Skip to content
Call Us Today! 212-533-4646 | MON-FRI 12PM - 4PM (EST)
DONATE
SUBSCRIBE
Search for:
About Us
Publications
FAQ
Annual Report 2023
Annual Report 2022
Annual Report 2021
Initiatives
Advocate
Educate
Cultivate
Care
News
Newsletters
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Join UNWLA
Become a Member
Volunteer With Us
Donate to UNWLA
Members Portal
Calendar
Shop to Support Ukraine
Search for:
Print
Print Page
Download
Download Page
Download Right Page
Open
1
2-3
4-5
6-7
8-9
10-11
6 e= EDITOR, MISS MILDRED MILANOWICZ—151 Hopkins Avenue Jersey City 6, New Jersey WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY? By Sophia Demydchuk For the past year Ukrainian American newspapers and perio dicals have'been carrying articles about Ukrainian Summer Cours es for young people. Many read ers are familiar with the issue at hand, but most of them don’t ful ly realize the significance of hav ing such courses for our Ukrain ian American youth. Young mo thers in particular should be in terested in them, for unlike Uk rainian immigrant parents, Amer ican born parents are unable to give their children education and training in the Ukrainian heritage that is rightfully theirs. The idea of holding Ukrainian summer courses to familiarize young people with their Ukrain ian background was conceived in 1940 in Toronto, Canada. It was initiated by a small group inter ested in furthering Ukrainian music on this continent, so that it would not die out with the old er generation, and as a result the subjects offered at the Courses interested only those who liked music, choral singing, direction, folk-songs, etc. The number of students at the First Summer Courses was small, for it was something new which people had not yet heard about. However, it was during the first summer that the founders of the Courses re alized the error they had com mitted : their curriculum lacked variety, and attracted only a se lect few. The needs of the Cana dian born youth were not fully recognized, and in planning to de velop Ukrainian music on this side of the Atlantic, the founders had neglected to take the other needs of the students into consi deration. This mistake was soon rectified when the Courses broad ened their scope to include other aspects of Ukrainian culture among the subjects offered. The Ukrainian Summer Cours es moved to Winnipeg, where there is a greater concentration of Ukrainians, both students and teaching power. The enrollment began to increase, probably due to the diversity of subjects being offered. They included music, as before, plus Ukrainian history and geography, Ukrainian lan guage, literature, folk dancing, choir direction and community organization. Not only was there such a multitude of courses, but there were separate classes for two different age groups. The General Class, for the children under fifteen or sixteen years of age, dealt with the topics so that the children could grasp the meaning without any difficulty, while the Special Class for the older students was taught on an adult level. Thus the Courses ac comodate everyone who has a desire to learn about Ukrainian culture. The student body repre sents almost every Ukrainian community in Cadana from east to west, and in recent years has included several young people from the United States. Judging from the number of students at the Canadian Courses there seems to be quite a need for them,, even in a country where Ukrainians have clung more closely to Ukrainian traditions and culture than in the United States. What, then, of our youth brought up in this country; those children of second generation parents who have never had an opportunity to learn about things Ukrainian and thus appreciate them? Does it not seiem that such courses are more warranted in the U. S. than in Canada ? Where, if not in schools set up by their parents, will these children ever realize what they have missed? The mothers of these youngsters are aware of the fact that there is more than the physical comfort of their children to care for. That is why there are public schools and playgrounds set up for the children’s use. However, these can never teach any specific cul ture except the American, be cause they must take into account all the students from various eth nic groups. The only way to hand down their Ukrainian heritage to these young folks is to teach them in schools founded by their parents and supported by them. It is a small price to pay for all the appreciation that will be ren dered for what they are given. The biggest difficulty with American Courses would be en countered in the beginning, the initiation of such courses requir ing time money and work. The Canadian Courses are. sponsored by the Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre, whose funds come from endowments, dona tions, and the tuition fee of fif- SPRING RECITAL “Once in a blue moon” as the saying goes, circumstances pro vide an ideal setting for an ideal situation. For a Spring Violin Recital what could be more ideal than that it be given by a lovely young virtuoso, on a soft spring day, in a spaciously regal, two- story high reception hall of a pa latial country estate called, ap propriately enough, “Spring Val ley,” where French windows look out on terraces and sunken gar dens ablaze with pink and white dogwood, Japanese cherry blos soms and flowering apple trees, all on various levels. Such was the beautiful setting for Donna Grescoe’s recital on Sunday afternoon, May 4, when she played to a select audience for the benefit of the American Friends Service Committee. Mr. Russell Ernest Baum, de scended from Pennsylvania’s Quaker founders, loaned his love ly summer home at 1500 Reming ton Road, Wynnewood, Pa., for the charity affair, which received wide advertising in the Philadel phia press, and attracted many influential guests from Main Line families. A genuinely appreciative audi ence sat in the flower-banked great hall and listened to Miss Grescoe’s short but finely execut ed program. The young violinist, beautiful in a dusty-pink gown of ruffled net and roses, first played teen dollars for each student. The United States, where living costs are higher, could raise the tuition fee, but would still have to de pend on the support of individuals and organizations who are pow erful enough to back the courses. Even with only small contribu tions, enough could be gotten to gether to start the courses and keep the youngsters from being lost to the Ukrainian American community. And if the young American born mothers are not the ones who are primarily inter ested in conveying the Ukrainian culture to their children, who, then, is there to take over the job? It’s the sense of repsonsibi- lity in these mothers that should be aroused to provide a Ukrain ian background for their children, thus making them an asset to the Ukrainian group and to the com munity at large. Following was Wieniawski’s “Concerto No. 2 in D Minor” and “Nocturne” by Chopin-Milstein. After a short intermission Miss Grescoe played Ravel’s “Piece en Forme de Habanera” and “Zige- unerwiesen” by Sarasate. The recital guests warmly and persistently applauded Miss Grescoe’s performance, recalling her for encore after encore. Miss Olya Dmytriw who ac companied the soloist showed her excellent capabilities on that score and completed the “Young Spring” picture. During a short intermission, Mr. Eugene Rohach of Philadel phia, through whose intercession the Spring Recital was made possible, spoke on the humanita rian work and organization of the American Friends Service Committee, recipient of the bene fit from this concert. This Com mittee, supported largely by pri vate endowments, said Mr. Ro hach, sends representatives to the stricken areas of the world, where war or devastation has struck. There they proceed to es tablish supplies for the simplest needs to exist, make contacts for families, ascertain the direst needs of the area, and notify the Red Cross or UNRRA. Ukrain ians in Europe have already be nefited from the services of this Committee. No less ideal was this verbal and palatial setting for the Uk rainian Folk Arts Exhibit held during the Recital and arranged by Mrs. Maria Chomyn, recently arrived from a German D. P. Camp. Mrs Chomyn, an interior decorator of note in fromer Uk raine, and an authority on Uk rainian hand-craft and art, dis played her impeccable taste in arranging the small but ideal Uk- (Continued on page 7) With the energy, the faith and determination which the last war has proved that free men of all nations possess, we can take the future, which isn’t very clear, and carve out anything that hu man imagination ca nthink of, provided we are willing to work for it. Charles F. Kettering. Subscribe to “Our Life" Видання C оюзу Українок A мерики - перевидано в електронному форматі в 2012 році . A рхів C У A - Ню Йорк , Н . Й . C Ш A.
Page load link
Go to Top