One of Harry's happiest entries is, perhaps unsurprisingly, the realization that he would be able to leave the Soviet Union and return home.
Slept late found letter from Moscow, Stating Our Contract expires Oct. 1 [underlined superscript: st] and entitld [i.e. entitled] to Vacation 1 Month be in NY. 1 [underlined superscript: st] Sept. Very happy. will eat duck
Many of his entries following this initial good news are updates to the progress of his impending departure. A sense of excitement which is absent from the rest of his journal, can be sensed in the month before his leaving.
[...] told Director I was leaving Saturday 22. Vi Starting to Pack, washed hair took off Socks [...]
Violie got Mad when she tried on her dresses + she could Barely [put? p overwritten: 1 letter illegible] them over her head. is she Mad. accused Me. Packing trunks, ready for tomorrow morning 8AM
Upon returning to North America in September 1931, Harry and Violet lived in Iowa until 1938. They had a son and daughter, Bob and Jean, in 1932 and 1933. Then, they moved back to Canada and settled in the Waterloo region (see passport). They had two more children, James and Shirley, in 1942 and 1943 respectively. In the photos above, Harry can be seen with Violet, as well as two of his young children in North America.
Once back in North America, Harry shared some of his experiences in the USSR with the media. Like with his friend H.L.L. however, many people were skeptical of the severity of the situation. Harry collected a few relevant newspaper clippings, including one mentioning himself (see accompanying image), a similar account by another American tractor instructor in the Soviet Union, as well as a photo of himself in a Russian newspaper that he took with him from the USSR.
Violet died on April 15 1943 in Listowel, Ontario due to complications from childbirth. Byers lived his final years Kitchener, Ontario where he worked as a City Cab Company dispatcher and was a member of the St. Matthew's Lutheran Church. He and his wife Lorraine (nee McKay) lived at 27 Onward Ave. Byers died on July 13, 1957 at the Kitchener-Waterloo Hospital after a short illness. He was buried in a soldier's plot at Woodland Cemetery.
To learn more about Harry Byers, visit Special Collections & Archives on the first floor of Dana Porter!
