NO. 17 CARPATHO-RUS, ALLENTOWN, N.J., SEPTEMBER 13, 2002 VOL. LXXV

Continued from Issue #16, 2002

This continuing vii/age story is the sixteenth installment in KR.

Nasha Hromada (Our Community)

(History of villages Yasiunka, Kriwa and Banitsa)

When we went to pick blackberries on Mokhnach or Magurich in the summer of 1945, we didn't have to do much looking because they had sprung up all over and we could get all we wanted in one spot. And we also found lots of mushrooms. But we didn't s~e . any Banitsians or hear any shepherds slngmg. The upper end of the village was all overgrown, and only on some of the better meadows was there -any 9"000 --grass" where the Banitsians that were left, or Kri~ans or Panknans cut some hay. The-· abaridoned h~uses looked awful - doors wide open , windows broken out, and every little breeze would cause rattling and creaking, making it all scary.

The grain and other crops that had survived were harvested by the remaining residents or by Polish troops. When the soldiers came to cur hay, they would go into the empty houses and take whatever they could - windows, doors, boards, and anything else that caught their fancy. And later that fall and winter they would buy entire houses from the government for little or nothing, tear them down, and haul the lumber away. It was in this period that the Banitsia school was removed to Gladyshow, where it is still standing. Many of the best buildings were destroyed at that time.

The latter half of the year 1945 was not too bad for the Banitsians who were left. They finally had some peace, but it didn't last long. The new year of 1946 had barely begun when another tragedy occurred. UPA {Ukrainian Insurgent Army] partisans began showing up. They came often through our villages, because they had their camps on the nearby Chertezh and Magurich peaks.

I remember one time I was in Banitsia helping my brother-in-law with his threshing. He had a threshing machine and a treadmill, and I was driving the horses. All day long I could see smoke over Chertezh and Magurich where the Banderites had their camps. They didn't worry at all, because they knew that the troops would not go after them in the deep woods, so they just took it easy. At twilight they would go out to the villages and take train, potatoes, sheep, cattle, pigs, etc. They would give receipts for these things, saying they would make

compensation when they won their independent Ukraine. As for how many of them there were, I can only say that there were a lot of them all over the forests where they had safe refuge. In eastern Galicia, the Soviet troops were giving them more trouble, so a lot of them swarmed into our Lemkovina. The Poles didn't bother them much; they had their own partisans to worry about. Polish troops came to Banitsia or other villages around there only once in a while, and they didn't go on to Chertezh or Magurich. They just looked for Banderites in our cellars and took whatever they could find - milk, cream, eggs, cheese, and anything else, terrorizing the few families who had stayed.

The years 1945 and 1946 were very hard for Banitsia. The people barely got over one calamity when another fell on their heads. And again they lived in great fear, for when they went to bed they didn't know if they ~:be $lfjy~,"n.~xt.ruQJnipg.

WhEm the Poles thinned the ranks of the Banderites, the latter would take our boys who returned from Germany or from the Soviet army. The following came back from Germany during this period; Andrei Fesh with his son, and he left right away to join his wife in the Soviet Union; Antokha Kurilo, who came to live with her uncle, Pawlo Kurilo; Kanishchak, who went to work for a Pole in Zagozhany; Mitro Kets returned from Siberia where he had been imprisoned by th~ Soviets after the war for having served as bailiff under the Germans, but he also left to join his wife and family in the Soviet Union· Mikhail Fesh, brother of the Stefan Fesh wh~ had been killed by the Germans, -returned from the Russian army but he was soon taken by the Banderites (he is now somewhere in the West, - England or

America). The Banderites didn't get anybody else from Banitsia, because there weren't any others to take.

Some people would probably like to hear more about the Banderites; it's because of them that the Poles drove us into exile on the pretext that we were in cahoots with tbem. That was and is a monstrous lie. The Lemkos never organized any Banderites. That was done by the Ukrainian nationalists of the OUN, who didn't care anything about Lemkovina. Even their slogan "Drive the Polacks over the San" attests to that; our Lemkovina begins at the San River. And over here in the west too, the cat has come out of the bag. Here and now they pretend to be friends of the Lemkos, publish special newspapers for us, and try to pull the wool over our eyes. These are the same people who tried to hide in Lemkovina as they fled from the Soviet troops, and plundered our land. They forced our young men to serve

Continued on Page 2, Column 1

Continued from Issue #16

From a pamphlet written in 1941 by Gregory Berzinec, the following history concems Transcarpathia, the former eastem end of Czechoslovakia in the period between the two world wars. At the conclusion of World War /I this area became a part of the Soviet Union and, after the breakup in 1991, it is now a part of independent Ukraine.

