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week, no vacation days, no un employment insurance, or sick paid benefits. It was a dreary grind, with the constant fear of a “lay-off.” But she must have been full of hope and visions of a better life to come, for she al ways had a quick smile and joke for everyone, and was the first one on the dance floor, and the last to leave. During the winter months each year, our little group would prepare one concert and two plays. We became so proficient in dramatics that the first front rows were always re served by our Ukrainian Jewish friends who shared our enjoy ment of Ukrainian life and mu sic. Our growing group spent each weekend together as one family. When there were no con certs or dramas, there were “ve- chirky” — and during the week in the evenings, we would meet and work on the costumes and anything else pertaining to our plays. As soon as were old enough, (I must have been 7 or so), my sister and I were enrolled in Ukrainian School in the evenings to learn to speak, read and write in Ukrainian. This included grammar, history, and geogra phy. No one could afford baby sitters in those days, so we marched in the snow and rain, twice a week, over a mile with other friends. It must have been the deep love we had for our mothers and God, for we too had the temptations other children had, but were very anxious not to displease our mothers or God and so managed to stay out of trouble. In us was developed a deep love for that country of our forefathers, the language, music and culture. As we got older, about 12 or 13, we joined our parents in taking part in the plays and concerts. It may have been tedious at times, I remem ber rebelling, but I never dreamed of not contributing my share to the community life. And ;in this “'belonging” grew my sense of security, my identity as a Ukrainian. Today, with all the comforts of today’s living, I cannot help but compare my life with hers and wonder how she coped with it all, considering how little she had in material life. For in those days we had not the transportation, telephones, cent ral heating, refrigeration, etc., that we take so for granted to day. I keep remembering the ice box that had to be emptied each day, and the frantic search for ice, if we missed the iceman. Shopping for food was an every day time consuming affair, foi* there were no refrigerators, and forget about budgets, you just bought at your local store, and if money ran out, you bought on the “pay later” plan. No one questioned the grocer’s or butch er's arithmetic in those days. As the people worked hard and thought harder, they began to realize the injustice of their lives and went on strike for bet ter working conditions. Yes, my mother and others like her, de spite the fact that in most homes both parents were out of work, were willing to strike for a dream of a better future. In Pas saic erupted one of the first labor strikes, which lasted over two years, and concluded in one of the first unions, the AFL. What courage it took these immi grants, many who risked losing their homes, and certainly went into deep debt, to go along with the strike. After the strike, our people had to surmount the “black list” for many years, and ;then the economic depression, losing savings of a lifetime in the failure of the banks — until World War II came, and the mills were ready to forgive and forget, because they needed the work ers. But it did result in better hours and better conditions, along with fringe benefits. As the years went by, and we grew older, my mother became more ambitious for herself. She saw the possibility of improving herself as Adult Schools were instituted. Quickly she enrolled to continue her interrupted schooling. It is true that one week she worked days, and the next week nights, and therefore, could only go to school every oth er week. But to school she went, with much protestation from my father. I remember her reading the newspaper late into the night, gleaning every bit that she could from those pages. My biggest thrill was when on my vacation I received my first Eng lish letter from her. I can still visualize her handwriting as it then was. I will stop this tale as abrupt ly as her life ended. For with her went all her dreams, but she did leave me and my children that love for our people, our cul ture, which enriched our lives and gave us identity. I cannot help but compare the women t r;- day who have so many conveni ences to make their life mujh easier, and are too lax to con tinue building that which was started by the pioneers of 60 years ago. Do they not realize that any efforts they extend to their community returns tenfold to them and their children, in various forms? Mary Rohowsky Br. 32 Irvington, N. J. НА ЗАПАСНИЙ ФОНД H. Ж. На Річних Зборах 48 Відділу СУА у Філядельфії 2 березня 1974 року членки Відділу зложили 31 дол. На те зложилися пожертви: По 2 дол.: Анна Яворська, Іванна Федорів, Леонтина Петрович, Анна Волчек, Вікторія Настасюк, Марія Ба б’як, Марія Ципак. По 1 дол.: Єва Римарчук, Антоніна Мицак, Пелагія Свята, Параскева Ро- •манюк, Іванна Пенкальська, Олена Петрів, Ольга Дмитрук, Марія Ми- джак, Надія Максим’юк, Катерина Стефані, Олена Господаревська, Таня Господаревська, Софія Клим, Аннл Пратка, Текля Федорейчук, Франка Кравченко, Анна Бута. * З нагоди 30-ліття існування журна лу „Наше Життя" пересилаємо нашу пожертву 25 дол. на Запасний Фонд і бажаємо успіху в майбутньому. За Управу 95 Відділу СУА в Бейоні, Н. Дж.: Мирослава Сіра, голова Марія Вінтрнів, секретарка ** * Зворот коштів дороги на Окружний З’їзд у Нюарку в сумі 10 дол. скла даю на Запасний Фонд „Н. Ж.“ Марія Савчак, Ню Йорк
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