Herald June 1_15 07.qxd - Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada

THE HERALDJuly 1/15, 2007For Our Children21O CanadaJuly First - Happy Birthday Canada!Recently the CBC held a survey to find the Seven Wondersof Canada. When I heard this I felt that this was an impossibletask.This great country is full of thousands of wonders,from the man-made Butchart Gardens on VancouverIsland to the rocks of Peggy's Cove on the East coast. We may nothave the gift of great climatic conditions, but the beauty of the landand the way of life overpowers all else.How fortunate we are that our ancestors chose this country toimmigrate to. But how unfortunate it is that there are people whodo not appreciate the freedoms we have and are ready to destroythem. We have only to look around us and see the graffiti on wallsand constantly hear of people and gangs who steal and kill andbreak all the laws of the land. Canada welcomed all people. Howsad it is when we hear of terrorist planned activities such as plansto blowup government buildings and kill government officials.Just imagine what kind of land this would be without laws? Whatwould your family be like if your parents made no rules? Whatwould your city be like if there were no laws?Our Ukrainian pioneer families faced many hardships when theyleft their beloved homeland and came to Canada in the late 1800's.But they were thankful for the opportunity and worked very hardcultivating the lands and building a new life and becoming good citizensof their new country. They were, what we can identify as true"Survivors" as opposed to the ones who try to win money on theTV series.This is an excerpt of an interview that Wm. Czumer conductedwith Maria Yuriechuk, my husband's grandmother who arrived inCanada in 1899.By Ship, Train and RaftThe Yuriechuks were from a village in the Carpathian Mountainsin Bukovyna. One day the father came home from work and announcedthat his family would be moving to Canada. They packedtheir belongings and sailed for Canada where they arrived in Halifaxin September of 1899 and travelled from there to Winnipeg andthen on to Edmonton (Strathcona).They had crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the bottom of a hugeship where most of the passengers were terribly seasick. Whenthey arrived in Edmonton they had only $7.50 left and this was notenough to pay for travelling to their destination. So Dido searchedfor land closer to Edmonton but the good farmland had all beentaken. Baba and the children slept in a stable while they waited.There was no future here so Dido decided to take his family furthereast where they knew a family named Pasichney who lived at Victoria,120 miles east along the North Saskatchewan River.Since they had no money, he built a raft from logs and set it onthe river. With some help and lots of mocking from local childrenthey loaded their belongings onto the raft and pushed off sailingeast. Dido built a small hut on the raft for shelter. On the raft theymade a small fire on a tin sheet where they baked some potatoessmeared with pork fat.On the third day a blizzard began and the raft hit a sandbar.They tried to move it but it would not budge. Their firewood wassoaked so they huddled under a frozen quilt and snow until morning.Fortunately a Cree family crossing the river on horses rescuedthem. The natives carried their belongings to a cabin where theyserved these frozen people hottea and bannock.The natives seemed to understandtheir plight and directedDido to the farm of Stefan Ratsoywhich was a ten mile walk further.Baba and the children stayed withthe natives to wait for his return.Toward evening Stefan Ratsoyand Dido returned in a wagon andpicked up all the family and theirbelongings. They were very thankfulto the people who had savedand sheltered them.Well-known artist William Kurelekportrayed this raft journey inDobrodiyka Janeone of his early paintings. You can find it in one of his books.The Ukrainians had a long and difficult journey to the west. Butthey persevered and built a better future for their children and forus. We should be very thankful to them for deciding to come to Canada.So marking this Canada Day is a dedication to the pioneers andall those who followed them to this great land of plenty. Now,—aren't you proud to be a Canadian?This is our National Anthem as sung in Ukrainian. The studentsin the Bilingual classes all learn it. See if you can,too.Канадо ТиКанадо, ти наш дім твоя земляДо всіх синів, як мати промовля.Палкі серця тобі несутьЛюбов і славну путь.Щоб ти жила, Канадо, ми на варті стоїмо.Щоб ти росла, труд наш дамоКанадо, ми на варті стоїмо — 2 рази.O Canada! — О Канадо!О Can - a - da! Our home and na - tive land!О Ка - на - до! Наш дім і віт - чиз - на!True pa - triot love in all thy sons com - mand. With —Вір - на лю - бов у всіх тво - їх си - нів. Сер —glow - ing hearts we — see thee rise. The – True North strong and free. Fromця пал - кі то - бі не - суть на - шу силу й ві - ру! Ве —Far and wide O — Can - a - da, We stand on guard for — thee!ли - ка, О Кан - а - до ми ох - ор - о - на твоя!God Keep our Land Glo - rious and free! O Can - a - da we stand onБо - же щас - ти в сла - ві сво - бо - ді! О Кан - а - до ми ох - орguard for thee, O Can - a - da! We stand on guard for thee.о - на твоя, О Кан - а - до! Ми ох - о ро - на твоя.Ukrainian translation by JOHN YUZYK, Winnipeg, MB, CanadaLastiwkaUkrainian Orthodox Youth ChoirCome and join us for our25th Anniversary CelebrationsFall of 2008 in Saskatoon, SK.Watch for more information