The Persecution of the Carpatho-Russian People

* * * * *

The most important thread in the history of the cultural movement of Carpatho­Russia is the growth of the language. Significant therefore, because of its bearing on this question is the work of John Kutka (j75~1814), first professor of \heo\og~ \~ the Mukachevo Monastery. His works were written in Church Slavonic mixed with the local dialect. Though he knew Russian, he did not employ it as his literary medium.

At this point two persons of wide education and of thorough western training who contributed to the elevation of the Carpatho-Russian people from where they began should be reviewed in brief.

The first, Vasili Doglovich, was a native of

the Marmoros Sziget District. Born of simple peasant stock, Doglovich studied first at Chust, with the priest in that village, attended the Gymnasium of his native town and then like most of his ambitious contemporaries: entered the Jesuit Seminary in Ternava. He spent his life thereafter in priestly ministry in one village after another, until finally he came to Chust, where he died in 1849. Doglovich's writings, touching on the most abstract subjects, would fill volumes. Bringing together astronomy and philosophy, he devised a system of words of his own, winning for himself the title of the Carpatho­Russian Descartes. In 1831, he was made a corresponding member of the Magyar Academy of Science.

Though his greatest work in Rtlssian

is his Great Catechism, completed in 1837, his most Significant work, from the historical point of view, is a volume of verse containing two poems which would seem to indicate he had followed the model of folk poetry. This seems strange indeed, for he had been reared in the most rigid of classical traditions in accord with the works of Herder and of Celakovsky. Or he may have awakened of his own accord to the rich treasures his own folk possessed in their native poetry.

Continued on Page 3, Column 1

-PAGE 2 CARPATHO-RUS SEPTEMBER 13, 2002

Continued from .Page 1, Column 2

them, and then deserted them to the mercies of the Poles while they themselves fled to the west, to Germany, from where they scattered to the USA, Canada, and elsewhere.

As I have already mentioned, the Banderites often visited Banitsia where they felt safe with their camps in the nearby forests, and that caused problems. The year 1946 was tragic for Banitsia. Although there were only a few families left, they still lived through some fearfu! times. Polish troops would come hunting and terrorizing innocent people, but they didn't dare go on to Chertezh or Magurich where the Banderites were watching. They just beat on the poor residents to get them to give the names of Banderite members. Like all other Lemkos at that time, the Banitsians didn't know which way to lean, because both sides terrorized the people and nobody could be believed. So people just kept their mouths, shut, which was the safest thing to do.

One winter night, the Poles came through Banitsia from house to house looking for Banderites, but they didn't find any. Not having found anybody to vent their anger on, they came to the house of Ewka Dziopa, who is now living in Watervliet, New York. Staying with her, with his wife, was Wasil Bybel, who had just returned from Germany and was helping out on Ewka's farm. When the Poles banged on the door, Wasil jumped out of bed to light a lamp. The soldiers then fired several rounds into the house, killing Wasil. They whipped and arrested Ivan Petrishyn of Lipna, who was also living there. Nor is this the end, people are still being victimized.

Late in the fall of 1946, some Banderites visited Banitsia as they were returning drunk from _ some sedding in Pankna. They decided to spend the night in Banitsia, but they didn't set any guard. They slept peacefully until morning, but they didn't get up even then because the mountains were covered with fog and they thought nothing would happen. But for some of them this became the final stop of their lives. Polish troops came searching for them before noon. The first to spot the soldiers was one of the Banitsia lads who was herding cows on Spust. He was smart enough to realize that this meant some danger for Banitsia, so he ran home to warn those uninvited guests to leave the village. Some of them did run and hide, but others didn't mange to get away and started fighting the troops. Some of them were killed and some were wounded, but an innocent civilian was also killed. That was Stefan Bybel, son of Petro Bybel of Kriwa (Stefan Bybel had returned from Germany and had married Anna Zorilo of Yasiunka daughter of Hnat Zorilo, who had been killed by the Sichowiki. The young couple took over Mikhail Fesh's place, because Stefan's sister had married into that and then left for the USSR).

