Coldstream’s Ukrainian Population and the Winter of 1932

Posted on 25 November 2022 by Vernon Museum

A black-and-white view over a field with mountain in the background. — A view of the Coldstream Ranch in the 1930s.

The Holodomor

Since 2019, B.C. has officially recognized Ukrainian Holodomor Memorial Day on the fourth Saturday of each November. The Holodomor, also known as the Great Famine, occurred in Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933, and resulted in the death of millions of Ukrainians.

Meanwhile, during the same time period, thirty-five Ukrainian families in Coldstream were receiving government assistance as a result of the ongoing Great Depression, a situation which was made worse by a taxation dispute between the municipality and the Coldstream Ranch.

The Great Depression

Ukrainian immigrants first began arriving in Vernon in 1914. By the 1920s, 16 families who had journey from the Prairies had settled on land purchased from, and adjacent to, the Coldstream Ranch. This community continued to grow in the following years.

Coldstream’s Ukrainian population was particularly vulnerable during the Great Depression, and by 1932 their situation had become dire. Government relief had arrived in Vernon in 1931, but the available funds were so limited that sometimes families were only granted $5 for an entire month.

The situation was made worse by the fact that in 1930, responding to pressure from apple growers, the District of Coldstream had introduced a by-law to exempt fruit trees from taxation. As a result, the Coldstream Ranch had seen an increase in its agricultural land taxes, to which manager W. C. Ricardo was much opposed. In retaliation, the Ranch defaulted on its 1932 property tax bill.

A culture of resilience

The whole population of Coldstream experienced an increase in property taxes as a result of this dispute, and this was particularly felt by the already-impoverish Ukrainian community. By the winter of 1932, the small amount of relief money was barely enough to keep a family fed.

The dispute ultimately went to court, and in 1934 a decision came out in favour of the District of Coldstream. Thankfully, the District and the Ranch were able to reach a settlement in 1936, and the municipality managed to limp its way out of the recession by the end of the decade.

Despite the years of scarcity, Coldstream’s Ukrainian community continued to practice its languages, dances, and customs. Like the ongoing invasion of their country has demonstrated, Ukrainian people have an admirable capacity for resilience.

To explore more of Vernon’s history, check out our other blog posts!

Gwyneth Evans, Research and Communications Coordinator

IWD 2022: The Malysh Family

Posted on 4 March 2022 by Vernon Museum

Vaselena and Nicholai Malysh are featured in Vernon’s Multicultural Mural (3101 32nd Avenue); Vaselena is wearing the blue dress in the center of the image, with Nicholai’s arm around her shoulders.

War In Ukraine

This Tuesday, March 8, is International Women’s Day, and in light of Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked attack on Ukraine, it seems fitting to feature some of the many remarkable Ukrainian women who have called Vernon home. In particular, the Malysh family has a long local history.

Vaselena Malysh

In 1903, a young woman named Vaselena immigrated with her family from Ispas, Ukraine, to a farm in Hamlin, Alberta. Here, Vaselena married Nicholai Malysh (also from Ispas), and the couple had 14 children; sadly, 5 children died under the age of four from various illnesses. After this tragedy, and seeing their rights stripped away during World War One, the couple decided to start a new life in the Okanagan, and moved to the Swan Lake area in 1926.

When she arrived, Vaselena felt like she was finally home again, since, in her eyes, the Okanagan greatly resembled Western Ukraine. The couple became successful orchardists. A portion of the property was later given to son Alex, who operated a fruit stand (now the Swan Lake Market).

Anne Malysh

Anne Malysh (nee Daneliuk) married Vaselena’s son Paul in 1950, at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Vernon. Anne was a remarkable community member and a loving mother and grandmother. She was a longtime member of the Ukrainian Women’s Association, and volunteered many hours with the Vernon Jubilee Hospital Women’s Auxiliary.

