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16 “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ГРУДЕНЬ 2009 Our Life Five Decades – Five Decembers The December 1959 issue of Our Life was published toward the tail end of a decade during which thousands of Ukrainian refugees left displaced persons camps in Europe and began new lives in a new world. Wo rld War II had ended fourteen years earlier , and the chaotic succession of fear and uncertaint y had given way to a quite determination as people began to view challenges as opportunities and learned to overcome obstacles that were often difficult but seldo m life - threatening. Almost imperceptibly, life changed for the better. Nonetheless, memories of past traumas and tragic events remained, bubbling to the surface during times of stress or even times of joy. It is small wonder that the December 1959 issue o f Our Life — the Christmas issue — begins with a poignant and almost painful version of the story of the Nativity , a version echoing and mirror ing the experiences of the post - WWII i mmigrants who would be reading it . Here, t he timeless story of the Holy Family’ s travels and travails becomes a story about refugees . . . a pregnant woman and a protective husband f leeing persecution, fearfully crossing unfriendly and unfamiliar terrain, seeking shelter and perhaps a piece of bread among strangers , and braving the d isdainful looks of those who ha ve no time or interest in yet another destitute family coming from some distant place. The story has no happy or hopeful ending. Instead, it under scores the plight of those still struggling to find a way to break through the iron curtain that had fallen so quickly and inexorably between East and West, between freedom and oppression. By December 1969, things were decidedly different. T he post - war immigrant community had managed to set itself firmly on two feet . And while the p erils and challenges of the past had not been forgotten, they had been ameliorated to a great extent by stability and even some degree of prosper ity . And the December issue of Our Life of this year again mirrors the lives of its creators and readers. By 1 969, however, t he focus of the articles pub lished had subtly shifted from personal and family survival to something with a wider scope — the survival of culture, custom, and even civiliza tion. One of the articles in this issue commemo - rates the 200 th anni versary of the birth of Ivan Kotliarevsky, the Poltava - born poet and playwright generally recognized as the “f ather of modern Ukrainian literature. It is a rather odd commemo - ration — the author ( Natalia Chaplenko ) cites and analyzes K otliarevsky’s frequent references to traditional Ukrainian foods — from varenyky to salo to kasha — in his best - known work, Enieda. In th e same issue, we find an article penned by Mary Dushny c k, one of the legendary grand dames of the UNWLA and the Ukrainian hromada , who reports in s ome detail about the proceedings of t he General Federation of Women’s Clubs con - vention she had attended as a UNWLA delegate. Held in Cleveland, the convention had a broad agenda, addressing everything from drug addiction to water pollution to fashion desi gn for the handicapped. An additional matter of grave concern for convention delegates and the women they represented was “the glamorization of illicit sex . . . crime and violence on TV and radio . . . indecent sex magazines at bookstores, drugstores, and newsstands” — a concern that had prompted many GFWC affiliated organizations to embark on a Crusade for Morality. The report includes a wonderful photograph of Mary Dushnyck chatting amiably with television and film star Loretta Young . A guest speaker at th e GFWC convention, the actress had soundly “condemned pornographic magazines and objectionable movies.” The December 1979 issue of Our Life shows the post - WWII hromada and the UNWLA in a new and different light — the issue’s focus has moved from great liter ature and great causes to something that strongly suggests that the Ukrainian diaspora has begun to recognize itself as an interesting and worthwhile social entity. There is a page of poetry by Marta Tarnawsky (then, as now a member of OL’s editorial board ), an interview with Irena Homotiuk - Zielyk (whose work was most recently featured on the January 2009 cover of OL), and U krainian - language column dealing with issue s of interest to diaspora women and titled “Just Between Us and the Telephone.” There are se veral pages acknowledging d onations to the Ukrainian Museum, Our Life , and other UNWLA causes, a pleasant article about 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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