Highlights from the UNA's 110-year history (07/04/04)

Highlights from the UNA's 110-year history

A special yearlong feature focusing on the history of the Ukrainian National Association.

Cleveland was the site of the 22nd Convention of the Ukrainian National Association which met on May 22-27, 1950. A total of 909 delegate votes were represented by 429 delegates of UNA branches and 20 supreme officers.

Once again, reports showed that the UNA had experienced significant growth. As of the end of 1949, the UNA had 472 branches throughout North America, 56,009 members and assets totaling $11,167,057.

That growth continued in the next several years as UNA membership in 1951 was 61,520; in 1952 it reached 65,790; and in 1953 it was 68,494. By the spring of 1953, there were 485 UNA branches and assets of $14,110,917.73.

At the 22nd Convention, delegates made many important decisions, among them the following amendments to the UNA By-Laws: an audit of UNA assets was to be held at least once a year; the maximum amount of insurance on a certificate was increased to $5,000; the age of eligible members was raised from 55 to 60; and the subscription fee for Svoboda was upped to 50 cents per month.

Delegates elected a new supreme president, Dmytro Halychyn, who would go on to serve through 1961, when he died while still in office.

The 22nd Convention also recommended that the UNA Supreme Assembly acquire, within two years, a property on which an old-age home could be built; members were asked to contribute $1 each toward this project. On April 22, 1952, the Executive Committee acted on this recommendation when it decided to purchase a property in Kerhonkson, N.Y. The purchase price: $72,000.

During the period between the 22nd and 23rd Conventions, the UNA published two major books, "Twentieth Century Ukraine," and "Ukraine Under the Soviets," both by Clarence A. Manning.

Source: "Ukrainian National Associa-tion: Its Past and Present, (1894-1964)," by Anthony Dragan (translated from the original Ukrainian by Zenon Snylyk). Jersey City, N.J.: Svoboda Press, 1964. The border featured in this special feature is reproduced from a UNA membership certificate dating to 1919.

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