LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (07/23/00)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

About the 1936 Ukrainian Olympiad

Dear Editor:

A few facts need to be recognized in the article "Philadelphia: the capital city of Ukrainian Diaspora Olympiads" by Omelan Twardovsky. The 1936 Olympiad was an outgrowth of the 1936 convention of the Ukrainian Youth League of North America (UPLMA) that was scheduled to be held in Philadelphia that year. The writer's second paragraph in which he refers to the event as the "Diaspora Olympiad" is not quite accurate. The word "diaspora" was not in our lexicon, we thought of ourselves as Americans of Ukrainian descent and were damn proud of it.

The idea for the Olympiad was first discussed in our home during a visit by some of the UYLNA convention people. Once the decision was made, people in New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, etc. began making preparations. It's worth noting at this point that the Ukrainian Youth Chorus of New York and New Jersey was already in existence and that most of its members were also involved with the Youth League, where they had developed long lasting friendships with their peers in Philadelphia and beyond.

I don't remember the training sessions that the Philadelphia and other participants initiated. However, in the New York metro area that hot summer of 1936 you could find the Jerseans practicing every week in Newark's Weequahic Park. As for the swimmers, they went up to Olympic Park's pool which in those days would stay open until 9 or 10 at night.

Some of the participants in the games from New Jersey were Anne Lebo (she was the one person on the team who was a runner having won races sponsored by the city, county, and state); Dan Shumeyko, who competed in the high and broad jumps; Anthony Shumeyko in swimming, as well as John Tango, Nick Wowchuk, Victor Romanishyn, and one of the Prokipchak brothers. In Philadelphia, Walter Nachoney (not Natskoney) was a famous runner from Temple University who also took part in the Olympiad.

Mr. Twardowsky takes a bit too much editorial license in his second paragraph with respect to the rationale for holding the Olympiad. First and foremost, everything that the Ukrainian Youth League of North America, and the other organizations affiliated with it, did was to focus positive attention upon Ukraine, on our music, our arts and our people. We were proud of our heritage and we worked to make non-Ukrainians and even some Ukrainians aware of it. Along the way, we enjoyed each other's company and we had fun.

That's why a check of the record will reveal that many of the same people involved with the league, the youth chorus, and many other organizations went on to play key roles in subsequent conventions, concerts, rallies, and festivals such as the first Ukrainian Music and Dance Festival in New York, the Shevchenko Pageant and the famous Echoes of Ukraine that played to a standing room only crowd in Carnegie Hall.

It is also worth noting that in 1936 we were still in the depths of the Great Depression and all those people who turned out to practice in the park or swim in the Olympic Park pool worked at tough jobs nine, 10 hours a day before turning out to practice.

In conclusion, it's possibly worth mentioning that it was in the 1930s during the Cleveland convention of the UYLNA that a concert of Ukrainian music was broadcast over the NBC radio network coast to coast performed by the Ukrainian Youth Chorus of New York and New Jersey, conducted by Stephen Marusevich.

Theodore V. Shumeyko
Saddle River, N.J.

Regarding the origin of the name Ukraine

Dear Editor:

Though I am a columnist for the North Port Sun Herald, writing letters to editors is not my forte. After giving it some thought, I have decided to write this letter and to get something "off my chest" that should be common knowledge but apparently is not. I am referring to the otherwise excellent review of an apparently superb publication appearing in the May 28, 2000, issue of The Weekly. The review entitled "Borderland" favorably critiques Anna Reid's "Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine."

All non-Ukrainians who, like Mrs. Reid, write favorably about Ukraine deserve our respect. My "beef" is with the term "Borderland" when used to explain the name of our ancestral country. In my April 12, 2000, column titled "What's in a name?" I wrote:

"In most people's minds, Ukraine is an East European country, despite the fact that the geographic center of Europe is actually in Ukraine. Consequently, Ukraine should be considered a Central European country. But this is not important, most Ukrainians are willing to accept the 'East European' status. After all, the bulk of Ukrainian territory lies east of the geographical center.

What rubs most Ukrainians the wrong way is the overwhelming acceptance of the imperial Russian explanation of the meaning of the name Ukraine. The Ukrainians call their country "U-kray-ina." The name is derived from the word "kray" which means country, land.

This word "kray" has also another meaning, namely the end, or the border. There are many examples in the Ukrainian literature, as well as in the folk sayings and songs, using these two terms in their respective meanings. However, Russian, imperialists found it convenient for their cause to interpret, and to convince others to believe, that the name Ukraine means a borderland, something marginal, an appendix to the mainland of "Mother Russia."

Simple logic (Americans call it "horse sense," Ukrainians refer to is as "peasant wisdom") tells us something else. No people on this earth look upon their own country from the outside. For them their country is the center of the world, and Ukrainians are no exception. In their own native language they call their country basically "their land" or "their country," not somebody else's border.

It's time to educate ourselves and others about the true meaning of the their "Ukraine."

Atanas T. Kobryn
North Port, Fla.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Encyclopedia of Ukraine states that the name "originated from the Slavic word 'ukraina' (from the Indo-European root '(s)krei -', to separate or cut). In the literary and historical documents of the 12th to 15th centuries Ukraine meant borderland or bordering country, as well as country (modern Ukrainian: 'krai'). ... Ukraine continued to mean 'land' well into the 15th and 16th centuries and even later. ..." For a full explanation see the entry on "Ukraine" in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, Vol. V; Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1993.

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