NEWS AND VIEWS: Seen and overheard at Soyuzivka during Labor Day weekend 2002 (09/15/02)

NEWS AND VIEWS

Seen and overheard at Soyuzivka during Labor Day weekend 2002

by Andrij Chornodolsky

Once again the end of summer ritual has come and gone. Soyuzivka attracted all age groups to meet, talk, enjoy, politic, criticize, praise, dance, eat, imbibe and prepare to face school or work, fall and winter. There was much joy and laughter, lots of hugs, some tears, for some infatuation, for some love, for others abandon, and for others resignation.

For almost all there was a hope that Soyuzivka would continue to be a Mecca for Ukrainian Americans next year and for perpetuity. Overheard were hundreds of conversations with criticism based on perception of the way things are and an equal number of enthusiastic suggestions of how things should and could be. There were even questions like "Where is the suggestion box?" And there were retorts like what good would suggestions do, it seems that a never ending series of ideas and plans in the past have quietly gone away.

Nowhere to be seen was the Save Soyuzivka table. Maybe that was a good sign.

The greatest attribute that Soyuzivka offers is the opportunity for people to talk. And indeed every direction you looked people were talking. Some conversations were subdued and personal but most were vibrant and animated. Noticeable was the fact that less conversations centered on problems of the homeland. It seems that more Ukrainian Americans have developed a laissez-faire attitude toward problems in Ukraine. The prevailing attitude seems to be that only time, a long time at that, will help Ukraine overcome economic and political problems. The heated discussions have mostly become a thing of the past. Once upon a time the political emigration believed that only violent force from the outside could topple the Soviet Empire. They (we) were proven wrong. Now an evolutionary process of democratization and capitalism is seen as the ultimate tool of nation-building. Perceptions change over time, and many of us have changed.

The Saturday evening concert of the "Syzokryli" ballet-dance ensemble was absolutely breathtaking and enthusiastically appreciated by all. The costumes, choreography and execution were flawless. A great positive is the noticeable increase in attendance of the so-called "Fourth Wave" of Ukrainian Americans. (They don't yet call themselves that). It was regrettable that Prima Ballerina Roma Pryma-Bohachevsky could not be present to again hear the accolades of the entire community for her tireless work, professionalism and accomplishment in choreography and dance instruction.

Equally wonderful was the solo performance of soprano Lesia Hrabova with the superb accompaniment of pianist Andrij Stasiw. The "surprise" duet with tenor Bohdan Chaplynsky was marvelous, and the audience loved the performance.

It's a shame that more young people do not attend the concerts, I guess they are recovering from the prior night's festivities and preparing for the evening's zabava. Oh well, each age has its priorities.

The program's introductory and welcoming remarks by Soyuzivka Office Manager Sonia Semanyshyn were well received and the announcing of the program by Dora Hapij was flawless. Her smooth transition from Ukrainian to English and vice-versa, and her command of both languages, was refreshing to witness. For a change the microphones and sound systems cooperated. (Ukrainians, you know, have a genetic predisposition to make sound systems malfunction. "Testing, testing, one, two, three...")

Missing this year at Soyuzivka were the many vendors of music, T-shirts, souvenirs, ceramics, and arts and crafts. Most of us had gotten so used to them that they were like the annual return of the cranes to their nests on the roofs of houses in the villages of Ukraine. For some Ukrainian Americans the cranes are an essential part of folklore of their parents homeland, for others a genuine memory. Folklore further alleges that if the cranes do not return this portends potential disaster. For whatever reason, the absence of the vendors left a void and cannot be seen as a good omen.

Significant in assessing the great unfulfilled potential that Soyuzivka has were the great number of Ukrainian Americans who filled the accommodations of all neighboring motels, principally the Hudson Valley Resort. Half or more of the deficit that Soyuzivka suffers would easily be covered by the hundreds of rooms sold at three-star-plus hotel rates. Granted, everyone realizes that a resort or hotel cannot survive on one extended weekend per year. However, a lesson must be learned from the neighboring resort with 350 rooms and a flourishing year-round business.

Thousands of meals were consumed in the vicinity, unfortunately most not at Soyuzivka. In fairness, it must be noted that the Q-Café did a marvelous job serving an endless stream of varenyky, kovbasa and bigos, etc. The staff worked tirelessly, and they must be commended. The food was great and the prices were very fair. However, some guests wondered out loud; how come, as always, the Trembita Lounge was out of Ukrainian beer? Can you imagine an Irish Pub without Guinness? Something is wrong with this picture.

Soyuzivka is naturally beautiful. But even Mother Nature sometimes needs some help. The physical plant is in dire need of a major facelift, landscaping enhancement and building renovation. Because we view Soyuzivka as "nasha," most Ukrainian Americans are very forgiving of its short-comings. The reality is that its inadequacies affect the bottom line, i.e., deficits.

When the post-World War II political émigrés arrived in the major cities of the United States they were often welcomed by the prior generation of Ukrainian Americans in their "Narodni Domu" Most of these centers of Ukrainian American cultural life were built in the 1920s and 1930s and were slowly deteriorating. Rather than renovate and build upon what was already there, most new émigré groups proceeded to build new centers and ignored the old. Further, they criticized the prior generation for failing to leave a sustainable lasting presence.

We now are at the same threshold of potential collapse of structures and institutions that were established in the 1950s and are struggling for membership, financial resources and impetus to move forward in this century. To accomplish this transition successfully, and not repeat the mistakes of the past, a new partnership and resolve of purpose must meld out of a merger of the last émigré group and the current one. The finger-pointing and separatism must stop, and the benefit of a new partnership must become apparent.

Soyuzivka and the Ukrainian National Association can serve as the model of building a joint base for the future. The benefits are immense. The failure to grasp this opportunity will mean the creation of a void in Ukrainian American social life, a missing element that will be irreplaceable.

Soyuzivka is more than a resort, or simply a place in the Catskill mountains. Soyuzivka is a meeting of generations, of families and of friends. It is a living memory indelibly imprinted into thousands of Ukrainian's souls because of the opportunity it gave to be with our own. There is no other place where all age groups find comfort and happiness.

Indeed it is not trite to repeat the slogan "Nema to yak na Soyuzivtsi" - "There's no place like Soyuzivka."

Andrij Chornodolsky of Maryland is a past activist of the student and human rights movements, and now mortgage broker and business consultant.

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