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SEEKING YOUR FAMILY ROOTS: ONE WRITER TELLS HER STORY Marie Halun Bloch, eminent writer of children’s books, was the featured guest at a ”meet-the-author” evening sponsored by UNWLA Branch 38. The event was held on October 3,1981 at the Moshinsky Art Gallery in Denver, Colorado. Mrs. Bloch enjoys prominent recognition in her field. She has received numerous prestigious awards, among them Honor Book, New York Herald Tribune, 1956; Notable Books, American Literary Association, 1963; Best Books of the Year, Christian Science Monitor, 1972. She is also listed in (International Authors’ and Writers’ Who’s Who 1976) and ( Contempo rary Authors) Marie Halun Bloch did not speak on children’s literature, however. She chose another fascinating subject to discuss with UNWLA members and guests at this literary evening. She introduced a book she is writing. This impressive work is an imposing compila tion of the significant facts and events in the lives of the members of her immediate ancestors, the Halun and Pelensky families. It is a stirring and poignant recount ing of the lives of Mrs. Bloch’s forebears, and as such, the lives of Ukrainian ancestors of all who were present at this lecture. Marie Bloch was born in Ukraine, but left her native country as a small child. This fact left an indelible impression on her, and she felt a great void in her life. She decided to undertake the monumental task of researching her ancestry. Writing this book, she says, has been like ’’gathering together” the relatives she had left behind. It provided her an opportunity to meet them and after a fashion, to know them. Undoubtedly, this book will serve as a great legacy for her children, her grandchildren and their progeny. It will also serve as an accurate documentary on some phase of Ukrainian history. The author feels that too often Ukrainian history is written by non-Ukrainians and the very essence of the Ukrainian soul is diluted and diffused. ” l sought to rebuild that lost world, because without it, I have no home to go back to — only this home of the mind’s eye that I have rebuilt and made my own again,” the author says. By extension, the compilation of her family history has also been an exploration of her Self. ” l wanted to discover, if only I could, the ingredients of Me, to know again the human beings of generation after generation whose characteristics went into the making of Me. If this seems like colossal egotism, let it seem so. I am only more candid than others in this,” Mrs. Bloch said. This last statement struck a responsive chord in the hearts of the audience. Because of her dedication to the preservation and perpetuation of her families’ histories, Mrs. Bloch studied and became a trained geneologist. As such, she offered some pertinent suggestions for anyone seriously interested in the pursuit of this very rewarding activity. Briefly, here are her suggestions: — Contact each member of your family and ask for information. — Write down everything you are told. — Record each fact and date indicated by members of your family. — Devise a system to keep your notes in order. — Keep your biographical material arranged by families. — Enlarge your amount of data by studying maps, atlases, formal documents (birth and death certificates, marriage licenses and all public records available). — Keep accurate, complete references on every item you copy. — Make a chart of your ancestors (subject to subsequent revision and additions as more data becomes available). — Keep researching even though you meet with discrepancies and disappointments. — Keep searching, ever alert to the possibility of discovering new, significant information. — Start compiling your own bibliography. Mrs. Bloch warned the audience that it is not a simple matter to assume the role of a geneologist. She devoted 19 years to this one volume before she felt that it was ready for publication and copyright. (She finds it necessary to copyright all material in order to protect its misuse by unauthorized people). The author stressed the urgency of the "NOW.” When should you start a geneological study of your family?NOW! Where do you start? With yourself! Write everything down about yourself. What may appear trivial and meaningless to you at the present time may prove someday to be a fascinating account of the mode and manners of our lives today. Time casts a warm and flattering glow on what we perceive to be ordinary events today. A hundred years hence, ordinary events will seem extraordinary. ”Moi, je suis mon ancestre.” (I am my own ancestor) wrote Marshal Andoche Junot many years ago. Marie Halun Bloch’s magnetic personality and her unbridled enthusiasm are convincing factors in reminding us of the nature of man — of things mortal and immortal. Singularly and collectively, everyone in the audience was impressed, affected and inspired. Vera Harmon UNWLA BRANCH 38 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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