Plast's Pysanyi Kamin campground celebrating 40th anniversary (07/03/05)

Plast's Pysanyi Kamin campground celebrating 40th anniversary

by Marusia Fedkiw

CLEVELAND - The year 2005 marks the 40th anniversary of the Ukrainian Plast camp Pysanyi Kamin in Ohio. To mark this event, the celebrations of this milestone started with Sviato Yuriya (Feast of St. George) held on May 28-30.

The celebration will continue with a festival during observances of "Den Plastuna" (Day of the Scout) on July 23-24 starting at 5 p.m. on Saturday. Festivities will include games, Plast kiosks selling memorabilia of the campground's 40th anniversary, a festive bonfire with a program, a barbecue, surprises, and much more. Sunday liturgy will be at 9 a.m.

The festival will be held at Pysanyi Kamin campsite, which is located at 17030 Shedd Road in Middlefield, Ohio, approximately 40 miles east of Cleveland.

In 1964 after an extensive search by many dedicated friends and members of the Cleveland chapter of Plast, 140 acres of land were purchased in Middlefield, Ohio. Together with Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization in the U.S.A., they became owners of the property hidden away in Ohio's Amish country. This particular site was chosen because the terrain is conducive to camping. It has open fields surrounded by dense maple forests, four ponds hidden among pine trees, countless ravines and a crystal clear stream that cuts through the property.

The original Pysanyi Kamin (Painted Rock) is a majestic rock atop a peak in the Carpathian Mountains of the Hutsul region in western Ukraine. It is said that countless numbers of Plast members hiked up the steep mountain to the painted rock. They recorded their names and the names of their "kureni" (fraternities/sororities) on the rock; thus, the name "Pysanyi Kamin."

Pysanyi Kamin holds a special place in the hearts of Plast members. In 1924, under the Polish occupation of Ukraine, all organized Ukrainian activities were banned. To strengthen Plast, Prof. Severyn Levytsky, the famous Plast leader, known as "Siryi Lev" (Grey Lion) called for a mass gathering of all Plast members at Pysanyi Kamin. July 12, 1924, marks this historic occasion as the first large convocation of Plastuny from all over western Ukraine who came to serve god and Ukraine.

It is in honor of this first Plast gathering in the history of Plast that the name Pysanyi Kamin was chosen for the campsite in Ohio.

Over the last 40 years, thousands of Plast members from all over the United States and Canada, and a few even from Ukraine, spent their summers at the American Pysanyi Kamin. There they developed endurance, self-reliance and teamwork. There, lifelong friendships and memories were built. There thousands of Plastuny spent wonderful summers under starry skies, sitting at bonfires, and singing the hauntingly beautiful words "Tut ye Boh" (God is here). Ohio's Pysanyi Kamin will continue to serve the needs of Plast members for many years to come; it will continue to instill in our Ukrainian youth love for God and Ukraine.

The highlight of the anniverary festivities will be a "Sviatochna Vatra" (Festive Bonfire) with a dinner on Sunday, October 2, at 2:30 pm at Pokrova Ukrainian Catholic Parish Hall located at 6812 Broadview Road, Parma, Ohio.

During Pysanyi Kamin's 40th celebration the public is invited to come and join in these celebrations and share some of the unforgettable moments with us. For further information readers may contact Roman Kwit at (330) 659-2123 or [email protected].

Marusia Fedkiw, a senior plast counselor, is a member of the Shostokryli.

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