Slava Isusu Khrestu
No problem in answering.:)
In the early 1900's when my grandparents came from Ukraine, many went out west to what we call the prarie provinces of Manitoba, Saskachewan, and Alberta were the settled as farmers.
A large number also settled in southern Ontario also as farmers but more settled in the city of Toronto and started an urban lifestyle.
Then there were some like my grandparents who settled in ther region of northwestern Ontario in and around Thunder Bay ( the Old Fort William and Port Arthur)Canada .This area in north of the city of Duluth in Minn.
Those who settled here remained in the city area but others prefered to remain as farmers and located in the surrounding country areas which were on the average of 50 or more miles from Fort William.
That early in the history of our people in Canada, there were no Ukrainian Greek Catholic or Orthodox priests. some Russian Orthodox priests from south of the Canadian border tried to minister to these people but being Russians were not particularly liked. These Greek Catholics were familiar with the Polish Roman Catholic churches from there villages in Ukraine and when a priest came to celebrate Mass they took advantage. That was from 1908 until the first Greek Catholic priests settled here and established the first Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church of the Transfiguration. But trevel in those days was a real problem as you can imagine. As a result after two generations of Roman Catholic help, many of these first arrivals and thier children and grandchildren were for all purposes Roman Catholic.
In addition, in that early time, it was more advantageous to be Polish Roman Catholic than Galician Greek Catholic. Rmember that Galicia was under the Austro-Hungarian Empire at that time and even during WW1, Galicians were interred in prisoner camps here in northwestern Ontario (much like theJapnese of WW11) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!simply because of there situation in the homeland.
So the advantage of being Polish rather than Galician( Ukrainian)!
A homourous note aside.....when many of these early pioneers died, their obituariy indicated Poliah ancestery.....needless to say baba and dido would just shake their heads for most of those individuals came from the same two villages from which baba and dido were born and lived next door and attended the same Greek Catholic church and were godparents for each other.
Father Terry's ( third generation) family falls into much the same situation although, they considered themselves as Ukrainian and not Polish.
The twists and turns that resulted from just where you came from and the family problems created are unbelievable. All I will say is that in our family, my father was disowned
by his family for simply marrying my mother because she was from the other side of the mountain.
Goodness,:) sounds like the Cawfields and the McCoys ( SPELLINGS?) I just have a hankering for some grits and collerdgreens!!
Hope I cleared it up?
Unworthy
Kolya
