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Our Life | Наше життя June | Червень 2021 34 IN MEMORIAM Halina Verhun Szczawinsky Halina Szczawinsky was born in Soviet Kyiv in 1925, the daughter of Vasily and Anna Verhun. By the time she was or - phaned at age 15, Kyiv was un - der Nazi control; to save herself, she volunteered with friends to work on farms in Germany to feed Hitler’s army. In Germany, she met her husband, Michael Szczawinsky, who had been tak - en from Western Ukraine (near Ternopil) to work the farms. Af - ter WWII ended, knowing how Stalin ruled, they decided not to return to Ukraine and instead made their way to the English zone, where they were accept - ed in their Displaced Persons camp. Unable to immigrate to the U.S. because of visa issues, they immigrated to England and had their first taste of freedom. They spent nine happy years in Manchester with other refugee Ukrainians and the dear English friends they made there. In 1956 they immigrated to the U.S. on the urging of Michael’s teta , Paul - ine, and under the sponsorship of his cousin Mary. They settled in Kingston, NY, where Michael worked as a butcher with A&P and Halina worked on the huge knitting machines in the Kingston Knitting Mills. There they developed close friendships with those willing to help them navigate living in the U.S. They raised their daughter Marianna, maintaining close ties to Michael’s aunt and her family and the local Ukrainian communities, especially the Soyuziv - ka Heritage Center in Kerhonkson, NY. They even achieved their dream of a brand-new home, designed specifically for them by Halina, who did the actu - al layout and worked with the architect. Halina had a mechanical mind and easily learned all about the various knit - ting machines at her job; she was able to take them apart and repair them as well as any mechanic. She also had tremendous crafting, sewing, cooking, knitting, and crocheting skills that were essentially self-taught out of neces - sity. She also taught herself about restoring, repairing, refinishing, and reup - holstering furniture, as well as how to sew curtains and slipcovers. It seemed there was nothing she could not do if she put her mind to it, and as she was a perfectionist, every project was beautifully executed. She always wanted to learn more and better herself. When Halina learned that her daughter had inherited her artistic and craft - ing skills, they collaborated on many projects together. Both she and Mari - anna were invited to join UNWLA Branch 95 in 1993 and have been active and contributing members out of love for what the organization has brought them: for Halina, a chance to rediscover her ethnic culture and traditions so long denied under Soviet rule, and for Marianna, a chance to discover her heritage, its history, and its art forms. Through Branch 95 they learned about the struggles in Ukraine and were able to participate in many ethnic cultural activities, local charity events, multicultural festivals, cultural demonstrations, and local craft fairs. With their arts and crafts skills, they quickly became immersed in such projects as creating murals for ethnic charity dinners, creating the banner for the national convention the branch co-chaired, doing Ukraini - an Easter egg demonstrations and classes, creating ethnic-themed Christ - mas trees for a hospital’s annual charity auctions, creating displays for an Branch 95, Kerhonkson/Poughkeepsie, NY Halina Szczawinsky, 1925–2021
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