Showing 16 results

Authority record
Soltykewych, Stephanie
UF2023.013 · Family · 1931-

Stephanie Soltykewych was born on August 14, 1931 in the town of Saint-Éloy-les-Mines, France. Her parents Konstantyn and Julia (née Doloszycka) Derech immigrated from Ulucz, Poland to France in 1928 and 1930 respectively. After completing her education in 1952, Stephanie decided to visit her brother, who had already immigrated to Canada, and ended up settling in Edmonton. Because of her knowledge of French, she started working on the second day of her arrival - at the Edmonton General Hospital, where speaking French was an asset at the time.
In 1954, she started to work for the Government of Alberta, where she worked full time as an office clerk until 1972. In 1955, she married Roman Soltykewych and raised 3 children: son Orest, and twin daughters Vera and Nadia. In 1974, Stephanie went back to work for Employment and Immigration Canada, first as a bilingual receptionist, then as a customer service officer, referring customers to employment or training. She particularly enjoyed helping new immigrants with obtaining new jobs or enrolling in English classes.
For several years, Stephanie taught play school (sadochok) at the Ukrainian National Federation Hall.
After the passing of her husband Roman in 1976. Stephanie dedicated herself to voluntary work. At St George Ukrainian Catholic Parish, she was one of the founding members of the newly established branch, in 1955, of the Ukrainian Catholic Women's League of Canada. She held several executive positions, including president for many years.
Stephanie served on the executive of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy in Edmonton. She was president of Plast Pryjat (parent's support organization with Plast - Ukrainian scouts) for which she received a certificate of recognition. She assisted the Edmonton CYMK (Ukrainian Orthodox Youth) Choir in fundraising for a trip to perform at a music festival in Vienna. For many years she canvassed for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
In 2017, Stephanie received a Hetman Award from the Ukrainian Canadian Congress - Alberta Provincial Council.
Stephanie loved to travel and had the opportunity to visit many countries around the world. She was an avid stamp collector. She also loved flowers, and would dry them and create arrangements from them.

Mazurenko family
Family · late 1800s-

Fedor Mazurenko and Tatiana Deshlevi of the village of Zelenyi Roh, Kyiv province, which is about 150 km south of Kyiv, had three sons and one daughter. Andrew was born in 1890, Thomas in 1895, John in 1896 and Irene in 1899. They all immigrated to Canada. Andrew came first in 1910 (at the age of 20), Thomas in 1911 (at the age of 16), John in 1914 (at the age of 18) and Irene in 1914 (at the age of 16). They came to Canada at the strong urging of their father. Their mother died in 1911. They came to find a better life for themselves. Andrew and Thomas first worked in Cochrane, Ontario building the railroad. Later, Andrew moved to Alberta and got a homestead in Thorhild County. The homestead is still in the family as of 2017.

Senjov Family
Family

Originally, the Burlak family arrived from Galicia (?) to Bosnia in 1910; they maintained their cultural heritage, and in 1951, Natalie's mother, Katerina Senjov, began the journey to Trieste, Italy. Finally her parents, Peter and Katerina Senjov, arrived in Geelong, Australia in 1954. Then they began the task of assisting the rest of the Burlak family to Australia.

Kuc, Chester and Luba
Family · 1931-2013 - Chester Kuc; 1930 - Luba Kuc (Yusypchuk)

Chester Kuc (April 15, 1931 - February 16, 2013) and Luba Kuc (May 29, 1930, nee Yusypchuk) were born in Edmonton. Their parents were active in the Ukrainian National Federation (UNO), participating in cultural activities such as choir and drama. Chester and Luba attended Ukrainian school, where they were encouraged to participate in cultural activities, children's choir, orchestra, plays, skits, and folk dancing. Both Chester and Luba were students of Vasyl Avramenko dancing school (Chester graduated in 1953).

Chester was a founder of "Shumka" and "Cheremosh" dancing ensembles and their director in 1958-1969 and 1969-1981, respectively. Chester also taught dancing schools throughout Edmonton - at UNO, where he had the largest dance school in Edmonton with 350 dancers, the St. John's Orthodox Cathedral, the St. Elia's Parish, the Holy Eucharist Parish, the St. Basil's Parish, the Ukrainian Catholic National Hall. Chester also was an alumnus of the Educational Summer School in Winnipeg (1947) organized by the Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre in Winnipeg. He worked at the Alberta Department of Ministry of Justice; was the head of the Ukrainian Museum of Canada, Alberta Branch (1991-1995); and the Cultural Director of the Ukrainian National Federation, also acted as their president for several years.

