I would like to quote a
passage written in March 1900 by my
ancestors
when they formed a new church, St.
Mary's Greek Catholic Parish, at
Rabbit Hill, Alberta. It
sort of sums
up what I have said so far.
"We, the
undersigned Rusyny
(Ruthenians) of the Greek Catholic rite
from the land of Halych, in the state of Austria in Europe, emigrated
from
our land in the years 1896, 1897 and 1898, partly because of the
poverty
stricken conditions to which Ruthenians were subjected by Polish
(landlord)
and Jewish (moneylender) elements and which drove (us) Ruthenians of
Halych
across the seas. It was on this account that we sold our ancestral land
in our country and sought a happier future for ourselves and our
children
in a far world. In this way, with the help of Almighty God, our journey
across the sea was directed to North America, to present day Canada,
and
to Edmonton, a city of this province. From here (we arrived) in this
colony
of Rabbit Hill which had been partially settled by Germans. Our success
following our arrival in Rabbit Hill depended upon whether a person
arrived
earlier or later and also upon his financial condition upon his
arrival.
There were some who arrived penniless, having barely enough money to
pay
for their journey, who left themselves defenceless to face a bitter
destiny
in a new land. Nevertheless, the Canadian government under the dominion
of her Majesty Queen Victoria, Queen of England, gave everyone of us a
farm as a free gift, each farm consisting of one hundred and sixty
acres
of land. When each one settled on his land, his first occupation was
with
the necessities connected with his daily life, especially the
cultivation
of his land which was covered with thick, impenetrable forest. Since
many
of us settled on this land without any means of livelihood, we had to
leave
our homes in quest of different types of labour to provide food for
ourselves
and our children. As a result of this type of existence, everyone has
made
progress and, finding ourselves in better circumstances after two or
three
years, though (we) are still far from wealthy, we have embarked on the
building of a temple to God after having been visited by a priest two
or
three times during this period.
Hence, in
January 1900 we are
resolutely embarking on the construction
of a church but, in the making our decision about such an important and
blessed task, (we know) we shall suffer a good deal of distress before
we conclude the envisioned task....".
This passage was originally written in Ukrainian
and
translated into English many years later.
I am sure every family that settled Alberta in
the early days has
stories
of trials, tribulations, sadness, death and happy events for
certainly
my family does. Rather than talk anymore, the following links will take
you to some of those stories written by other family members.
