Fieldtrip to Canada in July and August -Part II

During our research trip we visited the University of Manitoba Archives in the Elizabeth Dafoe Library in Winnipeg. The archives hold the fonds of Michael Ewanchuk who was a prolific writer on the Ukrainian communities in Manitoba. 

The fonds include annotated township maps, interviews with pioneers, photographs and the manuscripts of Ewanchuk's numerous publications.

Included in the various papers is a letter written by the Icelandic-Canadian author W.D. Valgardson (b. 7 May 1939) in which he recalls growing up in the Gimli area among Icelandic and Ukrainian families. It is noteworthy that the things that come into Valgardson's mind as he recalls his childhood are differences in material culture between the Icelandic families and the Ukrainians; fences, barns, foodstuffs and the garden produce. The distinction between things Ukrainian and things of other origins also suggests that even if there was interaction between families of different ethnicities the ethnic labels still applied and clearly separated Ukrainian farms from Icelandic farms.

Ukrainian women picking turnips c. 1910. Archives of Mantioba,
Sisler Collection 193 N11654

Ukrainian women picking cabbages c. 1916. Archives of Manitoba,
Sisler Collection 190 N9603

"Funny, the things one takes for granted as a kid but which, later in life, one looks back on with amazement. Like growing up with people called Solarchuk, Keller, Daedash, Yurechuk. ... I cannot imagine what my life would have been without Ukrainians. It is not the big things but little things. Daily things. Peroghis. Holobchi. Poppy seed cake. Borscht. Fields with fences made of stone, all picked by hand. Camp Morton. Barns built of log rounds. Greek Orthodox crosses. Gardens bursting with with onions, potatoes, carrots, beets, raspberies [sic], sandcherries. Ukrainians, I once said, could grow a garden on an asphalt parking lot. Flowers. The kalamayka. Baseball at Meleb. Sports day at Frazerwood. Cordwood brought in from the farm being piled in our backyard. The Ukrainian language flowing around me in my grandmother's kitchen. The Cryllic alphabet. But most of all, it was the people I will never forget. Hard working, passionate, proud, loyal. Good people to grow up with. Good people for friends. Good people to have in Canada." (UofM Archives, Ewanchuk fonds, MSS77_A04-129 Box 27).