N.D. marks 100 years of Ukrainian settlement (07/21/96)

N.D. marks 100 years of Ukrainian settlement

DICKINSON, N.D. - The Ukrainians in the state of North Dakota are aware that the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first immigrants to this state is here. They are looking back, and see that there is no immigrant to tell the story of their emigration. But there are transcripts of interviews with the children of the immigrants who were born in Ukraine, emigrated with the first wave (1886-1914) and lived a pioneer life in North Dakota. Here is their story.

* * *

How did the people living in the remote villages along the Zbruch-Dnister rivers in western Ukraine learn about America? The first person to venture out from the villages (Jacob Baranko) wrote letters from America.

"When a letter came from America, whoever could read, read - and many came to listen," said Pearl Basaraba. "This is a big historical story, hard to believe. Almighty God led us here 76 years ago," she added. (Pearl emigrated with her parents, John and Julia Ewoniuk, in 1906. She was 6 years old then. The interview was conducted in 1983.)

Mary Skoropat Hruby recalled her father's reason for emigrating. "Dad had a few acres. His idea was to come here, earn money, return to Ukraine and buy a farm. Five acres was a rich man in Ukraine."

"There was 10 of us in the family and we had 24 morga - four and a half acres. Father thought to himself, when the kids take part of it, the kids won't have anything and I won't have anything. He sell out and came here," said Peter Basaraba, speaking about his parents' decision to leave the village of Trubchyn.

"The trains were filled with the weeping of people from the villages in Galicia, who were leaving their relatives, their birthplaces and their homes forever," described George Klym of his train ride from Lviv, to the port city of Hamburg, Germany.

Arriving in the United States, Mrs. Hruby recalled, "When we got off the ship in New York, we went to a station and there we were shut into cages like animals. They asked us to identify the people meeting us. My dad came earlier. Mother and the children were detained by World War I. Dad met us and took us to people he knew. We stayed there a week or two."

"We went out. You had to stand in the middle of the street in New York to see heaven. But you didn't go out looking for heaven in New York. It was kind of comical and scary."

Arriving in North Dakota, the Ukrainians turned to their environment to survive. A historical sign 14 miles north of Belfield on Highway 85 states:

"From the populated villages of Ukraine to the unsettled regions of North Dakota, the Ukrainian immigrants came here at the end of the 19th century. They emigrated from the 'Bread Basket of Europe' to the virgin sodland, yet untouched by man. From a region of warm climate to an area where long winters lay life dormant. Yet within a span of a lifetime, they developed here in Dakota a farming empire undreamed of by man."

"When our people came to Dakota, they were poor, without skills. Their wealth was in a strong will, perseverance, health, a desire to work, to save money and to live in a free country," described Dr. Wasyl Halich in Narodne Slovo in 1933.

The Ukrainian Americans here will look at their history as they begin a yearlong commemoration of the Centennial of Ukrainians in North Dakota.

The first event was scheduled for June 30 in Belfield. On this day homage was paid to the 90th anniversary of St. Demetrius Church, the 50th year of the establishment of St. John Church, the 400th year of the Union of Brest and the centennial of Ukrainians in North Dakota. A liturgy was celebrated at St. John Church followed by a jubilee banquet at St. Bernard Hall. Historical perspectives were presented during the banquet.

| Home Page |