FACES AND PLACES: Covert research at IHRC (03/21/99)

FACES AND PLACES

by Myron B. Kuropas

Covert research at IHRC

One of my favorite places in all of America is the University of Minnesota's Immigration History Research Center (IHRC) in St. Paul. For an immigration historian, the center is a mecca.

Lesia and I have visited the center many times during the past 20 years, and each time we discovered fascinating new archives and data. We also met a number of interesting people, researchers digging into their ethnic group's American past. Among the many Americans we met were Finns, Italians, Slovaks and Rusyns. We always found a lot to talk about.

During our many visits to the IHRC we often ran into Alexander Lushnycky, a dedicated Ukrainian immigration historian from Moylan, Pa. Always ready to show us something new he had discovered, Alexander was charming company. For years I wondered what he was doing at IHRC. "Are you writing a book?" I asked, "or a doctorate?"

"No," he answered evasively.

"You have valuable information," I told him (as if he didn't know) "and you need to publish."

Alex would always change the subject, leaving me somewhat frustrated.

Why was he so secretive, I wondered? What is he up to? As much as I admired his grasp of Ukrainian immigration history, I was a bit miffed that he seemed to be holding something back.

Was Alexander being elusive? Yes, he was. And now I know why. He and Halyna Myroniuk, assistant curator at IHRC, were quietly (and secretly) collecting and microfilming an incredible collection of Ukrainian and Rusyn publications, some of which few people knew were still available.

Sponsored by the Shevchenko Scientific Society (U.S.A. and Ukraine) and the IHRC, the Ukrainian Microfilming Project was recently completed and a publication has appeared listing the newspapers that were microfilmed. These include: Ukrainian newspapers published in the United States (1886-1940); Rusyn (Ruthenian) newspapers published in the United States (1892-1920); newspapers printed in the Old Slavonic idioms for Ukrainians in the United States (1892-1920); and Ukrainian newspapers published in Ukraine with significant information on Ukrainians living in the United States (1880-1939).

"Because of the special nature of the project," the publication reads, "only a handful of people were directly involved." Dr. Leonid Rudnytzky and Jerzy Nawrocky of the Shevchenko Scientific Society, Dr. Rudolph J. Vecoli and Joel Wurl of IHRC, and Ted Ringberg were singled out for their help in the United States, while Oleh Kupchynsky, an archivist in Lviv, was listed as a resource person in Ukraine. The archives of some 40 libraries and institutions in Europe and the United States were opened to Mr. Lushnycky and Ms. Myroniuk.

The project took five years to complete. It includes Ukrainian newspapers which, as far as can be determined, are not duplicated in any U.S. or Canadian depositories.

So why the secrecy? Mr. Lushnycky informed me that they needed to operate in such a clandestine manner out of fear that the rare newspapers would disappear once people discovered that copies still existed. I can appreciate that. While I was doing research at the Ukrainian Museum in Chicago during the 1970s, I ran across a beautifully bound set (some four volumes) of the Hetmanate press from the 1920s. When I went back to check on something a few years later, I discovered that the volumes were missing.

Apparently, my experience was not an isolated incident. I learned last summer that a number of rare items are missing from the IHRC archives. There may or may not be a connection, but things began to disappear at about the time scholars from Ukraine started visiting IHRC.

The Ukrainian immigration has a proud publishing history. The first Ukrainian-language newspaper in the United States is America, established by the first Ukrainian Catholic priest in America, the Rev. Ivan Wolansky. By the time World War I began, there were 14 newspapers being published in various idioms of the Ukrainian language of the day, as can be discerned by comparing America with Amerykansky Russky Viesnik. Some newspapers - such as Zaokeanska Rus', a Catholic publication; Sojuz, published by Ukrainian Presbyterians; and three socialist newspapers, Khlopskyi Paragraf, Haidamaky and Robitnyk - were short-lived.

At a time when there seems to be little interest in the Ukrainian past in North America, it is reassuring to know that people like Alexander Lushnycky and Halyna Myroniuk are working assiduously to preserve our archival heritage. I am convinced that some day, perhaps not my lifetime, but sooner rather than later, historians will re-discover our diaspora and be grateful that Alexander and Halyna were around in the 1990s and had the vision to accomplish what they did.

Given the fact that Svoboda has changed from a daily to a weekly publication, and other Ukrainian press publications are losing subscribers every day, can a Ukrainian press retain its viability in the North America or will today's newspapers soon find themselves in the IHRC archives under the heading of "discontinued"? There are those who argue that since Ukraine now has a relatively free press, and fewer and fewer people here read Ukrainian, the Ukrainian press will soon disappear. Others argue that even English-language Ukrainian newspapers will soon go the way of the dodo bird because the community is being diminished by indifference.

I am not that pessimistic. I believe that the Ukrainian press will survive because there will always be a need for it. Fourth wave immigrants have already established viable Ukrainian-language newspapers throughout North America that appear to be self-sufficient. As for the English-language press, much will depend upon our ability to nurture our "voluntary ethnics" and their children.

For a copy of the "clandestine" publication, "A Guide to Ukrainian American Newspapers in Microfilm," contact Halyna Myroniuk at the Immigration History Research Center, 826 Berry St., St. Paul, MN 55114.

And now, back to Mr. Lushnycky. Am I still miffed that he didn't mention his groundbreaking project with me? Yes. For old times' sake, he should have shared. Do I understand why he wanted to keep it all as covert as possible? Sure. Will I forgive him? Of course, but only after we share a "charka" the next time we meet.

Congratulations, Alex and Halyna. Mnohaya Lita!

Myron Kuropas' e-mail address is: [email protected]

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