Some of those in that battle were wounded and some were killed, but I don't know how many. All I remember is one Banderite from Brunary named Kowalchik, who was killed near Dziipa's house. Two houses, Ewka Oziopa's and Fesh's, were burned down by the Poles because they couldn't drive the Banderites out any other way. They herded together the rest of the Banitsia residents and beat them unmercifully. It seemed as though they would pound them all to death, but when they had their ran of beating they left them 1ying in the -burned ruins, thoroughly whipped and frightened.

We in Vasiunka heard the shooting and we could see the Jight of the blazing fife, but nobody -dared go over to hetp; we might have been killed too. We didn't find out what happened until the next day, and we then brought our relatives back to live with us.

Anna Bybel came to her mother's, Ewka Dziopa to her sister-in-law Natska Bybel. Those whose houses had not been burned continued living in Banitsia, but they lived in great fear. After this incident, the troops came often to Banitsia and hounded the people to tell them who was with the Banderites. Those few families had a hard life, but there was still no end to their sorrow. The year 1947 -brought the worst tragedy of all - expulsion to the west.

The Poles drove out the Yasiunkans on June 9, 1947, and the Kriwans and Banitsians a few days later. They dorve them all the way to Zagozhany, to the same park where we had spent a few days. But the Banitsians had it worse than we did, because they were mired in the mud and filth left by

animals and humans. They were taken by train to Glogow County and scattered among the villages and towns of Radwanice, Grebocice, and others. The following Banitsia families were driven out there: Petro Fesh (only his wife and children, because Petro himself had been arrested by the Poles and taken to Jaworzno, where he died. Petro was arrested because his son Mikhail had been recruited by the Banderites. His oldest son Stefan was one of the partisans during the German occupation and was also killed along with other Banitsians), Ivan Shkimba, Asafat Kitsei (I. Shkimba's son-in-law), Anna Bybel, Pawlo Kurilo, Ewka Dziopa, Fetsko Saifert, Ivan Guresh, Kuzma Kowtko, and Antokha Kurilo.

In the Glogow area they found damaged German cottages, and they settled there. They are still living there, except for a few who went to America, such as Ewka Dziopa, Antokha Kurilo, and Pawlo Kurilo's family. It should be noted that the Poles in those villages were well off because lpey had taken over the ... Iarg.e§.t~, anp .. Qe,~ 'b~ermar1 farms, and a fellow could earn' some grain and potatoes working for them. Even some of the Yasiunkans, who had settled in neighboring Wolub County, went over to Glogow to work in the 1947 harvest.

In a material sense the Banitsians somehow stabilized their situation, but emotionally they still longed for their fathenand, even though they had suffered much there. However, like all other Lemkos, they could not get permission to return to Banitsia. Just about all the houses that had belonged to those who went to the USSR, as well as those who were driven out, were tom down and hauled to Polish villages. Only the homes of the following were left standing: Pawel Kurilo, Stefan Bybel, Bihuniak, Andrei Saifert, and Ivan Guresh. They were used by Poles and Kriwa gypsies. We have heard just recently that the Bybel house is now occupied by a Rotko family from Pankna.

It would seem that in the west the Banitsians would finally have peace and could live without fear. But it didn't happen quite that way. The grief that they had suffered in Banitsia did. not end for everybody. There were a few people who, out of jealousy, carried ta1es to the UBP, and

these people would come at night and terrorize some of the settlers. This persecution went on during Stalinist times and did not cease until Statin's death. It was not until ttlen that the Banitsians could breathe a WJeeasier.

The children of the fianitsians in exile have completed schools and courses and are all following their chosen careers. Kowtko's and KuriIo's are teachers, Guresh's sons are truck drivers; others are WOIWng in faotories or on farms.

