Winnipeg center damaged by fire (11/14/99)

Winnipeg center damaged by fire

by Orysia Paszczak Tracz
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

WINNIPEG - A fire deliberately set during the evening of Friday, November 5, significantly damaged the Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Center, known as Oseredok, located in the downtown section of this western Canadian city.

"Dread, a feeling of sheer dread," is how Linda Kotyk Hunter described her ride to the Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Center (Oseredok) that evening, after she, as president of the board of directors, Shelley Greschuk, the executive director, and other board members had been called away from the banquet celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Hoosli Ukrainian Folk Ensemble, a Winnipeg men's choir.

"I didn't know what to expect, and I dreaded what I would see as we came over the Disraeli Bridge. I expected to see the whole building aflame," said Ms. Hunter.

But when they arrived, most of the firefighters had already left, and it seemed that the damage was much less than expected. Ms. Hunter was told that quick emergency response saved the building, and prevented what could have been a major disaster. The building's fire alarm had gone off, and police officers passing by noticed the fire and also called in an alarm. The blaze was immediately found to be arson - with damage initially estimated at $250,000 - one of many fires set in the city in the last month.

The arson squad and the police department questioned an individual at the scene, and Derrick Albert Foreman, 35, was arrested and charged with arson. According to the Winnipeg Free Press, at least one other person is being sought in the crime, and the investigation continues.

A day later, the only indication from the exterior that there had been a fire at the imposing five-story brick building is the two plywood-covered windows on the first floor, the fire scene inside the windows where the Oseredok Boutique used to be, and a padlock on the massive old wooden door. Since the fire on Friday, no one other than police and the fire department personnel has had access to the building. Staff and board members of Oseredok must await the completion of the investigation before being permitted inside.

As of the morning of November 10, the building was still padlocked. Sources indicate that the major damage was in the boutique; Ms. Greschuk expressed hope that no major damage was done to the collections.

Community reaction

The community has rallied behind the institution. Ms. Hunter and Ms. Greschuk have received hundreds of calls from members of the Ukrainian community, and from the general Winnipeg public, with offers of financial and physical assistance - "people willing to write a check or lift a shovel," Ms. Hunter told the Winnipeg Sun.

Archival and museum institutions have offered professional preservation assistance.

But until the investigation is completed, the damage assessed and access to the building restored, no further information is available about what assistance is required.

Ms. Greschuk noted that the strength of the community is really demonstrated at a time of crisis. She added that she was surprised by the number of queries from across the country, and invited members and former members of the center to contact her if they have any questions. Anyone who has donated to the collections and is concerned about the state of their donation, is urged to contact her or Ms. Hunter for information.

The Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Center - Oseredok Ukrayinskoyi Kultury i Osvity - was founded in 1944, in Winnipeg, by Tetiana Koshetz (wife of the renowned Oleksander Koshetz), Dr. Pavlo Macenko, Dr. T. K. Pavlychenko, V. Kossar, and other prominent Ukrainian Canadians.

It holds the largest Ukrainian library in North America, an archives, art gallery, museum, educational services and a gift shop. Its collections are priceless and irreplaceable; among them are rare books and maps; publications from the displaced persons camps of the post-World War II period; photograph, archival collections and artifacts related to Ukrainian settlement in Canada beginning over a century ago; the archives of Mr. Koshetz, Yevhen Konovalets and other prominent Ukrainians; a collection of a few thousand Ukrainian Easter eggs (pysanky); folk costumes, embroidery and other folk arts; paintings and other works by Ukrainian artists from around the world.

Oseredok holds exhibits in its art gallery and in the museum; its educational program presents various courses both in the building and through outreach programs at various sites in Manitoba. During the Easter season (actually, beginning in February) over 3,500 Manitoba schoolchildren learn pysanka-writing through the center's special pysanka workshop program.

What makes Oseredok unique among similar institutions around the world is that, even though it was originally founded by members of and unofficially affiliated with the Ukrainian National Federation (UNF), over half a century it has evolved into an all-Ukrainian institution, with Ukrainian Canadians of all backgrounds, generations and denominations active as members and represented on the board.

Whenever a Ukrainian Winnipegger hosts a guest from out of town, the tour of Ukrainian Winnipeg includes its churches, the Taras Shevchenko monument on the Manitoba Legislature grounds, the monument to the victims of the Famine-genocide of 1932-1933 in front of City Hall, and the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden in Assiniboine Park. But Oseredok is usually the first stop.

Ms. Hunter noted: "We have passively known or understood the value of our culture, but this [fire] has brought it home. What would happen if we were to lose it? There are so few other places to go to for material of such significance. While under unfortunate circumstances, this crisis has really brought us together."

She said she appreciates the great support of friends and co-workers, and offers of help from people in all walks of life and all cultural backgrounds. Ms. Hunter explained that this respect is characteristic to Winnipeg. The annual Folklorama Festival, a major multicultural event, fosters this special Winnipeg camaraderie.

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Readers who wish to express their concern and offer assistance may contact: Linda Hunter, President, Board of Directors, Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Center, 184 Alexander Ave. E., Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 0L6; telephone, (204) 942-0218; fax, (204) 943-2857.

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