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Vol.9,No.41,Tuesday,August12,2014 M ICHELLE PINON PHOTO
The official sod turning cerem ony for the Stelm ach fam ily w as held during U krainian D ay at the U krainian Cultural Heritage Village (U C H V) on Sunday, August10.Pictured from leftto rightare dignitaries and special guests: Fort S a s k a tc h e w a n Vegreville MLA,Jacquie Fenske, MLA G ene Zw ozdesky, BonnyvilleCold Lake MLA, G enia Leskiw, Form er Prem ier, Ed Stelm ach and his wife Marie, O lesia Luciw Andryjow ycz, President of the C anadian U krainian C ongress, Arnold G randt, U C H V D irector, and N ick Fedchyshyn, President of the Friends of the U krainian Village Society.
Stelmach house sod turning ceremonyone of manyspecial events during Ukrainian Day Michelle Pinon Editor
Nearly 3,500 people converged on the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village (UCHV) on Aug. 10 to celebrate Ukrainian Day which was jam packed with events to keep the crowds busy all day long. The weather was hot and sunny, and folks gathered at the Silska Domiwka (Red Barn) first thing Sunday morning to enjoy a scr umptious pancake br eakfast which was hosted by the Friends of the Ukrainian Village Society.
Church services wer e held at all three churches on site, and some folks prayed while others went shopping, sightseeing and touring the various venues set up throughout the village. Also popular places to visit included the Shevchenko Exhibit and the Making The Grade Exhibit. Over at the future home of the Stelmach house, Ed and Marie Stelmach turned the sod along with other dignitaries and special guests, shortly after 11 a.m. Three years ago the UCHV began the planning process, and expect it will take another two
years before the home of Ed’s grandparents is fully restored and moved to its permanent site on the grounds. Stelmach wiped away a few tears befor e addressing the cr owd that had gathered on the parcel of land on the northeast side of the village. Stelmach said it was a gr eat honour to serve as pr emier and addressed the question as to why the house was being restored. “Our goal is to continue to tell our story...We have to continue to tell the stories to new Canadians of the pioneers that shaped the history of Alberta and Canada,” stated
Stelmach. Bonnyville-Cold Lake MLA Genia Leskiw was one of the honour ed guests and welcomed the descendants of east central Alberta’s pioneer families who wer e gathered at the Centennial Pioneer Monument around mid-day. “The history of our province is the history of its people the individual stories of triumph and hardship. “Many of you have taken great effort to trace your family roots for this program, and it has helped further define our province’s history. With the addition of 728 pioneer men, women and children at today’s cer e-
mony, the Centennial Pioneer Monument now bears the names of 4,750 pioneers who arrived and settled in east central Alberta more than 100 years ago.” Special services, complete with blessings and prayers took place at the C h e r n o b y l Commemorative Cross, the Royal Canadian Legion monument, and the Internment Monument. “Today we r emember how 100 years ago Ukrainians and other Europeans who had emigrated from the AustroHungarian Empire were incarcerated and made to feel less Canadian for
crimes that they did not commit,” stated Emil Yereniuk, second vicepresident of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress National Executive. “These individuals were deemed as enemy aliens even though many were naturalized Canadian citizens. Our prayers will always be with the countless thousands who were interned.” MLA Leskiw also participated in the presentations of the Centenary certificates before Kowalski was honour ed with the Luchkovich Award.