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“НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЧЕРВЕНЬ 201 2 WWW. UNWLA.ORG 15 The Dumping of Ukrainian Treasures by Orysia Nazar Zinycz Recently, a resident of our Ukrainian community passed away. The children of the d e- ceased flew in for a weekend, hoping to clear out the home and liquidate the belongings their pa r- ents had accumulated. Among the household goods there were many very valuable items. Some were museum pieces ; many could have been sold at t he Ukrainian Museum store. What occurred, however, was quite different. Passing by the house o f the deceased, a member of our community saw paintings by well - known Ukrainian artists, icons, embroideries, wood carvings , and furniture being carted out and loaded into a “donation” truck. Appalled, the lady asked one of the children whether they might consider finding buyers for some of the items or donating them to a Ukrainian organization or i n- stitution. She was told that there was no time. Such occurrences very likely take place in many other states . Here, in Florida, it happens all too often be cause many Ukrainian retirees live in the Sunshine State. Their children often live far awa y; most of them are working and/ or raising families hence have little time to sort through the artistic treasures that their parents had acquired over the decades an d displayed in their homes. And thus, these treasures often end up in trucks dispatched by the Salvation Army, Goodwill, or other charitable organizations. At times, even worse things ha p pen: one deceased videographer/ photographer’s 30+ year collection o f videos and photos of Ukrainian co n certs, events and celebr a tions were put cur b side for trash pickup by a rel a tive . A member of our co m munity saw them and sa l vaged some. The rest went to a dump. Some families choose to dispose of such treasures at garage sales, where works of our ar t ists are sold for $20 or $30, while beautiful e m broidered pillows, tablecloths, or blouses go for $5 and $15. During a trip through central Flo r ida, one couple bought two rare old icons for $20 at a garage sale. There are also the “ estate haul ers” — ind i- viduals who peruse obituaries and contact fam i- lies of the deceased, offering cash for contents of apartments and/or homes. An elderly gentl e- man’s house was sold for less than $20,000 in cash. It was a small house, b ut the house and co n- tents (including many Ukrainian artifacts) were worth at least $50,000. Rather than take time off from work and commute to Florida, the relative settled for the cash. This tragedy occurs because surviving sons, daughters, nephews, or nieces do not know the value of the possessions that the deceased leave behind. In other cases, some of our elderly retirees have no families and make no provisions for disposing of their co l le c tions. In either situ a- tion, unique, one - of - a - kind, and pricele ss cultural items are often sold as cute tri n kets at thrift shops or are hauled off in trash trucks and dumped into a landfill. As the keepers of our cu l ture, we need to inform our co m munities that these sc e narios take place and, as our commu ni t ies age, will occur more often. We can initiate a U N WLA ca m paign to inform our co m mun i ties to plan ahead and co n sider b e- queat h ing their colle c tions to our Ukrainian museums or other heri t- age centers, where the treasured items will be gladly a c cepted, v a- lued , and ex hibited. We must find a way to pr e- v ent such things from happening. Your other th oughts and ideas on this ma t ter are most welcome! ГУМОР В банку дама поважного віку не знає, як підписати чек. Касирка їй радить: – Пані, підпишіть так, як ви звичайно підписуєтесь під своїми листами. Поважна пані підписала: «Цілую всіх міцно, ваша бабця».
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