Figure 1.--The press caption of this 1946 press photograph read, "A corner of the Ukraine in Canada: A Ukranian Canadianboy and girl in their picturesque native ciostues, draw water from the old fashioned pumpin the farm yard. Thir festive blouses are hand-embroidered heirlooms which have been handed downfrom generations to generations. Usually they are wiorn only on festival days such as weddings, confirmations, other religious or social occassions. , but these fun-loving folk dress up as often as they possibly can."

The Ukrainians are the fourth largest ethnic group in Canada. This a muh lrger proportion than in Ameica, in part because te Canadian population was nuch smaller. We are not sure at his time why so many Ukranians went to Canada. They arrived at the end of the 19th century, the largest wave in 1905. Many settled in Saskatchewan, perhaps because of the similarities with the Ukraine. Most Eastern European immigrants to America, despite having rural backgrounds, sought to settle in the growing industrial cities of the Midwest rather than in rural areas. Many Ukarnians in Canada seemed to have wanted to farm. The differene may have been that there was more available land at low cost thn in America. Most of the Ukranian immigrants were Christians. There was a large Jewish population on the Ukraine. Relatively few Ukranian Jews emigrated, however, for reasons we do not fully understand. A Canadian reader tells us how his grandfather reached Canada. "It is an incredible story of my grandfather's trip to Canada. He was from the Ukraine and he was in the Russian Tsarist army stationed in Crimea. When he and some close fellow soldiers realized that a war was probably going to involve them, they deserted not wanting to die for the Tsar who was controlling Ukraine like it was a part of Russia. He and seven other soldiers built a raft and swam and paddled across part of the Black Sea to get to Turkey where he was first imprisoned. The Turks thought that they were Russian spies. After a few months he got released and with the little bit of cash he had he found the first boat to the Americas which ended up here in Canada. The ship landed them at a town called Three Rivers now known by it's French name, Trois Rivieres, which is a bit east of Montreal but that is where the Canadian Immigration office was at that time for immigrants arriving by ship. Grandfather only spoke a few words of English and when the immigration officer asked him his name, my grandfather thought he was being asked what he did as work before coming to Canada. He was an apprentice at the time and with his bad English and thick accent our name became based on his trade. So that is what we have used ever since. Even though he died when I was young, before teenager life I remembered that story because I thought it was so incredible that it should have been a movie."

Created: 2:17 AM 10/27/2012
Last updated: 8:21 AM 10/27/2012