COLUMN: Carillon Flashback January 24, 1979 – Ewanchuk’s book describes early Ukrainian settlement

by WES KEATING

The Ukrainian immigrants who settled in the Gimli area shortly before the turn of the century found themselves living on sub-marginal lands dominated by spruce, swamp and stone, yet most stayed, and through hard work and determination, made lives for themselves and the next generation of their families in Canada.

Spruce , Swamp and Stone: a History of the Pioneer Ukrainian Settlements in the Gimli Area, written by Michael Ewanchuk and printed by Derksen Printers, Steinbach, examines the lives of the early years of those Ukrainian settlements, from 1897 to about 1925, in painstaking detail.

While Ewanchuk is a native of the Gimli area and now a Winnipeg resident, his name may be familiar to residents of the Southeast, as he has previously written a study on the Vita settlement, based on conversations he had with pioneers while he was teaching in that community, some years ago.

Ewanchuk first began to write of the Ukrainian pioneers in 1936, contributing a series of articles based on interviews with pioneers to the Ukrainian Voice, a Winnipeg-based Ukrainian language newspaper.

In interviewing the pioneers, he heard some “terrifically delightful stories,” detailing the role of those people in opening the West.

“I found out the pioneers had a story to tell and decided to prepare a history for them.”

The interview series ran for one and a half years, after which the editor published it in book form. With the book of interviews receiving an excellent reception, people began asking for an English translation, which was one of the factors prompting Ewanchuk to eventually write the new book.

The book follows the development of the community from the arrival of the settlers in 1897 until the mid-1920s.

It details the struggles of the immigrants with the land, their relationships with other settlers, their involvement with the politics of governments at the local, provincial and federal levels, and the development of education and social and cultural groups.

Ewanchuk closes the book with a look at the achievements of some members of the first generation born in Canada, which includes doctors, lawyers, successful businessmen, educators and MPs and MLAs.

“One has to marvel that the progress made by the Ukrainian pioneers on the Interlake’s sub-marginal lands surpasses their most optimistic hopes and ambitions.”

“The heritage left to the succeeding generations is a rich saga that tells about the love of the land, the willingness to work, and an honest application of body and mind, to prepare a rich legacy for those who would continue to live in the districts of the Interlake.”

Ewanchuk has now almost completed an oral history of the settlement of Ukrainians throughout Manitoba, and has begun research for a book on Ukrainian plantation workers in Hawaii.

– with files from Tim Plett