In 1948 Luba Kuc was a student of the Petro Mohyla Institute Ukrainian Studies Summer School in Saskatoon. Luba was an accomplished violinist and, later, the costume advisor for all of the dance schools taught by Chester. The couple even made trips to museums in Ukraine for research on Ukrainian costumes. Luba was a member of UNYF and the second President of the organization. Later on, she became a member of the Ukrainian Women's Organization of Canada (Організація Українок Канади ім. Ольги Басараб) and served as its President in 1976, 1977, and 1979, vice-President and treasurer in 1968 and 1978. In 2004 for her dedicated work Luba was presented the Hetman Award from UCC APC.

Luba and Chester were married on July 2, 1960, and had 2 daughters: Larysa and Daria.
Both Chester and Luba owned a large pysanky collection, hundreds of Ukrainian folk art items, including shirts, carved wood articles, burnt wood artifacts, ceramics, embroideries, and paintings. Artifacts from their collection have been featured in displays at Heritage Days, the Ukrainian Museum of Canada (Edmonton and Saskatoon Branches), the Ukrainian National Federation Hall, the Muttart Conservatory, the Centennial Ukrainian Celebrations display at the Agricom and the Shevchenko Museum in Kyiv, Ukraine in 1992. Luba and Chester also held multiple embroidery and pysanka workshops.

To the history of Mr. Kuc's first name: "Chester Kuc was born to a Ukrainian father and a Polish mother who named him Czeslaw, a name that the hospital staff misheard as Chester. Later, his godfather suggested choosing a more Ukrainian name and Chester acquired the name of Myroslav."

Sources:

  1. The Edmonton Ukrainian Community Mourns the Loss of Chester Kuc. https://www.ualberta.ca/kule-folklore-centre/news/2013/february/chesterkuc.html
  2. Отнякіна О. М. "Куць Мирослав." Енциклопедія cучасної України: електронна версія [веб-сайт] / гол. редкол.: І.М. Дзюба, А.І. Жуковський, М.Г. Железняк та ін.; НАН України, НТШ. Київ: Інститут енциклопедичних досліджень НАН України, 2006. URL: http://esu.com.ua/search_articles.php?id=52331
  3. Catalogue created by the Royal Alberta Museum for an exhibit of Chester's pysanky in 2006.
  4. In Service of Our Homeland. The Ukrainian Women's Organization of Canada 50th Anniversary (1956- 1980), part 2. Editors: Jaroslawa Zorych, Zynowy Knysh, Hanna Mazurenko. Toronto: Published by the Ukrainian Women's Organization of Canada, 1984.
  5. Організація Українок Канади ім. Ольги Басараб. "Люба Куць." Постер ОУК.
Iwanusiw, Oleh and Bozhena
Family · 1935 - ; 1939 -

Oleh Wolodymyr Iwanusiw was born on July 28, 1935, in Watsewychi (today - Zaluzhany) in Halychyna, Western Ukraine. Before coming to Canada, Oleh lived in Ukraine, Poland, Austria, and Germany.
He came to Canada with his parents and sisters in June 1948 and lived in Picture Butte, Lethbridge, Edmonton, and Toronto. In 1957 he completed his education by obtaining a BSc degree in electrical engineering from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, and afterwards moved to Toronto, where he secured a position as an instrumentation engineer at the Ontario Hydro W.P. Dobson Research Laboratory. He continued working at the research laboratory until December 1978.
In 1972, Oleh formed a partnership under the name of Olman Instruments that designed and produced test equipment for the power industry. In January 1979, Oleh joined Olman Instruments as the president.
In June 1994, AVO International closed the manufacturing facility in Toronto. Thus Oleh, together with 65 other employees lost their jobs.
In 1995, Oleh started a consulting business that took him primarily to India and Ukraine but also involved other countries such as Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Malaysia, Egypt, New Zealand, and the USA. Oleh was the president of the Foundation of the Encyclopedia of Ukraine. The foundation collected funds from the public and used these funds to fund research and publication of works dealing with Ukrainian culture, history, and education.

Bozhena Wertyporoch-lwanusiw was born on April 4, 1939, in Warszawa, Poland.
Before coming to Canada in the fall of 1948, Bozhena lived in Ukraine, Poland, Austria, and Germany. Bozhena has been an active member of the Ukrainian Youth Association “PLAST” (Scouts) and continues to be a member in various leadership positions. She is the president of the Ukrainian Canadian Social Services (UCSS) and the head of the “Buy a Bowl of Soup” Committee. In this role, she has been actively involved with overseeing and operating soup kitchens and food banks for the needy in Ukraine. A long-time and active member of the Ukrainian Catholic Women’s League of Canada (UCWLC). In addition to receiving the Queen Diamond Jubilee, Ms. Iwanusiw was awarded the prestigious St. Volodymyr Medal by the Ukrainian World Congress in 2008 for her continued contribution and dedication to the development of the Ukrainian community throughout the years.
Bozhena and Oleh have traveled the world, going to Soviet Ukraine. Their travels to Europe in the 1980s have resulted in a publication entitled CHURCH in RUINS (1987, ISBN 0-9691657-3-0, 360 pages, 500 colour prints, English and Ukrainian text).

