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14 WWW.UNWLA.ORG “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЛЮТИЙ 2019 did your parents come from?” — sentim en ts that permeate the chapters to come until each family member discovers his or her own way of overcom- ing the prejudices and the ignorance and becomes 100% American without losing sight of or aban- doning the ir 100% Ukrainian identity. Here again, the 3rd wa ve immigrant can relate to the preju- dices and growing pains faced by earlier immigrant children while admittedly recognizing that my peers and I had an easier go of it, in part because of those who came earlier and laid a foundation on which later immigr an ts leaned on and depended upon and ultimately reshaped to suit their own needs. Section II covers 1901 through 1914 in Ukraine and includes the story of the Chopeks’ courtship, the rise of the Ukrainian intelligentsia and the birth of an educational spi rt that included the founding of public libraries, even in small towns of Ukraine. Juxtaposed with this is mention of a squabble with Austrian authorities over taxing outhouses, compulsory military service in the Aus- tro - Hunagrian army, and Tato Chopek’s re so lute decision to leave the empire that had subjugated his beloved Ukraine and emigrate to America. Our immigration was prompted by different war - time dramas and traumas; the driving force was more political than economic although both were a fact of life . Section III describes the sights and sounds of Boston, the hardship of life in the slums, the ad- justment to neighbors of different racial and ethnic groups, omnipresent rats and cockroaches, and the loss of communication with family in Ukraine as WWI er up ts. News of Ukraine comes from Svo- boda ; the family discovers émigré organizations and the divisiveness among them. (We had Ban- derivtsi and Melnykivtsi and something called “Dviykari,” which I never fully understood.) When contact with family resumes afte r the war ends, they learn about a typhoid epidemic; an uncle comes to visit and brings more unhappy news: the Poles in their region of Ukraine have taken control of schools and courts, a familiar litany of woes and hardships that was echoed (as variations o n a them) in the homes of 3rd - wave emigres. Life in America continues: a concerted ef- fort to master English, menial jobs to make ends meet, friendships with other Ukrainians, singing in the church choir — activities similar or identical to those pursued b y the post - WWII émigré commu- nity — life made somehow easier by belonging to a group with a common history. The differences are measured in broader societal norms — both groups dealt with poverty and discrimination, but we dealt with these and other issues with t he help of indi- v iduals and organizations better prepared to ease the way. A telling chapter deals with church squab- bles generated by a priest assigned to the parish by the archbishop and community differences of opinion over this and other matters; the C at holic church morphs into an Orthodox church, a symbol of other conflicts and divisions in the immigrant community. By the time the post - WWII immi- grants arrived, the churches had stabilized: Catho- lic churches were Catholic and Orthodox churches were Ortho do x, and parishioners knew where they belonged. Section IV covers the years between 1929 and 1934: the Bitter Years with the Depression in America and depressing news from Ukraine con- verge. It is with this section that the author takes over as primary nar ra tor of the story. She describes pay cuts and layoffs and the ensuing economic hardships but then shifts to more uplifting and positive topics: her sister Hanya graduating from high school and finding a job, her father teaching her the Ukrainian alphabet, s tarting kindergarten. She describes hromada picnics, where men sang about the heroic deeds of the Kozaks and women sang about the beautiful girls the Kozaks left be- hind; swimming at Carson Pond (we had similar community events and picnics and swam at a l ak e in a park in Schwenksville, west of Philadelphia, and later on the beach at Wildwood, New Jersey); and political meetings where Polish atrocities against Ukrainians where discussed. Teased at school Stefcha asks her father “Why can’t we be Irish?” and th en makes friends with a neighbor Jewish boy (I smiled because I had a Jewish friend named Rosalie and a bunch of Irish friends who lived around the block of the first house my parents bought . . . their last name was “Brady” and they were indeed a bunch — 6 or 7 kids who introduced me to English and American games like tag and hide - n - seek. Stefcha celebrates her first communion and takes piano lessons with a Mrs. Graham (I re- member mine with Professor Oransky who also or- ganized a wonderful children’s choir I sang in for many years). A rally protesting the Holodomor is organized in November 1933, including a proces- sion with American and Ukrainian flags. A news- paper story appeared the next day. This too is fa- miliar territory as my friends and I grew up attend- in g such rallies and protesting all things Soviet in Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, D.C. Our rallies were covered on television as well as in newspapers. Section V covers 1935 to 1936 and begins with worries about money. Then things pick up:
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