On the eve of the UNA convention: historian reflects on Soyuz's role (05/03/98)

On the eve of the UNA convention: historian reflects on Soyuz's role

by Roma Hadzewycz

Since the release last summer of the centennial history of the Ukrainian National Association written by Dr. Myron B. Kuropas, the author has been traveling to various Ukrainian communities - most recently to Pittsburgh on April 26 - to speak about his book and the world's oldest and largest Ukrainian fraternal organization.

During his work on "Ukrainian-American Citadel: The First One Hundred Years of the Ukrainian National Association," Dr. Kuropas said he learned about the enormous role the UNA played in the development and growth of the Ukrainian American community. "The UNA truly is a citadel and remains as a beacon for all Ukrainians worldwide," he told The Weekly soon after the book was published. "It is my hope that this book will awaken Ukrainians in North America to the importance of continuing to support this exemplary institution," he added.

Dr. Kuropas is an educator and an adjunct professor in the department of leadership and educational policy studies at Northern Illinois University. He is the author of "The Ukrainian Americans: Roots and Aspirations, 1884-1954," which was published in 1991 by the University of Toronto Press. Dr. Kuropas is an honorary member of the UNA General Assembly and a former supreme vice-president and supreme advisor of the organization. He served as special assistant for ethnic affairs to President Gerald R. Ford.

"Ukrainian-American Citadel" was released by Eastern European Monographs. (It is available for $25, plus $2.50 postage, from Ukrainian Educational Associates, 107 Ilehamwood Drive, DeKalb, IL 60115; or the Svoboda Bookstore, 2200 Route 10, P.O. Box 280, Parsippany, NJ 07054.)

Q: You have been appearing in Ukrainian communities, Chicago, Detroit and Pittsburgh to name a few, to speak on the topic covered by your book, a centennial history of the UNA. Other than promoting your book, of course, what is your message to our community?

A: I am a bell-ringer. My talk is a wake-up call. In my various presentations to Ukrainian Americans, I emphasize the fact that we exist today as a separate ethno-national community because of two major institutions: the Churches and the fraternals.

The Ukrainian Churches provided two crucial elements to our definition of who we are: moral consensus and national self-consciousness. Ukrainian fraternals reinforced our national identity and offered us civic pride.

Today, both institutions are in trouble. The Ukrainian Catholic Church, for example, had 320,000 members in 1960. By the end of 1997, there were only 127,194 faithful according to the Official Catholic Directory. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church also is losing members.

Narodna Pomich (Ukrainian National Aid Association of America) is belly-up. The Providence Association is declining. The Ukrainian Fraternal Association is hoping to merge with the Ukrainian National Association. The UNA had some 70,000 members only eight years ago, while today our total membership is around 59,000.

If both the Churches and the fraternals collapse, our community will face extinction. I want our people to know that we have as yet created no other institutions that can take the place of the Churches and fraternals. Our professional societies and credit unions are helpful, but they are not as inclusive as the Churches and fraternals.

Q: How would you describe your work on this book; how many years' work does it represent? And, why did you want to write this book after you had already written a history of the Ukrainian community in the United States? What was your goal in this particular history?

A: My work on the UNA history was a labor of love. I have been a member of the UNA almost from the day I was born. My father, I, and my son Stefko have been or are members of the UNA General Assembly. The UNA is very dear to my entire family.

I worked on the UNA history during three summers as well as weekends. I wrote this book for Ukrainians all over the world. It has been translated into Ukrainian already, and we're waiting for the UNA Executive Committee to approve publication in Ukraine.

All Ukrainians should know about the oldest, continuously functioning Ukrainian financial institution in the world. They should also know about the Svoboda daily, the UNA publication which is the oldest continuously published Ukrainian-language newspaper in the world. Because of its unique nature, the UNA deserves its own history, separate from the history of the Ukrainian community.

Q: Do you have any interesting anecdotes from information you came across about the UNA's past? Was there anything about the history of the UNA that surprised even you, the UNA's historian?

A: When I began writing the book, I was sure that the UNA Home Office had all of the convention minutes, all almanacs and other archival material of value to a historian. I soon discovered that this was not the case. I had to rely on back issues of Svoboda, The Ukrainian Weekly, archival material at the Immigration History Research Center at the University of Minnesota and interviews to write a credible history.

There are a number of facts that I uncovered, the most enjoyable of which was the discovery of the identity of Burma Capelin, the nom-de-plume of a controversial Ukrainian Weekly columnist from the 1930s and 1940s. No one seemed to remember his real name. It was only after I read a number of his columns from that time period that I took a guess and called the person I thought it was. As it turned out, I was right. Burma Capelin was Dr. Stephen Mamchur, who passed away recently.