Sources: http://iwanusiw.com/short-biography.htm

Tracy, Bill and Michelle
Family

Bill Tracy served as a planning officer for the Historic Sites Service of Alberta Culture for 28 years (from December 1980 to February 2009). During that time he had the opportunity to serve as the planner or advisor for a number of Provincial Historic sites and private developments including but not limited to the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre, Leitch Collieries Historic Sites, the Oil Sands Discovery Centre, Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump World Heritage Site, Fort George/Buckingham House Historic Site, Fort Dunvegan, Fort Victoria, Fort Chipewyan, and Notre Dame des Victoires (Lac la Biche Mission). Bill served as the project control officer for the development of Kalyna Country Ecomuseum, the world’s largest ecomuseum. Bill also previously worked as a student archaeologist on a second World Heritage Site, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site.

Michelle Tracy began her professional teaching career in Brochet, Manitoba, a fly-in Indigenous community where she taught grades 3 & 4 and 8 & 9 for two years. Beyond her initial assignment she also taught Grade 6 & 7 Native Art as well as a Work Experience Program which included a trapping program for the grade 8 & 9 boys. She concluded her teaching experience with 27 years as an instructor at Alberta Vocational College (later NorQuest College) in Edmonton, Alberta. While at NorQuest she developed a program to introduce the culture of Indigenous students enrolled in the Ben Calf Robe Program to immigrant students, including a visit to the Royal Alberta Museum.

Bill and Michelle have a passionate interest in Indigenous art and have focused their collecting and related activities there. However, they have also a keen interest in Ukrainian material culture driven by Michelle’s Ukrainian heritage. They have assembled a secondary collection of Ukrainian material with an emphasis on textiles and pottery.

The Tracys were featured in an article entitled “The Bill & Michelle Tracy Indigenous Art Collection” by Myrna Kostash in ACUA Vita, Alberta’s Ukrainian Arts and Culture Magazine (winter 2018-2019, Volume 24, Issue 2).

The Tracy collection of Indigenous art along with their supporting library and archives will be gifted to the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology at Brown University. Portions of the collection have already been transferred.

JOINTLY CURATED EXHIBITIONS:

  • “In Their Footsteps; A Century of Aboriginal Footwear in the Canadian West”, Musée Héritage Museum, St. Albert; August 21 to October 21, 2018.
  • “Celebrating Connections, Weddings in Multicultural Alberta”, University of Alberta, Enterprise Square Galleries, Edmonton, Alberta; May 28 to August 1, 2015.
  • “Wus’kwīy / Waskway: From Berry Baskets to Souvenirs”. Musée Héritage Museum, St. Albert; January 27 to April 12, 2015.
  • “Angakkuq: Between Two Worlds, Spiritual and Mythological Figures in Inuit and Inuvialuit Art”, Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta; October 25, 2013 to February 16, 2014.
  • “Innujaq, Dolls of the Canadian Arctic”; Royal Alberta Museum, Edmonton, Alberta; November 27, 2012 to April 28, 2013.
  • “Inuit Dolls of the Canadian Arctic”; Folklore Studies Association of Canada annual conference, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta; May 14, 2011.

EXHIBITIONS TO WHICH OBJECTS FROM THE TRACY COLLECTION HAVE BEEN LOANED:

  • “Ceramic Multicultural Exhibition”, Alberta Council for the Ukrainian Arts, Edmonton, Alberta; scheduled for 2022.
  • “Beautiful Beadwork”, Alberta Council for the Ukrainian Arts, Edmonton, Alberta; September 6 to September 28, 2019.
  • “Patterns in Glass, Métis Designs in Beads”, Musée Héritage Museum, St. Albert; September 28, 2010 to June 1, 2011.
  • Arctic Birds: Real and Unreal”, Royal Alberta Museum, Edmonton, Alberta; February 2, to May 20, 2009.
  • “From Our Past to Our Present; Ukrainian Collections from Edmonton Museums”. Ukrainian National Federation Hall, Edmonton, Alberta; November 7-9, 2008.
  • “Portraits of the North”, Musée Héritage Museum, St. Albert; February 26 to April 13, 2008.
  • “Inuit Art: A Moving Experience; Travel and Transportation in the Arctic”, Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton Alberta; December 10, 2005 to February 26, 2006.
  • “Make History”. Provincial Archives of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta; October 13, 2005 to February 26, 2006.
  • “Sixties”. Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta; November 17, 2001 to January 13, 2002.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS by WILLIAM TRACY:

  • 2005 In Time and Place: Master Plan for the Protection, Preservation, and Presentation of Alberta’s Past. Edmonton, Alberta: Alberta Community Development.
  • 1991 Collecting Contemporary Native Arts in the Boreal Forest of Western Canada. Arctic Anthropology 28(1): 101-109.
  • 1989 Native Craft Production in Brochet, Manitoba, 1978-80. in Out of the
    North: The Subarctic Collection of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, Brown University. 109-119. Bristol, Rhode Island: Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology.
  • 1979 A Reconsideration of the Archaeological Significance of the Role of the Middleman in the Fur Trade. American Antiquity 44: 594-595.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS by MICHELLE TRACY:

  • 1994 Photographic credit in Kalyna Country Ecomuseum. Alberta Museum Review 20(2): 25-27.
  • 1992 Photographic credit in Hiking the Historic Crowsnest Pass. Calgary: Rocky Mountain Books.
  • 1983 Book Review of Teaching Adults to Think (TAAT) by Irene D’Aoust, in Literacy 8(2).
  • 1980 Photographic credits in Hau, Kola! The Plains Indian Collection of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology by Barbara Hail, Bristol, Rhode Island: Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology.

SELECTED PAPERS JOINTLY PRESENTED:

  • Robertson Trading Company, Exploring a Private Collection. Native American Art Studies Association. Norman, Oklahoma 2009
  • The Curio Trade on the Northern Plains. Native American Art Studies Association. Scottsdale, Arizona, 2005

SELECTED PAPERS by WILLIAM TRACY:

  • Chair, Mission Architecture Symposium. Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada. Yellowknife, N.W.T., 1992
  • Collecting Contemporary Native Art in the Boreal Forest of Western Canada. Out of the North: The Native Art and Material Culture of the Canadian and Alaskan North – Symposium and Exhibition. Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, Brown University. Providence, Rhode Island, 1989
  • Fort Chipewyan: An Ethno-historical Consideration. American Anthropological Association. Cincinnati, Ohio, 1979
  • Subsistence Strategies of Contemporary Inuit Artisans. Northeastern Anthropological Association. Middleton, Connecticut, 1976

SELECTED PAPERS by MICHELLE TRACY:

  • 2000 Department of Human Ecology Research Seminars, University of Alberta, Edmonton. “Continuing Traditions of White Caribou Hide Clothing as Practiced by Philomene Umpherville”.
  • 1992 Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada (SSAC) – Annual Conference, Yellowknife, N.W.T. Invited to read paper “Decorative Arts in Mission Architecture: A Case Study of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, Hobbema, Alberta”
  • 1984 Alberta Association for Adult Literacy – Alberta Teachers of English as a Second Language (AAAL – ATESL) Conference, Edmonton. “Thinking Training Workshop”.
  • 1984 Learning Assistance (LAC) Conference, Edmonton. “Teaching Adults Thinking Training”.

PUBLIC LECTURES JOINTLY PRESENTED:

  • “Collecting Indigenous Art in the Southwest” Strathcona Public Library Lecture, Sherwood Park, Alberta: September 2020 postponed due to Covid 19.
  • “Collecting Native American Art”, Lecturer for Material Culture Studies, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta; November 2014.
  • “Collecting Navajo Folk Art”, Alberta Culture, Old St. Stephen’s College, Edmonton, Alberta; April 24, 2014.
  • “Speaking with Dolls”; Royal Alberta Museum, Edmonton, Alberta; April 10, 2013.
  • “Collecting Native American Art”, Lecturer for Material Culture Studies, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta; March 23, 2012.
  • “Collecting Native American Art: A Personal Journey Through Native America”, Folklore Luncheon Series, Peter & Doris Kule Centre for Ukrainian & Canadian Folklore. University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta; January 13. 2012.
  • “Turquoise Jewelry from the American Southwest”, The Questors (University of Alberta Faculty Wives Group), Edmonton, Alberta; winter 2012.
  • “Collecting Native American Art”, Lecturer for Material Culture Studies, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta; March 23, 2011.

SELECTED PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS:

  • Heritage Interpretation International (William Tracy)
    Founding Member (Charter Member # 166), 1987
    (Member of the Executive Board, 1995-1998)
    (By-Law Committee, 1997-1998)

  • Inuit Art Enthusiasts (William & Michelle Tracy)
    Founding Member (William Tracy)

  • Native American Arts Studies Association (William & Michelle Tracy)
    (2001 to present)

  • Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada (William Tracy)
    (Editorial Committee, 1990 – 1999)
    (Nominating Committee, 1995-1996)

  • Ukrainian Canadian Archives and Museum of Alberta
    William (Member of the Board of Directors, 2005 - 2021)
    Michelle (Member of the Board of Directors, 1999 - 2004)
    (Vice President, 2004 - 2008)
    (President, 2008 - 2009)

Zarsky, Orest and Emilia
Family · 1914-2014

Orest Zarsky, son of Oleksa (Alex) and Catherine (nee Haworko) Zarsky, was born in Edmonton, Alberta on August 10, 1914. When he was seven years old, the family, which by that time included a younger sister, moved to Boyle, Alberta. His parents homesteaded there till 1930 when they returned to Edmonton.

