19 May 2011
Rusyn genealogy workshop planned for Aug. 28
In response that that, Arlene Gardiner, a board member of the Lake Michigan Chapter of the Carpatho-Rusyn Society, and Mary Jaros, of the Czech and Slovak Genealogical Society of Illinois (CSAGI), will hold a workshop in Rusyn genealogy Sunday afternoon, August 28 at the group's library, 5701 W. 22nd Place, Cicero.
Doors will open at 12:30.
Check back for more information.
17 May 2011
A TV spot pushing the Rusyn identity in the Slovak Census
Here's a beautiful spot pushing the Rusyn identity in the upcoming Slovak Census...
16 May 2011
Remembering Msgr. Basil Smochko -- as a teacher of Rusyn culture
Here's a remembrance from Pittsburgh Rusyn activist Jerry Jumba of the monsignor and his cultural legacy:
"I was an altar boy with Mons. Basil Smochko in McKees Rocks for many years. He was an inspirational priest to the Holy Ghost parish there, showing the might of pirohi kitchen support to add to the sustenance of the church life and improving the inner structure and in building Holy Ghost Byzantine Catholic School in 1957. He had the cantors teach us the Rusin Chant in catechism classes to every age group. In addition, in sixth and seventh grade, I studied two years of Rusin language school - Rus'ka Shkola with Monsignor Smochko and the classroom was packed with students eager to learn. I could see him and hear him in my memory - as he spoke from the language book and waved his right hand, and as he took a piece of chalk and wrote on the green board - large - clear letters in the Cyrillic and Latinika alphabets. He wrote in block print letters - th e civic "hrazhdanka" style and in the long hand cursive - "rukopis" style.
"The class repeated his sounds his words his sentences and created sentences. He was a great teacher with his playful expressive voice that so very much loved how words well spoken articulate - can create an expressive reality. He shared his love and talent for learning languages, and the Cyrillic alphabet came alive as a beautiful frontier of hope and growth in the linguistic knowledge he provided. He showed us a 'world view' of how this beautiful language exists and co-exists with the languages that surround the parental Eparchy of Uzhhorod - Mukachevo in Carpatho-Rus'. He compared the surrounding languages with Rusin and made every class a spirited and intellectual learning experience.
"I taught the eparchial "Cultural Roots" concert performance program with three years of school concert performances at Saint Mary's Byzantine Catholic day school in Cleveland 1980 - 1983 where he was stationed. He gave encouragement and the Sisters of St Basil and the students knew that he loved to see them grow and excel in the theatrical expression Carpatho-Rus' customs, songs, dances, skits, and instrumental presentations.
"Monsignor Smochko encouraged chant studies as I studied Carpatho-Rus' Chant for five years with Professor Nicholas Kalvin - and recorded services in Holy week in and Bright Week with Monsignor Basil chanting intonations in a finely honed prayerful voice that soared straight to God and embraced all listeners with the personal cue to respond to God's presence. I recorded mostly all of Professor Kalvin's Rusin Chant cycle at St. Mary's because I apprenticed to Prof. Kalvin while Monsignor Smochko was there. I'll remember his advice filled sermons about remembering how good it is - and how good it feels - to share God's love, and that everyone is qualified to share God's love. He gently nodded his head as he spoke.
"He was a co-founder of the vigorously expressive artistic performance group - the Kruzhok Carpatho-Rusin Folk Art Ensemble - along with Bishop Emil Mihalik and Sister Monica Husovich who was the Principal at St. Mary's School. Because he is a native born Carpatho-Rusin he was very aware of the Carpatho-Rusin difficulties of sub-national status in the world surrounding Rusins. I am thankful for his support of Carpatho-Rusin historical and ethnographic information to provide a solid basis for having a positive Carpatho-Rusin cultural identity in a world whose politics thinks little of a little people who are captive to the peoples around them, and whose politics seek to assimilate Rusins away from the value of the life and culture they live.