What surprised me most was what happened to the UNA during the Great Depression of the 1930s. I would have thought that it was a dreadful period for the UNA. It wasn't. Between 1920 and 1941 the UNA membership almost doubled. In addition, the UNA published a monumental 40th anniversary history, inaugurated publication of The Ukrainian Weekly, helped establish the Ukrainian Youth League of North America, appointed a sports director who created a number of baseball and basketball teams for the youth throughout the nation, and mounted an anti-defamation campaign against left-wing elements such as the American Communist Party and the Anti-Defamation League of the B'nai B'rith.

Despite enormous financial pressures, the 1930s was one of the most productive decades the UNA ever enjoyed. Members who lost their jobs were provided with low-interest loans so that they could continue to pay their premiums. That was fraternalism at its best.

Finally, I was surprised to learn that the UNA was far more democratic in the past than it is now. For decades, members as well as delegates could express their views, both positive and negative, about the UNA. Svoboda encouraged such comments and UNA executives didn't stand in the way. Most of the comments were published just prior to each convention (they were called "projects" in Ukrainian) and ran for many months. Our membership was really involved with the UNA and wanted to be heard.

All of that ended during the 1960s when UNA executives concluded that negative comments from the membership should not be published because it would hurt the organization. That decision, in my opinion, disillusioned our members and effectively stymied grass-roots involvement.

Q: Not everyone, of course, will read your book. What do you think is most important for people - both Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians - to understand about the history of this 104-year-old fraternal organization?

A: Not everyone will read my book because only 1,000 copies have been printed. It will soon become a collector's item gracing the libraries of only the most discerning and erudite Ukrainians. Of course, such a large book cannot be read in one sitting. It is to be read slowly and savored, much like a prime steak or good cognac.

The book is divided into decades, and I suggest readers fortunate enough to obtain a copy begin with the decade with which they are most familiar to get a feel for the way the book is organized. Each chapter is divided into sections that can be read separately and begins with a overview of what was happening in the United States during the decade being reviewed.

Another approach is to pick and choose a topic, defamation, for example, and trace its origins and continued development. Serious readers will soon discover that much of what appears to be new in our history really is not new at all.

The most important fact about the history of the UNA is that it was built on the shoulders of giants - priests and laypeople who were visionaries with courage, devotion and exceptional energy. Given such a gift - and few ethnic groups have been so fortunate - we can't just ignore it or dissipate it through mismanagement.

Q: What, historically, has been the role of rank-and-file members of the UNA? Did they, can they, make a difference in what direction the organization takes?

A: Historically, the rank and file played a significant role within the UNA. During crucial periods of our evolution, they stepped up to the podium, as it were, and were heard. As I mentioned, they offered "projects" prior to every convention; their views were published in Svoboda; there was lively debate on significant issues on the convention floor. Although UNA executives were not always pleased with what was said or written, they didn't stifle discourse.

When the resolutions of convention delegates were honored, the UNA prospered. When UNA executives began ignoring convention resolutions because, as was often argued, "they were unrealistic," the UNA began its decline.

Q: We are conducting this interview just three weeks before the UNA convenes its 34th Regular Convention in Toronto, and much of your book details the decisions made by UNA conventions through the decades. At this year's quadrennial gathering, crucial decisions are sure to be made that will affect the UNA into the next century. Is there something you would like to impart to UNA'ers and, in particular, to convention delegates, as they get ready for this convention? Some words of wisdom, if you will, from the UNA's historian.

A: I believe this convention will be perhaps the most consequential convention in our history. This convention will determine where we will be in the 21st century. The best advice I can give convention delegates is to question everything that is being reported by UNA General Assembly members. For too many years delegates have tended to be quiescent, content to listen and to quietly pass on all recommendations from the executive.

I would also advise delegates to demand that time be set aside to truly debate such momentous questions as changes to the by-laws, mergers, name changes and publications. The way we resolve these issues will determine our future.

Finally, I would urge delegates to elect younger people to the General Assembly. Youth has enthusiasm, vigor and, most important of all, vision. The old guard has done their duty. They deserve to rest on their laurels.

Q: You've also been speaking about the future of the Ukrainian community? How are the UNA and the community's future intertwined?

A: In my talks about the future of the Ukrainian American community, I emphasize the fact that no significant historical development in our community during the past 100 years has evolved without the UNA taking a leadership role. From the beginning our community and the UNA developed a synergistic relationship that exists until today. Neither can long survive without the other.

Q: And, finally, if we could engage in some crystal ball gazing. How do you see the future of the UNA?

A: I am optimistic regarding the future of the UNA. Our biggest challenge is to find a way to involve our newest immigrants from Ukraine and to attract our younger generation. The market is there, and we can reach it if we remember that our raison d'être is fraternalism. We must provide more and different fraternal benefits if we want to return to our former glory.

It was fraternalism that sustained us in the past, and it is fraternalism that will carry us in the future.