8aftitstaAs Who Emigrated

Very many Banitsians emigrated from

the village. Every family had someone who went to America or Canada, and in some instances there were several. Of those that were exiled, Antokha Kurilo and Ewka Dziopa went to America in 1949. A num~r of people came to Americal and Canada 'from Germany, for example, Motyka who was a mail carrier before the war. Lukach Guresh and Ivan Gileta are in England. Pawlo and Maria Kurilo, their daughter Julia Kril with her husband Kundrat and son Miroslav have just recently come to America. One of the Guresh brothers used to live in Prague, Czechoslovakia. There was a great wave of emigration before Wond War I and a lesser movement afterward. The start of Banitsia emigration dates from the 19th century. One of the oldest Banitsia emigrants, as far as I know, is probably Nikolai Wasenko, who is now 97 years old. He came to America as a young lad and has lived to enjoy a large family. You will find more on the life of this Banitsia pioneer a little farther on, as well as a picture of him.

I know only a few of the Banitsians who left eanier, but I will name those that I do know. In Yonkers, New York are Wasil Filiak and his wife of the Kosar family, Timko Shkimba's sister, Smiy, Pawlo and Maria Kurilo, Julia and Kundrat Kril, Nikolai Wasenko, and some others. Julia Guresh Melnik lives in Beacon, New York. Living in Danbury, Connecticut are Ivan Fesh, Filiak, and Kosar (somewhere in Conn.). latsko, Seman, Mikhail, Julia, Anna, and Antokha Kuriloare all living in New Jersey. In New York is Andrei Saifert's wife with her three children. In Canada there are Shkimba (Timko's son) in Toronto and Gebuza in Hamilton. I know there are a lot more, but I don't know their names or where they live.

Interview With Nikolai Wasenko Reprinted from · ... Karpatska:RllS" (July-196S}­

At the Request of this Oldest Banitsia Emigrant

We were sitting by a window on the upper floor of No. 46, Molford Gardens in Yonkers, New York. It was a clear day, and through that large window we could see all of Yonkers and its environs.

al asked you to come here because I would like to pay for the newspaper aK.R" and the new aCarpatho-Russian American". I don't get out much anymore, because my years won't let me, and tomorrow I want to go to the dentist to fix my teeth:

'You say you want to have your teeth fixed, and I heard that you have gone past the age of 95 already. Is that right?" I asked Nikolai Wasenko.

·Oh, well. Age has nothing to do with teeth! If you have good teeth, age won't hurt them. As for my age, 1 will soon be 96:

I glanced at the table, where there were a number of newspapers, including our aK.R-. I asked if he can still read; we often get letters from older people who say sorrowfully that they have to stop reading our newspaper on account of their eyes.

-Well, that's possible. But it's not for me. I stU! read newspapers, often without glasses, because f am a stout Rusnak.-

-Are you joking about your lifer

·WefJ, joke or no joke, but fact is fact. t do read my newspaper, and I asked you to come here so • -can pay for it:

Theodore '00kJya Transfated by Dimitri Gallik

To be COntinued

PAGE 3 CARPATHO-RUS SEPTEMBER 13, 2002

Continued from Page 1, Column 3

John Churgovich (1791-1862), like Doglovich, came back to he own people from training abroad (he studied at Budapest and Vienna) to do what he could for their enlightenment and elevation. As organizer of the Uzhorod gymnasium, he tried against all odds, to purge it of its laxity and its self­satisfaction. He was one of the few Carpatho-Russian savants, being the owner of a large library of books in all the Slavonic and most of the western and classical tongues.

At the end of the third period of C. R's cultural history (1700-1830) we find scholars in all Europe beginning to concern themselves with the Slavonic languages. There was a strong feeling, moreover, everywhere in the more cultivated parts of the Slav world, a rising of the vernacular to the status of a literary language, challenging the long­undisputed sway of Latin. In Carpatho­Russia, as we have seen, Church Slavonic had stood side by side with Latin as the recognized literary language.

The question of a literary language for the future in Carpatho-Russia was now provoked by the current interest in 'Slavdom' and its problems. Should some systematization of the local dialect be accepted as the literary language, as was happening with the Czech, Slovak, Serbian, Slovene and Croatian languages? This problem though of no concern to the wretchedly impoverished peasantry of C. R, was of acute concern to C. R scholars. What was to become of the standard literary language? Church Slavonic, modified, as it had been by centuries of use, or living Russian, or the local dialect?

