CANADA COURIER

by Christopher Guly

The mother of all Ukrainian Canadian pioneers

Plans are in the works to erect a statue on Parliament Hill commemorating Canada's "Famous Five" women: Emily Murphy, Henrietta Edwards, Louise McKinney, Nellie McLung and Irene Parlby. In 1929, these Alberta suffragettes were successful in convincing the British Privy Council that women were "persons" under the British North America Act and could hold appointive positions, such as in the Canadian Senate and judiciary. Canadian women age 21 and over were given the right to vote federal elections in 1918 - 51 years after the country was formed. While the Famous Five were promoting the women's cause on a national scale, Savella Stechishin was doing her part in Saskatchewan. A year after women received legitimacy in the eyes of the Canadian establishment, Mrs. Stechishin became the first Ukrainian Canadian woman to graduate from the University of Saskatchewan with a general undergraduate degree in arts and sciences, majoring in home economics.

She was 27 years old. "It was unusual for a Ukrainian woman to go to university," understates Mrs. Stechishin, now 94, from her home in Saskatoon. "You were expected to be married and be a mother." Which she did. At the age of 17, she married Julian Stechishin, principal of the renowned, 82-year-old Saskatoon-based Petro Mohyla Institute, who wrote the then-definitive guide to Ukrainian grammar. He was 26. "The rector was expected to be married," explains Mrs. Stechishin. Together, they had three children: Anatole, an architect, since deceased; Myron, a dentist living in Edmonton; and Zenia, a Toronto-based teacher.

What wasn't expected, of course, was that Mrs. Stechishin would go to school while her husband helped out with child-rearing duties at home. If there were rumblings in the community, it's likely that the Stechishins took it in stride.

Mr. Stechishin, who went on to obtain a degree in law, died in 1971 at the age of 74. He had faced his own share of opposition when he released his grammar textbook.

"The newcomers who came had their own ideas and thought it was too simple," says Mrs. Stechishin. "They thought they were more educated. They weren't really, but that's the attitude they took." Mrs. Stechishin, who arrived in Saskatchewan from Sokal, west of Lviv, in 1913, had an attitude of inclusion, which she put into practice.

In 1926, the year she set foot on the U. of Saskatchewan campus in Saskatoon, Mrs. Stechishin launched the Ukrainian Women's Association. She had already organized a cultural group of women students at the Mohyla Institute. The UWA, which Mrs. Stechishin led as president for a decade, now has 150 branches across the country.

She also founded the Ukrainian Museum of Canada in 1936. It now has five national branches.

Mrs. Stechishin, who chose a career in home economics, also wrote the first Ukrainian cookbook in English, "Traditional Ukrainian Cookery." It is now in its 18th printing and sold all over the world. Her husband's Ukrainian grammar book is now out of print.

"Young men who enlisted in the army and married English brides wanted to have their borsch, their kasha, their pyrohy," explains Mrs. Stechishin. "After the second world war, there were no cookbooks and everyone was too busy cleaning up in Ukraine, so I read as many Ukrainian magazines I could get my hands on."

When possible, friends in Ukraine sent her recipes. For a quarter-century, she also wrote the "Around the House" column in Ukrainian Voice (Ukrainskyi Holos), a newspaper published in Winnipeg, which also printed her cookbook.

Mrs. Stechishin, who now has six grandchildren and one great-grandchild, has been recognized for her amazing life and career. She was recently inducted into the Council of Women's Hall of Fame. In 1989 she was made a member of the Order of Canada - the highest recognition given to a civilian.

While a problem with her vocal chords prevents her from speaking at great lengths these days, Mrs. Stechishin's accomplishments speak for themselves.

On October 18, 2000, the federal government plans to unveil its monumental tribute to the Famous Five on Parliament Hill. The event will be an unprecedented one, since the honor has previously been reserved for British monarchs, dead prime ministers and fathers of the Confederation. Now, the mothers will get their chance to be remembered publicly. While Savella Stechishin may not be among the five, the spirit of her achievements certainly will.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, February 8, 1998, No. 6, Vol. LXVI

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