"I traveled through Carpatho-Rus' with Monsignor Basil Smochko in 1993, and took pictures at his home parish in Znacevo. Also, we interviewed on video - the Hegumen Bishop of the Mukachevo Monastery known as Chernecha Hora. This bishop gave us a history of the monastery, and Mons. Smochko was my "native" Rusin interpreter. We also have a video of a Rusin Slavonic Divine Liturgy he celebrated in Mukachevo in 1993. He preached magnificently in his native Rusin tongue to a church filled with souls praying with their whole soul and whole mind. His embrace of these dear people, and their reaction, was inspiring.
"The next day we had dinner with his relatives at the Smochko family home near Znacevo - along the highway from Uzhhorod to Mukachevo. We, photographer Mike (Petach) Kisan myself and Mons. Smochko then stopped and took pictures at the Imstičevo site of where the martyred Bishop Romzha was attached by Soviet army communist assassins. This was before a beautiful prayer monument was erected there. Instead, there was only a small marker. Mons. Smochko made this site one of his spiritual causes to rally and inspire the prayer life in Transcarpathia - by co-sponsoring the building of a prayer shrine at this site on the road just before arriving at the town of Imstichevo."
11 May 2011
Rallying Carpatho-Rusyns for the May 21 Slovak Census
The count of Rusyns in the 2011 Slovak Census is crucial in gaining government financial aid for the institutions fostering our culture and language.
Consider emailing this statement from the Carpatho-Rusyn Society to your relatives and friends in Slovaka to convince them of how important a declaration of Rusyn identity is:
Consider emailing this statement from the Carpatho-Rusyn Society to your relatives and friends in Slovaka to convince them of how important a declaration of Rusyn identity is:
28 March 2011
An ambitious new project to preserve the Lemko-Rusyn heritage
The Lake Michigan Chapter of the Carpatho-Rusyn Society's own Richard Garbera Trojanowski is part of a new effort catalogue the history of the Lemko-Rusyn people of southeast Poland.
The Carpatho-Rusyn Society’s Oral History Research Committee seeks to preserve the oral histories and artifacts of the Lemko people, and to explore the post-World War II expulsion campaigns that resulted in the destruction of their settlements in Southeast Poland.
In order to obtain and preserve firsthand perspectives of the events, C-RS is conducting extensive fieldwork, including recorded interviews with eyewitnesses in North America, Ukraine and Poland. The research team is seeking individuals to participate in the study who meet one or more of the following criteria:
(1.) Lemkos who recall life in their villages before or during World War II;
(2.) Lemkos who experienced the post-World War II expulsions from their homeland, and who were resettled in either Soviet Ukraine from 1945-1946, or in Western Poland (former German territories) in 1947 (Operation Vistula/Akcja Wisla.);
(3.) Lemkos who were displaced in Allied-occupied Germany during the time of the expulsions in the Lemko region, and who became separated from their relatives as a result;
(4.) Former members of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) who witnessed or had knowledge of the expulsion operations of Lemkos;
(5.) Polish civilians who lived in the Lemko region at the time of the expulsions and bore witness to these events; and
(6.) Others with relevant, first-hand information about the events.
In addition to locating and interviewing subject participants, the research team is interested in procuring the following types of artifacts:
(1.) Photographs (originals or reproductions) from the Lemko region, especially prior to Operation Vistula (“Akcja Wisla” 1947);
(2.) Letters between expelled Lemkos and their relatives in North America or elsewhere;
(3.) Lemko clothing and costumes (original and artisan reproductions); and
(4.) Other Lemko artifacts, such as rare literature, paintings, carvings, etc.
The oral history research project will be ongoing indefinitely; however, the committee would like to receive as many leads as possible prior to July 31, 2011 to prepare for fieldwork in Ukraine and Poland this fall.