Two natives of Carpatho-Russia were s~JiJm~/y concefl)ed .. (Mic~e/ . Luchkay,· born 1789, and John Fogarashij, born 1786) with this problem and sought, by some means, to solve it. Both hailed from small vii/ages in C. R, one from Veliky Lucky, and the other from Veliky Komyat in the Sevljus district. Both were priests and both came under the influence of the great Slavonic Kipitar; Luckhay during his student days at Barbaras parish in Vienna, and Fogarshij in st. Barbara's Seminary. Both studied Dobrovsky, the Father of Slavonic Philology, and both were stirred With deep concern over the problems of the Slavonic tongues.

In 1829, when Prince Charles Louis Bourbon, the Spanish Infanta, was getting up a Greek court in Lucca, Italy, hoping by this gesture to charm the Greeks into choosing him King, he sent to Vienna for a priest, a deacon and two cantors. Forgarashij communicated the Princes' request to the Bishop of Uzhorod, whose Secretary and General factotum . Luchkay was at that time. As a result, Luchkay was ordered to let his beard grow, to set out for Lucca and carry with him the eastern, "Pravoslavny· rites.

The four years of Luchkay's sojourn in Lucca left him free for scholarly work. Out of them came his Grammatica Siavo. In this monumental exploration of the speech of the Carpathian highlanders. Luchkay showed a deep linguistic knowledge but no sympathy for the vernacular. He believed that for the Western world, Latin should stand as the literary language, and for the Eastern church Slavonic. He regretted the creeping int~ Latin and Church Slavonic of forms from local dialects. He disposed of the necessity for C. R grammars by contending the local dialect was only a variant of Old Slavonic and, he included in his own grammar, forms from the local speech only to show how close to its parent tongue the C. R dialect was. Luchkay's Grammar was directly against the spirit of the times. He wrote it, not for the purpose of elevating the local dialect to a

literary language, but solely to make it Simpler to C. R students to learn Church Slavonic and to show foreign linguists what the local spe~~h was /ike. In his own writing's, those ReligiOUS Conversations that are so like the Postilla of Hus, Luchkay shows he is under the influence of four languages: Church Slavonic, which influenced his forms the local dialect, which molded his style, a'nd Greek and Latin, which established his syntax.

Luchkay's Grammar, though obsolete is still an important work historically, becaus~ of the very dilemma which it illustrates. Aside from the Grammar, Luchkay's most significant work was a five-volume History of Carpatho­Russia. It is a thoroughly scientific work based on original documents, as Basilovich has explored into a wider field, the whole past, indeed, of Carpatho-Russia.

Fogarshij, like his contemporary Luchkay, was opposed to the evolution, from the local dialect, of a literary language. He believed every Slav should know how to speak his own dialect and write in Church Slavonic, the language he envisaged as the literary medium for the entire Slavonic world.

G. Gregory Berzinec

To be Continued

From the Intemet recently, BBC printed an interesting story of Lemkos in their Europe section, written by their cOffespondent Nicholas Walton in Warsaw.

Lemk people fight for survival

The Lemk [0] people of the Carpathian mo"untains in Eastern Europe hay~ 1!1~l1ag~~L!o .!.~~9~ .JI:I.eir identity aft~r

50 years of exile under the communist regime, but now face different problems in the modem world.

Already divided over several borders they also face the challenge of borde~ restrictions tightening in the future.

Their traditional home nestles mainly between the borders of Ukraine, Poland and Slovakia.

If Poland and Slovakia succeed in joining the European Union, the border lying between them and the large community of Ukrainian Lemkos - also known as R.us or Ruthenians - will become harder to cross with strict visa regimes and higher security. '

With an estimated one and a half million Lemkos worldwide, a fully codified written language could be crucial to retaining the Lemko identity.

Most belong to the Greek Catholic or Uniate, church, a branch of the Orthodox Church that broke away and accepted the Catholic Pope as the Church's leader.