After graduating from St. Joseph’s High School in 1933, Orest attended McTavish Business School where he studied commerce and shorthand. In 1937, he earned a Teaching Certificate from Normal School in Camrose, Alberta. He then taught for one year in a single room country school, Prosvischinia #1476, in Smoky Lake County, Alberta.

In 1934, Orest joined the 2nd Battalion, Edmonton Fusiliers, (R) CA where he played the clarinet with the brass band. In 1942, he was discharged from the militia so that he could join the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). He served as a radar technician along the coasts of Labrador and Canada’s eastern coast till his discharge in 1945.

On October14, 1939, Orest married Emilia (Minnie) Manoski at St. Josaphat Church in Edmonton where they remained active, devout parishioners their entire lives. They had a family of three daughters and one son.

Emilia was born on February 15, 1920 in Beverly, Alberta to Josephine (nee Krezanoski) and John Manoski. She attended Highlands School and Eastwood High School in Edmonton where she completed Grade 12. In 1938, she graduated from Alberta College with a Diploma in Stenography. During WWII, she volunteered to sell Victory Bonds War Savings Certificates at the Edmonton Post Office. She was a Charter and lifelong member of St. Josaphat Good Will Club (Ukrainian Catholic Women’s League). From 1948 – 1950, she served as President of the Club. Through the 1950s and 1960s, she worked for eight years as a receptionist in a medical office. She was an avid homemaker and gardener. Emilia was a loving mother and a devoted wife who supported Orest in his career and and volunteer work.

Although his career was interrupted by his RCAF service, Orest worked at the Edmonton Post Office for 35 years (1938-1973). He held a variety of positions including that of Supervisor, Acting Postmaster and Public Affairs Officer.

During his retirement, he was instrumental in the opening of the first permanent office of the Edmonton Ukrainian Catholic Savings and Credit Union. He worked at the office full time for many years. Prior to that, he had worked on a part time basis for the Edmonton Ukrainian Catholic Savings and Credit Union from his home office

Throughout his life, Orest was actively involved in many organizations at the Post Office (Federal Service) and within the Ukrainian community. He was usually on the executive as either treasurer or secretary. He emceed many functions. He belonged to the Knights of Columbus and other men’s groups at St. Josaphat Parish. He was an original and continuing member of the Norwood Legion. He was a Director of the Post Office Credit Union. He volunteered with the MS Society. He was highly regarded for his work ethic and integrity.

Orest died at the age of 94 in Edmonton on February 10, 2009. On December 22, 2014, also at the age of 94, Emilia died. They had celebrated 69 years of marriage.

Kyforuk family
Family · 1896-1993

Sophia Kyforuk (nee Sophia Yakivna Porayko) was born on June 10, 1896, in the village of Tulova, Sniatyn Province, Western Ukraine. Her parents (Yakiv and Kateryna/Jacob and Katherine Parayko) were peasants in the old country and came to Alberta, Canada together with their five children (John, Mary, William, Alex and Sophia) in 1899, where they acquired a homestead. They stayed on the same homestead all their lives. Her father Yakiv knew how to read and write - he was the only one in the family who had had any schooling. He was interested in astronomy and for this he was nicknamed the Stargazer by the villagers. He used to go to the reading hall where he became acquainted with the booklet "O Emigratsii" (Concerning Emigration) written by Dr. Joseph Oleskiw. Yakiv was interested in public issues. It was Oleskiw's booklet that encouraged him to go to Canada. In fact, he was the first in the village to do so. He was a member of the Radical Party in the old country and he brought some literature on radicalism with him to Canada.

The family spent their first winter with Alex Chorney's family. In November of 1899, they paid for their own homestead. In 1907, a school was built in the district in which they had settled. Sophia was already eleven years old when she entered the first grade. She attended school until 1911.

They read several newspapers in our home: Ruske Slovo (Ruthenian Word), Soyuz (Alliance), Kanadiiskiy Farmer (Canadian Farmer), Chervonyi Prapor (Red Banner), Robochyi Narod (Working People), Ranok (Morning), Hromadskyi Holos (Community Voice), Novyny (News) and Ukrainskyi Holos (Ukrainian Voice).

Sophia’s brother Alex was a delegate from Calgary to the First Ukrainian Social Democratic Party Convention that was held in Edmonton in 1910. He brought back some socialist literature from this convention. He also subscribed to the Western Clarion, the Social Democratic newspaper published in English in Vancouver.

Sophia joined the Association for Self-Enlightenment as soon as it was formed in Edmonton in 1916 under the guidance of John Klebanowsky. In the years 1917-1918, she was living in the mining district of Cardiff where she was in contact with the branch of the Ukrainian Social Democratic Party. She also acted parts in plays on stage and took part in concerts.

