vaudeville began to die, Nick started to take an interest in expanding into a travelling Carnival and shows.