On the morning of March 6, 1946—the last day John Dick was seen alive—the sun rose at 6:48am to a day expected to be ‘partly cloudy and quite mild with a few scattered showers.’ The expected temperature was 36 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees centigrade). The sun set at 6:12pm that fateful day. The curtains closed on John’s performance, ending his short stage appearance in what would become a fantastical and tragic, murder mystery. As the audience, we get little insight into the character he played, other than as the immediate, dismembered victim. So who was John?
John was just three months shy of his 40th birthday when he died. On March 26, 1946—ten days after his body was found on Hamilton’s escarpment—the Toronto Daily Star provided the first insight into his background, informing their readers that: ‘John Dick was born in Russia. Twenty-one years ago he came to Canada. He was a Mennonite, and was a son of Mrs. Amelia Dyck, R. R. No. 1 in Beamsville. In Hamilton the murdered man spelled his name Dick, but the family at Beamsville used Dyck. They are German-Russians, the land they came from 21 years ago being near the Black sea, once the Russian-Ukraine.’
The paper also reported the first sign that John my have had concerns for his safety: “Uncle John visited us two weeks ago for grandma’s funeral,” the paper reported John’s niece as saying. “When he was going away, I heard him say, ‘if you don’t see me again you’ll know who got me.’ We don’t know what he meant. He must have expected something terrible to happen.”
“His political affiliations, if he had any at all, were liberal.” the Kammerer’s declared. They said he had ‘not belonged to clubs, never mentioned being in difficulties and was a person who seldom talked of his affairs.’
The Kammerer cousins had certainly been expecting him home. John had called the house and asked what was planned for supper the next night, saying that he had a hankering for some fish—salmon, is what he fancied. He asked if Mrs. Kammerer could grab some for him from the market on York St and keep it on the back of the stove for him—he’d have it when he got home from his 4pm to midnight shift. The fish was never eaten, but something fishy was certainly going on.
“Then the detective came down about his bond money,” Mrs Kammerer said in the Toronto Daily Star on March 20, 1946. “So we called the farm, his mother, and a girl he used to know. But nobody had seen him.”
“Identification was made late yesterday by David and Jacob Wall of Beamsville, Dick’s brothers-in-law,” the paper reported. “That’s John all right,” said David. “You can tell by the birthmarks.” Other members of the Wall family in Beamsville say they were told by police not to discuss the case “with anyone,” John Wall, another brother-in-law said.’
The photo above shows Jacob and John Wall (John’s brothers-in-law) and John’s sisters, Lena and Anna. The closest, most detailed examinations of his personality are hidden in the murder trial transcripts—in the testimony given by his brother-in-law, John Wall (or Wahl), and his cousin, Anne Kammerer. It’s also there in the comments by his co-workers, and in the testimony of Anna Wolski (Walski) and statements given by Betty Fontaine, who John owed money.
So who was John Dick, and why did he marry Evelyn? Was he ‘running around on her’ as she said, or was this all made up? John Dick was living at 148 Emerald Street North in Hamilton when he met his future wife. If you’re at all familiar with the story you’ve likely seen the one photo of John Dick that is in wide circulation – the one with him looking quite sternly at the camera at the camera with piercing blue eyes and angular features. It is by far a flattering photo. The only other I’ve seen to date is this, published (most recently?) in the Globe and Mail on September 8, 2001 in a story headlined ‘The Disappearing Mrs. Dick’.
He appears well-dressed, stylish and handsome, in a pin-striped suit, white shirt and patterned tie. It’s certainly easier to see how Evelyn could have fallen for him.
John had been working at the HSR for roughly four years before he died. When he applied, he was 37-years-old and living at 148 Emerald North, a boarding house where John’s cousin, Anne Kammerer, claimed to have met Evelyn.
Did John’s Russian heritage come into play with his death at all? The day before John was killed, Winston Churchill delivered his ‘Sinews of Peace—Iron Curtain‘ speech in Fulton, Missouri. Gracing the headlines next to the stories of a torso being found on the escarpment were revelations regarding the defection of Soviet cipher clerk, Igor Gouzenko, amid his allegations of a USSR espionage ring infiltrating Canadian soil.
Facts:
- Born: May 25th 1906
- Age at death: 39 years, 9 months
- Mother: Amelia Kammerer – lived at the farmhouse on R.R. #1 in Beamsville with John’s two sisters, Lena and Anna, and their husbands, Jacob and John Wall.
- Father: John Dick (Dyck)
- Siblings: Helena/Lena (married to Jake Wall) and Anna (married to John Wall)
- Date of Death: Found dead on March 16th
- Cause of Death: ‘Body was found without head, arms or legs. Probable murder.’ (Province of Ontario Registration of Death)
- Address: 215 Gertrude Street, Hamilton – After leaving Evelyn on Christmas Eve, John went to live with his cousins, Alexander and Anne Kammerer
- Address: 148 Emerald Street North, Hamilton – Where he was living when he met Evelyn
- Address: 98 Hampton Avenue, Toronto – Address listed as ‘previous’ on application to HSR
- Address: An apartment on King Street near Mary Street – living with mother and grandmother (statement by Betty Fountain)
- Workplaces:
- Cope and Sons – 19 Albert Street, City (HSR application)
- The Right House in 1928 – Betty Fountain statement /
- F.W. Fearman Ltd. – Rebecca Street, City (HSR application)
- Frost Steel & Wire Co. – Sherman Ave (HSR application)
- Lighthouse (could be that this is confused with Right House or vice versa)
- Friends:
- Dated Betty Fountain (not steady) for a year (according to her statement)
- Harry Truskot (sp?) – 139 Edgmont North, Hamilton (HSR application reference)
- George Keil (sp?) – 30 Garfield Ave, Hamilton (HSR application reference)
- Tom Maybury – 60 Arthur Ave (according to 1942 Vernon’s Directory, Maybury lived at 66 Arthur Ave), Hamilton
The Evelyn Dick Files 