In 1927, Sophia married Peter Kyforuk (1894-1976). They farmed at Warspite, AB (near Smoky Lake) from 1937 to 1957.

Sophia was a life long member of the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians and its organizational predecessor, the Ukrainian Labour-Farmer Temple Association. Upon her death in 1993, her daughter, Octavia Hall, honoured the memory of her parents by donating the family home in Edmonton to the Alberta Ukrainian Heritage Foundation, along with some money, a collection of Ukrainian and Ukrainian-Canadian artifacts, and personal archival materials.

Kuryliw family
Family · 1910 -

Anna Zabolotna Kuryliw and Wasyl (Bill) Kuryliw were Ukrainian immigrants who settled in Sudbury, Ontario and became actively involved in Sudbury's Ukrainian community as well as in the community at large.

Wasyl Kuryliw was born in the village of Potochyshche, Ukraine, in 1910. He emigrated to Canada in 1928, working first in Saskatchewan as a contract farm labourer and later finding work in various places during the Depression, including Fort William. After joining Inco, he initially worked as a miner and then trained as a welder, remaining with the company until his retirement in 1975.

Anna Zabolotna was also born in Potochysche, in 1910. After receiving her elementary education in the village, she attended high school in Horodenka and completed several courses at the University in Lviv. Wasyl Kuryliw sponsored Anna's voyage to Canada in 1936 after several years of courtship by correspondence, and the couple was married immediately following her arrival. They lived first in Kirkland Lake, moving to Sudbury in 1938. Anna and Wasyl had three children: Ihor, Sonia and Oksana.

Known for his commitment to the Ukrainian community, Wasyl Kuryliw was a founder of the Ukrainian National Federation's Sudbury branch in 1930. Throughout his life, he remained a dedicated volunteer in the UNF - serving in various capacities, assisting in renovations and fundraising, and providing financial support. He also volunteered for "The New Pathway", a Ukrainian Canadian newspaper.

In the wider community, he encouraged many businesses to join the local Chamber of Commerce, volunteered at hospitals and supported other causes. He enjoyed teaching and playing the mandolin and other instruments. Kuryliw also played cello in the Sudbury Symphony and was an avid outdoorsman.

Anna Zabolotna Kuryliw was actively involved in the Ukrainian Women's Organization of Canada, serving as branch president, secretary and cultural co-ordinator. She also headed the National Executive's Organizational Committee.

In later years, they established the Wasyl and Anna Kuryliw Family Foundation at the University of Alberta. The purpose of the foundation is to fund scholarships for those studying Ukrainian ethnography.

The couple moved to Toronto in 1995; Anna Kuryliw died in 2001 and Wasyl Kuryliw in 2004.

Opryshko family
Family

Opryshko family comes from the village Wisłok Wielki situated in the eastern part of Lemko land. Since 1918 this region has been within the Polish state. Members of Opryshko family received school education at primary school under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Ukrainian. Ivan Opryshko married Maria Luchka in 1925. He came to Canada at the age of 24 in 1928. He reached Winnipeg where, thanks to Saint Raphael’s Ukrainian Immigrants Welfare Association of Canada, he met William Romaniuk, a local municipal administrator from Mundare, Alberta, with connections with farmers from the Mundare-Andrew area. Along with his two friends, also from Wisłok, Ivan was taken to work on a farm, where he spent next 6 or 7 years. Ivan's sister, Fenna, came to Canada in 1930 and settled in Vancouver. Ivan stayed in contact with Fenna and visited her in Vancouver in 1947 or 1948.

Ivan and Maria were reunited in 1932. Ivan located a homestead in Prosperity to which they moved. For Maria, the move to rural Canada was a great cultural shock, because of differences in climate, landscape, pattern of settlement, distances, community life, etc. She worked on the farm and never learnt fluent English. There was no need as many of their neighbours were Ukrainians, and Ivan had learnt enough of the language.

Mariya had 4 brothers and a sister. Paraska, her older sister and her brother Mychal were sent or chose to go to Ukraine. Paraska and her daughter Anna who remained in Poland, were displaced to a village of Dobrusha in the western part of the Soviet Ukraine in 1946. Anna Chekanska lived in Ternopil. Fedir, her oldest brother, and brothers Ivan and Andriy were displaced to the north of Poland.

Ivan had 4 brothers and 2 sisters. Petro and Fitcho were sent with their mother to Ukraine. In 1946, Petro and his family were displaced to a village of Kal’ne in the western part of the Soviet Ukraine. Mychal was displaced to the north of Poland (he later returned to Wislok). Maxymilian, the youngest brother, was taken to Nazi Germany for forced labor during the war, spent 3 or 4 years in Buchenwald. After he returned to Wisłok, he joined the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. During the displacement he was imprisoned in the Labour Camp of Jaworzno for 4-5 years. After leaving the prison he went first to Northern Poland and returned to Wislok.