Here's the full description of the ambitious project:
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| The Wolanska family |
In order to obtain and preserve firsthand perspectives of the events, C-RS is conducting extensive fieldwork, including recorded interviews with eyewitnesses in North America, Ukraine and Poland. The research team is seeking individuals to participate in the study who meet one or more of the following criteria:
(1.) Lemkos who recall life in their villages before or during World War II;
(2.) Lemkos who experienced the post-World War II expulsions from their homeland, and who were resettled in either Soviet Ukraine from 1945-1946, or in Western Poland (former German territories) in 1947 (Operation Vistula/Akcja Wisla.);
(3.) Lemkos who were displaced in Allied-occupied Germany during the time of the expulsions in the Lemko region, and who became separated from their relatives as a result;
(4.) Former members of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) who witnessed or had knowledge of the expulsion operations of Lemkos;
(5.) Polish civilians who lived in the Lemko region at the time of the expulsions and bore witness to these events; and
In addition to locating and interviewing subject participants, the research team is interested in procuring the following types of artifacts:
(1.) Photographs (originals or reproductions) from the Lemko region, especially prior to Operation Vistula (“Akcja Wisla” 1947);
(2.) Letters between expelled Lemkos and their relatives in North America or elsewhere;
(3.) Lemko clothing and costumes (original and artisan reproductions); and
(4.) Other Lemko artifacts, such as rare literature, paintings, carvings, etc.
The oral history research project will be ongoing indefinitely; however, the committee would like to receive as many leads as possible prior to July 31, 2011 to prepare for fieldwork in Ukraine and Poland this fall.
How To Help: The committee is seeking volunteers with various skill sets to assist with interviews, transcription, and other duties. We are also accepting monetary contributions, which will be used to procure and preserve oral histories and artifacts. If you are interested in volunteering or in making a tax-deductible donation to the project, please email us at history@c-rs.org.
Historical Background:
In the summer of 1944, the pre-war Polish government was in exile in London, and the future of Poland was yet to be determined. The Red Army had “liberated” Poland by driving the Germans westward to Berlin, and a power vacuum suddenly existed in the war torn country.
During that time, the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) hoped to establish an independent Ukrainian nation in the aftermath of the war, staking claim to territories of Southeastern Poland that contained a large number of “Ukrainian”2 settlements. By “Ukrainians,” the nationalists were referring to the Lemkos, east Slavic highlanders who spoke a linguistic dialect similar to the Ukrainian language. The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), the paramilitary wing of OUN, took up arms in Southeastern Poland, recruiting and drawing support from the local Lemko population. Violence between UPA and Polish forces did not spare civilians, and terror and instability spread throughout the region.
That summer, Soviet officials and Polish communist party leaders held a meeting in Lublin to discuss the future of Poland, arriving at mutually beneficial terms for both parties. By late July, they had installed a communist government in Warsaw, agreed on the new borders for Poland and Ukraine, and developed plans to address “the Ukrainian problem” through an ethnic purification campaign. Though many of the Lemkos targeted for deportation were simple farmers rather than political activists, such matters were of little to no importance to the Polish and Soviet leaders, who carried out their mandate indiscriminately.
From 1945 to 1947, the coalition executed three major deportation operations. Some Lemkos left the region on their own volition, but most were resettled forcibly. The first two operations in 1945 and 1946 were somewhat disorganized, and UPA was successful in disrupting the operations, enabling many Lemkos to avoid deportation and remain in their villages. That would end in 1947, when the Polish government enacted the third and most comprehensive mass deportation campaign called “Operation Vistula.” Polish forces vastly outnumbered UPA partisans and effectively suppressed their activities in the region. The remaining Lemkos had no choice but to be deported, this time to former German territories that Poland had acquired as the result of the Yalta Conference (1945.) Many of the Eastern Catholic (Uniate) churches and the Lemko homes in Southeast Poland were burned or otherwise destroyed to prevent the deportees from returning.
In all three operations, Lemkos were dispersed during the resettlement process, depriving them of a sense of community with their own people in order to encourage their assimilation into communist societies.
