Showing 3239 results

Mykhailo Holynsky (January 2, 1890 - December 1, 1973) was born in Verbivtsi village, Halychyna (now Horodenkivskyi rayon, Ivano-Frankivska oblast). He graduated from the faculty of law at the University of Kamianets-Podilsky and as a person gifted with a unique voice started taking singing classes. Prof. Cieslaw Zaremba was his first tutor for two years in Lviv. After that Holynsky became a student of prof. Edoard Garbin of Milan, once a leading tenor of “La Scala” opera, who “polished Holynsky’s operatic studies.” In 1925, after four years of training, Holynsky made his debut in “Il Pagliacci,” in Lviv Opera, singing the part of Canio. With this performance he started a long period of tours and concerts in Europe that lasted till 1938. In 1927 he accepted an invitation to work at the Kharkiv State Opera and was premier tenor with the state opera houses in Berlin, Tiflis (now Tbilisi), Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa, Lviv, Warsaw, and Moscow. He also performed with great success in concert tours at the Vienna’s concert hall “Konzerthaussal” and the Praha “Smetana Hall”.

In December 1838 Holynsky made his debut in Canada at the Eaton’s Auditorium, Toronto and then pursued his tour to Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Montreal. He concluded his tour to North America with appearances in several operas in Philadelphia and New York city.

Holynsky planned to return to Ukraine however with the start of WWII he remained in Canada and lived in Toronto and Edmonton. Holynsky performed in several languages including German, Italian, Polish, Ukrainian, Czech, and Slovac. He also knew French and English. He passed away on December 1, 1973 in Edmonton.

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.

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.