Many of Maria's and Ivan's relatives, for example, Ivan's brother Petro, wrote to them to Canada.

Gaudun family
Family · 1905-2000s

Nicolai (Nick) Gaudun was born on the 4th of May 1905 in Stanivtsi Horishni (Verkhni Stanivtsi), Kitsman’ raion, Chernivtsi region Bukovyna. His mother’s name was Vasylyna Tsurkan, father’s name was Aftanasii Gaudun. Nick had two uncles from his father's side: Nykyfor and Maftei. Nick’s father died at the age of 70, and the mother was left with 8 children. The oldest brother John took responsibility for supporting the family. John went to the USA to Boston area in 1912 (when the father was still alive). Then the other brother Peter went to the Sates in 1913 to join his brother John. Nick's sister Elena went to Brazil same year. Nick had younger twin brother and a sister, and the youngest sister Frozina who was born in 1910. Brother Peter promised to take Nick with him to the States, but the World War I started and the connection between them terminated for a while. Because of the war Nick could not go to school, he finished only 2 grades. Only when serving 2 years in Romanian army, Nick went to school and got a telephone operator diploma. He also served as a baker in the army.

Nick immigrated to Canada at the age of 24, in 1929. He arrived to Montreal to his brother John, who at the time worked in the Queen Hotel. In Montreal he lived from 1929 until 1933. Nick worked in a baker shop owned by a Russian Jew. He also did road work for $25 per week, which helped him pay off his debt for the trip to Canada.

Stephane (Stalla) Gaudun (nee Hretciuk) was about 6-7 years old when the World War I started. She went to school only for one month and the war broke up. Stalla did not receive professional education. Her parents finished 8 grades, and they were homeschooling their children. After the war, the schools were taught in Romanian language and the parents did not know Romanian to help out their children. Stalla lost her father at the age of 13, and three children were left with the mother. Later Stalla’s mother re-married a well-to-do man and went to live to another village. Stalla's older sister Raifta went to Canada and married John Lacosta. Stalla’s brother Petro avoided service in Romanian army for 2 years, but finally he got conscripted and received brutal treatment in the army. Because Stalla's brother Petro did not want to immigrate, Stalla's mother insisted that Stalla goes to her sister Raifta to Canada. Stalla came to Canada in 1929 during Depression times. Shortly after arriving to Canada, Stalla worked cleaning houses, then she took care of two children during 6 months in a Russian Jew family in Kirkland Lake, ON. After that she worked in the rooming house 17-18 hours per day, where she had her room and board. While working there she married Nick Gaudun and moved to Montreal on the 26th of March 1932(?). Stalla also worked in meat packing for 21 cent per hour(?) where she learned meat work.

Nick got connected with Stalla throuh John and Raifta Lacosta when Stalla still was in Bukovyna. Aside from the fact that Raifta Lacosta was Stalla's older sister, Nick’s mother and John Lakosta’s mother were close friends. When Nick and Stalla got married they lived in Montreal. Later Stalla and Nick moved to Ansonville, ON, and opened their family business – Imperial Bakery, which they operated until 1946 or 1947, at which time they sold. They moved to St. Catharines where they had a grocery store for a short period (about a year). Later they had a butcher shop in Hamilton, ON, which was part of their Red and White Grocery store.

Raifta and John Lakusta had a farm in Niagara on the Lake.

Nick and Stalla had three sons: Steve, Peter, and Ted. All of them live with their families in Ontario.

Sharak family
Family · 1891-1976

Andrew Sharak was born in Wislok, Respublica Polonia, in 1891. Polly Sharak (nee Kulyk) was born in 1893. They got married in 1919. Andrew served in the Polish army. They had a son who died in the Old Country.

Andrew immigrated to Canada in 1927 through Quebec, and Polly joined him in 1929 though Halifax. They settled in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, where they lived until their death. Andrew worked on the Maple Leaf Meat Factory until he was injured and had to quit. Andrew was literate and was an avid reader (mostly Ukrainian). They both were active in their Ukrainian Catholic church, and had a beautiful garden which was their sustenance. They adopted twin boys John and Mike Pawelchak.

In 1950s-1960s, they became friends with Ernest Fedorowich and Veronica Fedorowich (nee Novak) who helped them with English, as well as other services unknown to them from the Old country, like banking and other.

Kule, Peter and Doris
Family · b. 1921

Peter Kule (then Petro Kuleba) was born in Stratyn in what was the Poland but is now in the Rohatyn district of Ivano-Frankivsk province of Ukraine. He came to Canada with his mother and two brothers on December 28, 1938 through Halifax. At that time, his father already settled in Two Hills, Alberta. Peter completed elementary and intermediate school in Stratyn, and secondary school in Rohatyn. In January 1939 he started in grade 1 in a school in Two Hills, as he didn't know any English, and six months later he finished the school year in grade eight. In 1940, Peter moved to Edmonton, and was trained as an accountant. The training lasted five years, and while studying, he worked as a bus boy at the Hotel MacDonald.