Anne and Paul also operated Paul’s Driving School, which they started in 1959. Anne was said to be a very patient teacher. She was also a talented baker, and was known for her Ukrainian braided breads, cinnamon buns, cabbage rolls, and perogies (the recipes of which were kept top-secret).

Andrea Malysh

Anne’s daughter Andrea is an active voice for the Ukrainian community in Vernon. She started the Zirka Ukrainian Dance Ensemble in 1979, and later the Sadok Ukrainian Dance Ensemble in 1999, and has always loved to share Ukrainian culture through dance and performance.

Andrea is now central in mobilizing aid from the North Okanagan to Ukraine. These are the aid organizations that she recommends: Canada-Ukraine Foundation/UCC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, and Friends of Ukraine Defense Forces Fund. The Sadok Ukrainian Dance Ensemble will also be hosting a local humanitarian aid fundraiser event in the coming weeks.

To explore more of Vernon’s history, check out our other blog posts!

Gwyneth Evans, Research and Communications Coordinator

Cultural Mosaic

Posted on 19 February 202119 February 2021 by Vernon Museum

Cultural Mosaic: Early Ukrainian immigrants

February 19, 2021

Every four to six weeks, the Vernon Museum will feature an individual or family who immigrated to this area.

Bringing some of their traditions and cultures with them, these early immigrants to the North Okanagan have helped to created the community and culture of the North Okanagan today.

ukrainian Canadians

Vernon has a rich Ukrainian Canadian culture. As of 2016, more than one-tenth of the city’s population was composed of people whose origins can be traced back to this Eastern European country.

WWI Internment

Early immigration to Vernon by those of Ukrainian descent was not always marked by respect. 2020 marked 100 years since the closure of the Vernon Internment Camp, where hundreds of men, women, and children determined to be of Austrian-Hungarian descent were held prisoner—the majority of these were Ukrainian Canadians.

Ukrainian Canadian Culture

In the last 100 years, Ukrainian culture and traditions have flourished and deepened in this local setting.

This can be seen in the beautiful 74-year-old, gothic-style Ukrainian Orthodox Church that adorns the side of 27^th Street, or in the colourful and energetic performances of Vernon’s Sadok Ukrainian Dance Ensemble.

early immigration

It all began with one family—the Melnichuks.

Starting in 1896, under the aggressive immigration policies of Minister of the Interior, Clifford Sifton, Canada began to experience a significant westward expansion of Ukrainian emigrants, many of whom had left their country of birth to escape poverty and oppression, and seek out land of their own.

Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the Assumption of St. Mary, located at 4105 27^th Street. This photographs shows the church shortly after its construction in 1947

Sadok Ukrainian Dance Ensemble performing at O’Keefe Ranch in 2018

Cultural Mosaic dance reformed by Ukrainian, Celtic, and Bhangra dancers at 2017 Okanagan Military Tattoo

Roman and Rose Melnichuk, both of whom were born in Ukraine, were the first to arrive in Vernon in 1914. They initially lived in a house on Mission Hill, but later Roman purchased property on both sides of Swan Lake to start a farm and raise a family. The couple would go on to have 12 children.

The second eldest of the children was Nicholas Melnichuk. From a young age, Nick had an adventurous spirit, and at only 12-years-old left Vernon to work as a ranch hand across the border in Washington State. He returned to Canada as a young man, and married Lucy Bordula.

Nick served for two years in the motorcycle regiment of the Canadian Army during the Second World War, and for the next 35 years after that as a construction worker. In an article for the Vernon Daily News of 1981, he was quoted as saying “sure wish I had a dollar for every mile of road I drove the cats for various construction companies during that time.” Following his well-earned retirement, Nick spent his time trout fishing in the mountain lakes around Vernon. Nick Melnichuk remained in the city until his death in 1992.

From this first pioneering family, the local Ukrainian community has proliferated and diversified, and their vibrant and symbolic traditions help to enrichen our city’s cultural mosaic.

Gwyn Evans

Sharing History Through Community