Northeastern Pennsy community marks Ukraine's first decade (09/09/01)

Northeastern Pennsy community marks Ukraine's first decade

SCRANTON, Pa. - Members of Northeastern Pennsylvania's Ukrainian community gathered at Scranton City Hall on Friday, August 24, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Ukraine's independence.

Hosted by the Mayor of Scranton, James P. Connors, and coordinated by the Ukrainian Heritage Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania, the event included a prayer for all people of Ukraine, raising of the Ukrainian flag on the City Hall flagpole, singing of the Ukrainian national anthem and the reading of a proclamation recognizing the significance of the day.

Mayor Connors proclaimed August 24 as Ukrainian Independence Day in the City of Scranton and called upon "all fellow citizens to join the many Americans of Ukrainian descent in their celebration of the signing of the Declaration of the Independence of Ukraine and in a prayer that this independence will never be taken away."

He went on to note that "for three generations the people of Ukrainian ancestry have deplored the destruction of Ukraine by the Communist Russian forces; that Ukrainians throughout the world have preserved an indestructible spirit of religious, cultural, historical and national identity; and with Soviet Communism ultimately being destroyed, Ukraine has become an independent, self-determined state."

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