Peter met Doris Radesh in 1943. Doris was born near Boian, Alberta in a family of Ukrainian immigrants Usten and Mary (nee Lupul) Radesh. She was one of ten children. Doris finished nine grades at the school in Boian, and later became an elementary school teacher after teacher training at the University of Alberta. Doris and Peter were married in 1944. Doris worked in rural schools, and then at the Beverly school in Edmonton until her retirement in 1974. Peter opened his office in Edmonton i 1945. In 1950, a Ukrainian friend John Peach joined him and the firm was renamed Kule and Peach. Peach retired in 1977, and Peter was joined by his cousin's son Ken Pasnak. In 1950, Peter started investing in real estate, specifically in hotel business; the investments were successful.

The Kules attended St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral and were active in various community organizations: Ukrainian Catholic Brotherhood of Canada (Peter), Ukrainian Catholic Women's League of Canada (Doris), Ukrainian Professional and Businessmen's Club, and many others. Both Peter and Doris received numerous awards for their work, for example, Pope John Paul II proclaimed Peter a Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great in 1993, and he conferred upon Doris the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice.

Peter and Doris supported numerous Ukrainian heritage and religious organizations: Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies, Ukrainian Folklore Centre at the University of Alberta, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Alberta, the Ukrainian Resource and Development Centre at Grant MacEwan, Kule Institute of Advanced Studies, and many other.

Doris passed away in Edmonton on March 15, 2020.

Iwanec, Parasia and Wasyl
Family · 1920-2020 - Parasia Iwanec; 1905-1979 - Wasyl Iwanec

Parasia Iwanec, née Krysa, was born on March 5, 1920, in the village of Piddubtsi (now Piddubne, Ukraine), Rawa Ruska District, Lviv Voivodeship, Peremyshl Diocese, Halychyna, Poland - passed away on December 19, 2020, in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. She completed nursing (1937) and business courses (1943) in Lviv. She married Wasyl Iwanec in 1946 and left for Canada from a Displaced Persons’ camp in 1948. While Dr. Iwanec worked as a physician in several cities, Mrs. Iwanec worked as a dental technician and seamstress but soon turned to art, to which she was devoted. In 1956 they settled in Edmonton.
From 1958 to 1962 Parasia studied painting privately from the well-known painter Yuliian (Julian) Butsmaniuk. From 1962 to 1968 she studied art at the University of Alberta, Department of Extension.

She was a member of the Edmonton Art Club and participated in all the Club’s exhibitions.
Parasia held over thirty individual and collective exhibits in many cities of Canada and other countries. The most significant exhibits were held at the Ukrainian Free University in Munich (München), the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa, the Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, the Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation (KUMF) Gallery in Toronto, the Niagara Falls Art Gallery founded by Olha and Mykola Kolankiwsky, the St. Catharines Black Sea Hall, the Multicultural Heritage Centre in Stoney Plain, and at many organizations and cultural centres of Edmonton such as the Ukrainian Archives and Museum of Alberta, St. Josaphat Cathedral, St. Basil’s Cultural Centre, the Edmonton Community Hall, the Medical Women's Club etc. She also had exhibitions in New York, Philadelphia, the USA and Nicosia, Greece.

In 1968 Parasia Iwanec took part in the embellishment of St. Josaphat’s Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral where she painted the main icons of the altar screen (iconostasis). The iconostasis was originally designed by Yuliian Butsmaniuk who, before his death, managed to paint the icon of the Mother of God and create a draft of the Jesus Christ icon. The icons of Christ, St. Josaphat and St. Nicolas, as well as four evangelists, Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin, and archdeacons were painted by Parasia Iwanec.
In the 1960s and 1970s, she painted 160 Ukrainian Churches of Alberta. Her artworks were recognized with a number of awards. She is also the author of the catalogue Ukrainian Churches of Alberta (Українські церкви Альберти, 1991), which features 153 of her works.

Wasyl Iwanec (March 21, 1905, village Hubynok (now in Poland), Rawa Ruska District, Peremyshl Diocese, Halychyna, the Austrian Empire - March 21, 1979, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada) was born to a family of Hryhorii and Anna (nee Sawka) Iwanec. He was the seventh child in the family and had six sisters. He got medical education from the Jagiellonian University, Poland (1935) and worked as a doctor. In 1948 he immigrated to Canada and settled in Edmonton. From 1949 to 1952 he was a doctor at Eldorado Mining in Port Radium, “Great Bear Lake”, NWT. In 1953 - 1971 medical doctor at the Charles Camsell Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta. In 1977 he and his wife moved to St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Member of the NTSh and the Canadian Medical Association in Edmonton.

(These biographies are written based on the materials of the Parasia and Wasyl Iwanec collection, UF2020.029)