Turning the pages back... April 12, 2003 (04/11/04)

Turning the pages back...

April 12, 2003

One year ago, on April 12, 2003, two score plus volunteers arrived at Soyuzivka for the first Trailblazing Weekend at the resort of the Ukrainian National Association. They came not to vacation or relax, but to work here in the Shawangunk Mountains. Armed with rakes, machetes, weed-whackers, chainsaws, pickaxes and shovels, their task was to clear wilderness trails on the resort's property, with a view toward making them accessible for hikers, mountain bikers and others to enjoy Soyuzivka's natural beauty - and especially the mountaintop view from the resort's waterfall.

Nestor Paslawsky, Soyuzivka's new director of hospitality services, a.k.a the resort's manager, said that at the end of the day the volunteers had succeeded in clearing a 4-foot-wide trail to Soyuzivka's waterfall. To celebrate their achievement, the trailblazers took "a victory photo" at the top of the mountain.

Two Soyuzivka stalwarts, Serge Nalywaiko and Andrew Olynec, had spent weeks prior to the day mapping out the trail using GPS. And they worked in the snow, to boot. Both men live in the area and are well-acquainted with Soyuzivka's woods and "the Gunks," as the Shawangunk Mountains are known locally.

The work crew of 40 to 45 people who arrived for the Trailblazing Weekend included locals, as well as folks from farther afield - New Jersey, Connecticut, the New York City area, and Rochester and Syracuse, N.Y. All age groups were represented, from Soyuzivka old-timers who had been there half a century ago when the resort first opened, to kids whose grandparents were among its first guests.

UNA Treasurer Roma Lisovich commented: "A big thank-you is due to everyone who joined us. ... The weekend really seemed to instill in people a feeling of ownership and pride - this is, after all, their 'oselia' (resort)." Her words were seconded by Mr. Paslawsky, who noted: "It was great to see the enthusiasm of the volunteers, and I was surprised by the great turnout, ... I just want to offer thanks to everyone who came."

Source: "Volunteers clear wilderness trails at Soyuzivka," The Ukrainian Weekly, April 27, 2003, Vol. LXXI, No. 17.

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