The Research Team:
Corinna Wengryn Caudill is a professional freelance writer and editor, and the chairperson of the C-RS Oral History Research Committee. Previously, she has worked as an analyst and consultant for several government agencies in Washington, D.C. Corinna holds an MA in Public and International Affairs and a BA in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh. Her roots are from the Lemko villages of Vola Petrova3 (Wola Piotrowa), Karlykiv (Karlikow), and Prybyshiv (Przybyszow.)
Maryann Sivak is the Chief Financial Administrator for C-RS and the Chairperson for the Cultural Center Committee, A founding member of C-RS, she has also formerly served as Vice President and Recording Secretary for the organization. Maryann was born in Jakubany, Slovakia, is fluent in Rusyn, Czech, and Slovak, and is proficient in Russian and Ukrainian.
John Schweich is an adjunct professor of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. For the last three years, he has conducted oral history interviews with senior officials of the US national security establishment. An avid scholar of Eastern-rite churches, he has developed an extensive collection of Rusyn and Ukrainian parish histories, and is proficient in Russian and Ukrainian.
Richard Garbera Trojanowski is a founding member of the CRS Lake Michigan Chapter. He is a production analyst for Siemens Medical, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois, and holds a BA in Russian and Eastern European Area Studies from the University of Illinois. Richard speaks Ukrainian, Rusyn and Polish and is proficient in Russian. His Lemko roots are from the villages of Koroleva Ruska (Krolowa Gorna), Tylicz, and Muchnacka Nyznja (Mochnaczka Nizna.)
Stephen Rapawy, Ph.D. is a specialist on Soviet and Russian Area Studies, and an independent scholar of Lemko history. In addition to his scholarly credentials, Dr. Rapawy brings an eyewitness perspective to the research, having been an Operation Vistula expellee. He is originally from the village of Karlykiv (Karlikow.)
Michael Buryk has done many years of research in Lemko and Ukrainian genealogy. He is a freelance writer specializing in articles about the Lemko people and the history of Ukrainians in the United States. He has been a contributor to The Ukrainian Weekly, Lemkivshchyna Magazine and other publications such as "The Ukrainian Heritage in America", UCCA, 1991. Mike holds an M.A. in Russian Area Studies from Hunter College, the City University of New York. His paternal grandparents emigrated to the U.S. in the early 20th century from the village of Siemuszowa (Semushova.)
Please email us at: history@c-rs.org or call (703) 987-0592
In the summer of 1944, the pre-war Polish government was in exile in London, and the future of Poland was yet to be determined. The Red Army had “liberated” Poland by driving the Germans westward to Berlin, and a power vacuum suddenly existed in the war torn country.
During that time, the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) hoped to establish an independent Ukrainian nation in the aftermath of the war, staking claim to territories of Southeastern Poland that contained a large number of “Ukrainian”2 settlements. By “Ukrainians,” the nationalists were referring to the Lemkos, east Slavic highlanders who spoke a linguistic dialect similar to the Ukrainian language. The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), the paramilitary wing of OUN, took up arms in Southeastern Poland, recruiting and drawing support from the local Lemko population. Violence between UPA and Polish forces did not spare civilians, and terror and instability spread throughout the region.
That summer, Soviet officials and Polish communist party leaders held a meeting in Lublin to discuss the future of Poland, arriving at mutually beneficial terms for both parties. By late July, they had installed a communist government in Warsaw, agreed on the new borders for Poland and Ukraine, and developed plans to address “the Ukrainian problem” through an ethnic purification campaign. Though many of the Lemkos targeted for deportation were simple farmers rather than political activists, such matters were of little to no importance to the Polish and Soviet leaders, who carried out their mandate indiscriminately.
From 1945 to 1947, the coalition executed three major deportation operations. Some Lemkos left the region on their own volition, but most were resettled forcibly. The first two operations in 1945 and 1946 were somewhat disorganized, and UPA was successful in disrupting the operations, enabling many Lemkos to avoid deportation and remain in their villages. That would end in 1947, when the Polish government enacted the third and most comprehensive mass deportation campaign called “Operation Vistula.” Polish forces vastly outnumbered UPA partisans and effectively suppressed their activities in the region. The remaining Lemkos had no choice but to be deported, this time to former German territories that Poland had acquired as the result of the Yalta Conference (1945.) Many of the Eastern Catholic (Uniate) churches and the Lemko homes in Southeast Poland were burned or otherwise destroyed to prevent the deportees from returning.