At the onion-domed Lemko church in the southern Polish town of Krynica, a congregation of about 50 gathers to celebrate St. Wlodzimierz's Day.

The church itself is new, built after Lemkos began returning to the area following the communist deportations that took place after World War II.

To them, the church is a symbol that their community is re-establishing itself in its former homeland of wild, rolling hills.

Language preservation

as well as reclaiming their religion, the Lemkos are looking to their language, similar to Ukrainian and Polish, for their identity.

Michal Sandowicz is the head of the Lemko Society in Warsaw.

He says the language is the foundation of their national consciousness.

"We are trying to reach back in time so

that we can universalize our our language, and show that it connects to a rich Lemko history:

He is hoping to codify spoken Lemko into a full written language.

He says computer technology has allowed the Lemko diaspora, especially in the United States and Australia, to contribute to the project.

"Thanks to the Internet we can communicate with other Lemkos in the world· he says. '

"We're finding that those who left here a long time ago have preserved language which we have since lost here. From these sources we're creating a dictionary, making our Lemko language richer.·

Education struggle

Petro Murianka, a Lemko poet with a flamboyant moustache, runs theater groups and writes Lemko exercise books for schoolchildren.

He says keeping the language alive is difficult after a half century of communism.

Most Polish Lemkos were resettled as individual families in predominantly Polish communities, and there were no written Lemko magazines or books.

"In the Polish nation of 40 million people, we are only 50,000 or 60,000, and we're hardly noticeable,- he argues.

"We try to teach classes at school -but it's normally a problem to gather enough for a whole class. In places where there are only two or three Lemko families, they're assimilating:

Keeping the traditions

After World War ", Olga Stefanowska's family was sent to Szczecin, in the far north-west of Poland.

She says that at the time, repreSSion helped them to keep their traditions going, but now assimilation is proving a tougher

challenge.

"In my oplOion it was easier then, because we loved the language very much and hoped we would come back to the mountains. It was the only thing in our lives, and that's why it was easy to keep it,· she says.

"Now it's different because life is normal. We have to go to work somewhere, hundreds and hundreds of kilometres:

Olga said that she made sure that she married another Lemko, to keep their traditions alive, and would be upset if her daughter married a Pole.

"Everything depends on our souls -what we believe in. For example I live in Szczecin, but I am Lemko, I will be to death. And I hope my daughter too - we have this inside, in our soul.-

Nicholas Walton - BBC

PAGE 4 CARPATHO-RUS SEPTEMBER 13, 2002

Cooking Comer

Deep-fried Little Pies [piroshki] with Cabbage

Cabbage Filling:

1 medium-sized cabbage, enough water to cover

cabbage 1 white onion Yz cup butter 2 hard-boiled eggs

salt pepper to taste

1 tsp sugar

For these peroshki the cabbage filling should be made while the dOlJgh is rising.

Yeast Dough:

1 oz. fresh yeast Yz cup lukewarm water 1Yz cups milk 1 egg 1 tsp salt -1 tbsp sugar Yz cup oil 3Yz cups plain flour 3 cups oil for dee~frying

To make filling, chop cabbage fine, put in saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes. Drain it off in a colander, carefully pressing out any remaining water, otherwise it wiH be too wet for frying.

Chop the onion and fry in butter till light brown. Add the cabbage and fry together for 10-15 minutes. Chill. Chop the hard-boiled eggs and add to cabbage with salt, pepper and sugar.

To make the dough, dissolve the yeast in Yz cup lukewarm water. Mix together all other ingredients except flour and oil for frying, then add yeast, then flour. Beat with a wooden spoon for 5-10 minutes, until the dough is thoroughly mixed and starting to form bubbles. Do not cut down on the beating time if you want the dough to be light. Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and leave

dough to rise. When it has doubled its size,

tip out on a well-floured board. Lightly sprinkle flour on top, cut out with a glass into small circles. The dough is very springy and if the glass is pressed straight down on it, it will rise up inside. Cut down into the dough using first one side of the glass, then tilting it to cut with the other, so the air can get out.

Flatten Slightly on the board or by patting in your hand into circles 3-3 Yz inch diameter, then put 1 tablespoon of filling in each. Ford over the dough and join the edges together, forming an egg-shaped pie with the jOint along the top. Put the piroshki on a floured board and let them rise for about 10 minutes.

