Turning the pages back... July 15, 1961 (07/16/06)

Turning the pages back...

July 15, 1961

It was 45 years ago that The Weekly reported on the unveiling of the Taras Shevchenko monument in Winnipeg by then Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker. According to the article, over 50,000 people witnessed the historic event on June 10, either in person on the grounds of the Manitoba Provincial Parliament or via the CBC TV broadcast that brought the event into the homes of Canadians nationwide.

The monument was erected through joint efforts and with funding from the Ukrainian Canadian community in conjunction with the Ukrainian Canadian Committee.

A motorcade led the procession to the famous Portage Avenue, which was decorated with 200 blue-and-yellow flags, and ended at the legislature grounds. On either side of the grounds were two monuments, on one side to Queen Victoria, empress of the British Empire, and on the other, to the Ukrainian bard. Among the people who took part in the ceremony were thousands of children, youths and numerous pioneers who established the Ukrainian community in Canada exactly 70 years prior to that historic day.

Opening remarks were given by the Rev. Vasyl Kushnir, who spoke about the monument funded by Ukrainians, about Taras Shevchenko and about the monument's creator, sculptor Andriy Darahan. Then Father Kushnir handed over a metal container that held the names of the contributors to be sealed in the base of the monument.

Premier Duff Roblin of Manitoba said Shevchenko's ideals belong to all people and read a passage from "Uchytesia Braty Moyi" (Learn my brothers...). He announced that the following year Ukrainian was going to be an optional language in Manitoba schools.

At the moment of the unveiling, the prime minister stepped up to the monument and pulled the cord, which revealed the sculpture of the bard sitting with his hands on his lap, one of them over a book. The people in attendance stood at attention as the orchestra played "Zapovit" (Testament), and concluded the ceremony with "God Save the Queen."

From there, the audience was treated to a concert at the university, followed by a banquet at the Hotel Marlborough. Prime Minister Diefenbaker said in his speech at the banquet that there were tears in his eyes at the unveiling of the Shevchenko monument. He praised the freedom-loving people of Ukraine and the Ukrainian settlers in Canada, at which time he stressed the fact that Canada presents a mosaic of cultures and that Shevchenko and his ideals should be the goal of our lives.

Source: "Canadian PM Unveils Shevchenko Monument" The Ukrainian Weekly, July 15, 1961.

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