Lazar Fedorak and his wife, Anna Sandulac, were both from the Village of Boian in Romania, which was then part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Anna emigrated with her family in approximately 1900. They settled in the Shalka District (near Hairy Hill). Lazar came to this area three years later and they were married. They homesteaded, living in a small shack for ten years before the house was built.
The house was built in 1915 by Stefan Semanovitch. The house is constructed in typical Romanian style, although it was never thatched. It is a squared log house. Anna Fedorak originally plastered the whole house herself. The plaster was made of local clay and straw. The walls were kept whitewashed.
The Fedoraks lived in the house until 1955 when they retired from the farm and moved into Hairy Hill. They had farmed the 160 acres as a mixed farm operation. They had six children, Katie, Velma, Metro, Vera, Mary (who was the first born in the house) and Lucy. Velma and Vera died during the Spanish flu epidemic of 1919. Katie married Arthur Mihalcheon and moved to Lac La Biche and raised a family of fourteen children, many of whom are still in the Lac La Biche area today. Metro was a carpenter by trade, but was known for his skill at playing the violin. He remained a bachelor, and retired in Lac La Biche. He passed away in 1988. Mary married Fred Munawych and farmed on land next door to Katie and Arthur on the north shore of Lac La Biche. They have four children. Lucy married Alien Grewer, also a carpenter by trade, as well as a World War II veteran, he served in the Paratroops and landed in Normandy on D-Day. They have three children and now reside in Calgary.
Lazar Fedorak died in March 1956, and Anna in September 1959. There are many grandchildren and great grandchildren living across western Canada.
The house owned by John Euchuk was generously donated to the museum site. Ted Prescott was the project coordinator for the Boian Museum. A lease between the Canadian Romanian Society of Alberta and St. Mary’s Orthodox Congregation of Boian was executed for a period of 25 years, from January 1, 1986 to December 31, 2011, for the sum of $1.00 per annum. John J. Toma registered this lease with the County.
In 1992 the Canadian Romanian Society held the official opening of the Boian Museum. The event was a huge success with large crowds coming out to witness this occasion. Many people will remember this as the event where the Boian Ladies Auxiliary ran out of food as the attendance was larger than expected.