In a saucepan heat 3 cups of oil to 400 degrees F. for dee~frying. When hot enough drop in a small piece of dough. If it rises to the surface immediately, the oil is hot enough. Dee~fry the piroshki, 4 or 5 at a time, turning them gently with a fork or pastry tongs, taking care not to pierce them. Cook until golden brown, approximately 5 minutes; take them out, put them on paper toweling to drain and cover with a cloth. Serve hot. Makes 25-30 piroshki.

In Appreciation

We extend our thanks for .heJp in producing this week's · issue of Carpatho-Rus to Ludmilla Marshovska.

The Oak and the Maple

·Oak, creaked the tall Maple. ·My eye tells me that you are not an oak:

·What then, in your opinion, am I?" -Vou are a mutation of me: -Maple, you can have all the

mutations you want. But I am Oak and I will stay Oak:

-Not so!- Maple raises a club. "Don't argue with me. I have proved, critically and analytically, that.. ..

"Neighbor, My father and all my grandfathers blossomed on this ground. My roots go deep here ... "

"You hush! If I get any angrier, I will have you punished officially!-

Oh, you obstinate and unyielding force, May you be crushed unto remorse.

Mikolai Kseniak - from Besida Translated by: Dimitri Gallik

Press Fund Contributions

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AUDIO & VIDEO TAPES

Item #1: Karpato-Rus' Folk Songs: Eighteen folk songs from the

Carpathian Mountains. Transcribed from 78 RPM discs recorded in 1910, this audio cassette tape presents wedding, christening and Christmas songs ... the way our ancestors did them. Item #2: Russian Balalaika and Polkas, Chardashes and Gypsy Eclectic:

This audio cassette tape contains Russian polka and balalaika selections, Slavic chardashes and gypsy melodies. Several folk songs provided here were originally recorded in 1910 on 78 RPM discs.

Item #3: East European Folk Festival: Lemko Association sponsored many

festivals in the past of East European dancing and singing. This video offers highlights of the 25th Festival held in 1993. It includes excerpts of an Orthodox Catholic prayer service and concert of Karpato-Rus, Ukrainian, Russian, and Slovak folk songs.

Item #4: Canonization of Father Maksym Sandovich;

This video includes a biography of Saint Maksym, the first Orthodox Catholic saint of the Karpati-Rus;. The major sites and events of his glOrification which occurred in Gorlice, Poland in September, 1994 are uniquely recorded.

Item #5: Video Recording of the Akafist Male Chamber Choir of Moscow and the Slavic Male Chorus of Washington, D.C.;

Recorded at st. Luke's Serbian Orthodox Church in McLean, Virginia on March 12, 1992, this video includes 17 classic liturgical songs and shows the interior and exterior of all Slavic Orthodox Catholic churches in the Washington, D.C. area.

Item #6: Canonization of Father Alexis 7oth;!­St. Alexis' biography and canonization

ceremony are preserved on this video which was filmed at St. Tikhon's Monastery.

Item #7: Folk Songs from the Uzhorod Region: "Muse Zakarpatskaia through 12 folk

songs that were recorded in Soviet days in 1955. ITEM #8: Lemko Wedding Music by Stephen Skimba in cassette; and ITEM #9: same as #8 in CD form.

We were fortunate in finding one of Steve Skimba's original 78 RPM records and this has been duplicated.

PRICES: Item #1 ..... $12. Item #2 .•..• $12. Item #3 .•.•. $25. Item #4 ..... $20. Item #5 ....• $30. Item #6 ••••. $20. Item #7 ..... $12. Item #8 ..... $12. Item #9 ..... $20.

All prices include shipping costs. Send check or money order made out to Lemko Association to:

Mary Barker . 521 Piermont Avenue River Vale, NJ 07675 •

Passaic Branch 5-16; Lemko Assoc.

2002 Schedule of Events

Fall Banquet: Oct. 20 $15.

Birthday Meetings

Dec. 8

@ 2:00PM, Donation

@U

All events are held at Masonic Hall, comer of Ann Street & Lanza Ave., Garfield, NJ