The Ukrainian community of Chicago began to form at the end of the 19th century. From the first church communities and brotherhoods, it went through the creation of educational, cultural, public, and political organizations that became the basis of the life of Ukrainians in the city. Within a few decades, Chicago became one of the most important centers of the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States.
The First Ukrainians in Chicago
In 1893, Ukrainian public figure Volodymyr Simenovich arrived in Chicago, began a medical practice in the city, and headed the Ukrainian community for forty years. According to his records, by that time there was already an Orthodox church in Chicago, which was attended by Ukrainian workers.
This was reported by Ukrainian People.
The first Ukrainian community was organized in 1905 at the parish of St. Father Nicholas. Its goal, as it was stated, was “to rise through the school, the reading room, political clubs, or in some other way.”
In 1906, Father Mykola Strutynsky, Dr. Volodymyr Simenovich, and attorney Stefan Yanovich founded the Brotherhood of St. Father Nicholas. It became the first Chicago branch of the Ukrainian National Union, which had been established in 1894 in Shamokin, Pennsylvania.
The organization grew rapidly. By 1918, there were nine branches of the Ukrainian National Union in Chicago. In 1912, the Prosvita Education Council was established under the UNS, headed by Volodymyr Simenovich. Emilia Strutynska, the wife of Father Mykola Strutynsky, became the secretary. It was she who organized the regional women’s congress in 1917, which led to the creation of the Ukrainian Women’s Union in America.
The parish of St. Nicholas remained one of the main centers of Ukrainian cultural life in Chicago for a long time. It was here that the quarterly “Rannya Zorya” began to be published in 1918.
New church and community centers
In 1915, Yuriy Masliy, Joseph Kotsovsky, and Luka Riza, together with the community, founded the Ukrainian People’s Church with the parish of the Holy Trinity. Researcher Myron Kuropas called it “the first purely Ukrainian Orthodox church in America.”
In 1917, Volodymyr Simenovych and doctor Stefan Hrynevetsky launched the first Ukrainian magazine in Chicago, “Ukraine.” Its main goal was to unite the city’s Ukrainian community.
The events of 1918 in Ukraine and the proclamation of an independent state activated the public and political life of Ukrainians in Chicago. On May 30, 1918, a large Ukrainian veche was held, and about 10,000 Ukrainians took part in the march through the city and the event itself.
The political life of the community reflected the diversity of political trends in Ukraine at that time. Chicago was home to statesmen, hetmans, and later nationalists who created parties, sports associations, educational, women's, cultural, and other public organizations.
By 1935, the Ukrainian community in Illinois had over 110 organizations and associations with about 41,000 residents of Ukrainian origin.
Cultural life of Ukrainians
One of the brightest pages in the life of Ukrainians in Chicago was cultural activity. According to Myron Kuropas, who studied the history of Ukrainians in the region from 1890 to 1948, two choirs were already operating in the city in 1909. In the 1920s, a drama club was active, and in the 1930s, a number of choirs, dance ensembles, drama groups, orchestras, and musical groups were active.
It was then that the “Ukrainian Choir” was created, about which music critic Eugene Stinson wrote in the “Chicago Daily News”: “This is one of the best choirs to be heard in America.”
In 1932, thanks to Vasyl Avramenko, the “Ukrainian Festival” was organized in Chicago. At the same time, theater groups staged Ukrainian classic plays, including “Catherine,” “The Zaporozhets Beyond the Danube,” “The Sorochyn Fair,” and “Marusya Boguslavka.”
Ukrainian culture attracted the attention of more than just the community. During the “Century of Progress” exhibition dedicated to Chicago’s centennial in 1933, the Ukrainian pavilion was visited by 1.8 million people.
Photo: Ukrainian People
Author: Danylo Pievchev