In all three operations, Lemkos were dispersed during the resettlement process, depriving them of a sense of community with their own people in order to encourage their assimilation into communist societies.
The Research Team:
Corinna Wengryn Caudill is a professional freelance writer and editor, and the chairperson of the C-RS Oral History Research Committee. Previously, she has worked as an analyst and consultant for several government agencies in Washington, D.C. Corinna holds an MA in Public and International Affairs and a BA in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh. Her roots are from the Lemko villages of Vola Petrova3 (Wola Piotrowa), Karlykiv (Karlikow), and Prybyshiv (Przybyszow.)
Maryann Sivak is the Chief Financial Administrator for C-RS and the Chairperson for the Cultural Center Committee, A founding member of C-RS, she has also formerly served as Vice President and Recording Secretary for the organization. Maryann was born in Jakubany, Slovakia, is fluent in Rusyn, Czech, and Slovak, and is proficient in Russian and Ukrainian.
John Schweich is an adjunct professor of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. For the last three years, he has conducted oral history interviews with senior officials of the US national security establishment. An avid scholar of Eastern-rite churches, he has developed an extensive collection of Rusyn and Ukrainian parish histories, and is proficient in Russian and Ukrainian.
Richard Garbera Trojanowski is a founding member of the CRS Lake Michigan Chapter. He is a production analyst for Siemens Medical, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois, and holds a BA in Russian and Eastern European Area Studies from the University of Illinois. Richard speaks Ukrainian, Rusyn and Polish and is proficient in Russian. His Lemko roots are from the villages of Koroleva Ruska (Krolowa Gorna), Tylicz, and Muchnacka Nyznja (Mochnaczka Nizna.)
Stephen Rapawy, Ph.D. is a specialist on Soviet and Russian Area Studies, and an independent scholar of Lemko history. In addition to his scholarly credentials, Dr. Rapawy brings an eyewitness perspective to the research, having been an Operation Vistula expellee. He is originally from the village of Karlykiv (Karlikow.)
Michael Buryk has done many years of research in Lemko and Ukrainian genealogy. He is a freelance writer specializing in articles about the Lemko people and the history of Ukrainians in the United States. He has been a contributor to The Ukrainian Weekly, Lemkivshchyna Magazine and other publications such as "The Ukrainian Heritage in America", UCCA, 1991. Mike holds an M.A. in Russian Area Studies from Hunter College, the City University of New York. His paternal grandparents emigrated to the U.S. in the early 20th century from the village of Siemuszowa (Semushova.)
Please email us at: history@c-rs.org or call (703) 987-0592
26 March 2011
Practicing our Carpatho-Rusyn pysanky tradition
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| Saturday's pysanky workshop drew a healthy crowd. |
Around 60 people of all ages gathered Saturday afternoon at Nativity BVM Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in southwest suburban Palos Park, Il., for the first pysanky workshop sponsored by the the Lake Michigan Chapter of the Carpatho-Rusyn Society.
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| Mary Ann Woloch Vaughn practicing her craft with board member Michael Baron. |
She then offered hands-on help to a group of people willing to try their hand the traditional Easter egg design.
In the meantime board member John Sutko marked he season by leading the group in traditional Rusyn Lenten and Easter hymns.
Another board member, Arlene Dremak Gardiner, showed off her large collection of Rusyn Easter eggs. Earlier, she had offered genealogical tips to Rusyn Americans interested in researcing their family history.
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| Arlene Dremak Gardiner shows off her pysanky collection. |
Rounding off the day's various treats was plenty of sampling of sweets, including board member Richard Garbera Trojanowski's delicious home-made koláčky.
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