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On July 1,1976 UNWLA was invited in the name of President G. Ford by Gen. Jeanne M. Holm, Special Assistant to the Pres, for Women, to the White House. The National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year was presenting their final report to the President. President Ford addressed the group in the East Garden of the White House. He talked about the importance for every wo man to feel equal in all aspects of life in this county. He stress ed the importance of the Equal Rights Amendment and eliminating discrimination against women. He wished to see all women as equal citizens of this country. President Ford presented the new director of the Commission, Elizabeth Athanasakos and other new members of the Commission. Present at this meeting were Senators, members of the Commission State Dept., state representatives, and re presentatives of national women's organizations. Among the re presentatives were Ms. Olga Stawnychy of UNWLA and Mrs. Helen Petrenko of the Orthodox Sisterhood. the United States, the Ruthenians first joined the Latin Rite Catholic parishes to which other Slavs belonged. The Uniate Catholic Church, however, is of the Byzantine, not Roman, Rite, and thus, as the number of Ruthenians in America increased, they formed their own parishes served by their own priests from Galicia and Transcarpathia. The Uniate Church in America offered not only spiritual help but also material assistance and community aid. The first Ruthenian communities were organized by Father Ivan Voliansky who, during his three-year stay in America (1884-1887), founded churches, a self-help society called the Brotherhood of St. Nicholas (1885), cooperative general stores, a labor union and adult education classes. The first community to be so organized was Shenandoah, Pennsylvania (1884), where the first Uniate Catholic Church, the Church of St. Michael the Archangel, was built in 1885. By 1886, Father Voliansky had also organized the Ruthenian communities of Kingston, Olyphant, Shamokin and Wilkes-Barre in Pennsylvasnia as wel, as the communities of Jersey City and Minneapolis. In 1886, Father Voliansky began publishing America, the first Ukrainian language newspaper in America. Father Voliansky was recalled to Ukraine in 1887, but his work was continued by those priests who followed his guide lines. ECONOMIC LIFE The work of the Church provided the basis for com munity life and helped the immigrants through hard times. Living conditions in America were far from ideal. A man working in the mines brought home a weekly pay of a little over $7.00. Many children worked separating coal from shale in order to bring home an additional $3.50 weekly. These were the times when a family in the Pittsburgh steel district needed $15 a week to survive at a subsistence level. The organization of a self-help 24 Afterwards the President invited everyone to the White House lawn where refreshments were served under large tents and the Marine Band entertained. During this time I was able to talk to Pres. Ford, Gen. Jeanne Holm, Sen. Percy and other distinguished guests. I was very proud to represent UNWLA at this event and expressed that I hope our organization can take a more active part in women's affairs in our country. Our representation and participation in Internat'l conferences are very important as we can well see. We must continue to be an integral part of the women's movement in our country. Copies of the Report of Nat'l Commission of Observance of Internat'l Women's Year are available from U.S. Gov. Printing Office Wash. D.C. 20402 $5.20 each I urge all our branches to obtain a copy. OLGA STAWNYCHY society, a cooperative store and a labor union were giant steps toward self-sufficiency. The Ruthenians were known for their hardworking nature, the honesty, thrift and even ingenuity. The first action of immigrants was to send money back home to repay the cost of passage and to pay off family debts. Later, groups of men from the same village sent money collectively for the improvement of village living con ditions — for the building of a new school, for example. Men sent for their wives and immediate families and helped relatives make the crossing and adjustment to life in America. The life of the Ruthenian woman immigrant was very difficult. Besides a husband, relatives and anywhere from three to ten or more children of her own to care for, she often took in boarders for additional income. The Ruthenians who eventually left mining some times went to work in factories, or bought small farms, but usually they set up individual businesses — a board ing house or a grocery store where supplies were nor mally bought "on the book." The children of grocery store owners generally went to high school and on to college. Boarding house managers often turned to the saloon business, as liquor was a profitable item to sell. Saloons became for a while, the social centers of immigrant life. Indeed, the saloon keeper became, in some instances, more influential in the parish than the priest himself. The children of the immigrants often left for the cities where they learned trades and then re turned to their communities to set up new businesses. Many children, however, did not return to the home communities. After 1920, the focus of Ruthenian life had shifted from the Pennsylvania coal mining towns to six major cities of the United States: New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago. To be continued in next issue. НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ, ЛИПЕНЬ-СЕРПЕНЬ 1976 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.
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