EDITORIAL: Our Soyuzivka (12/01/02)

EDITORIAL

Our Soyuzivka

Last weekend marked both a celebration of the past and a step into the future for Soyuzivka, the upstate New York resort owned and operated for the benefit of the Ukrainian community by the Ukrainian National Association.

On Saturday, November 23, hundreds of guests traveled to Soyuzivka for its gala 50th anniversary banquet. They came because, as UNA President Stefan Kaczaraj put it, "Soyuzivka holds a very special place in our hearts."

In fact, many of the people in attendance had grown up with Soyuzivka, including UNA officers, Soyuzivka employees, and guests who today bring their own kids to this extraordinary place in the scenic Shawangunk Mountains, even members of the Tempo Orchestra whose history is intimately tied to the resort. According to Soyuzivka pioneers, among the audience were some of Soyuzivka's first campers. Present also were tennis players who had trained at the resort and participants of its various sports meets, as well as students at Soyuzivka's Cultural Courses and dance workshops. Some had met their future spouses at the Q; others had their weddings at the resort. Many of them were members of Plast, a scouting organization whose history encompasses camps at Soyuzivka - including the first camp ever held there, a camp for "novatstvo" held in 1952 - and Plast's "Tabir Ptashat" day camp for preschoolers, which began in 1989. (Those first "ptashata" today are already university students who in a few short years will be in a position to take on leading roles in our community life.) In some cases, three generations of families were represented at the 50th anniversary bash. One couple could boast that they had vacationed at the resort for 47 consecutive years - certainly one for the record books.

All had special memories of the time they spent at Soyuzivka.

There were so many connections among so many people present that the jubilee event was more like a reunion, and the wonderful display of photos from Soyuzivka's past served to heighten that feeling. Those who could not come sent messages - 40 messages in all were received from various groups and institutions that have benefited from Soyuzivka's facilities. Many letters expressed sincere thanks to all those whose hard work had laid the foundation the existence and the development of Soyuzivka.

One sensed a genuine excitement in the air on November 23 - a feeling that this event was something special, that the people gathered realize what a treasure our Soyuzivka was, is and, hopefully, will continue to be. Indeed, the plans for a new Soyuzivka that will continue in its role as a keystone of our community are already in the development stage, and some of them were shared with Soyuzivka guests during the jubilee weekend. More details will be released in the new year.

What can be accomplished - how the vision can become a reality as keynote speaker Roman Kyzyk characterized it - depends not only on the Ukrainian National Association, which has financially supported the resort for 50 years, but also on our community. Will our community demonstrate its love for Soyuzivka in more tangible ways - by using the resort, by donating their talents, by making contributions to its renaissance? If the 50th anniversary festivities at Soyuzivka are any indication, the answer should be a resounding "Yes!"

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