Vera Buczynsky’s Silver Jubilee as editor of Nasha Doroha

In 1999 we celebrate 25 years of creative and persistent work by Vera Buczynsky as editor of the magazine Nasha Doroha.

To what end did Mrs. Buczynsky take upon herself such a responsible position? Above all, in order to propagate our native language, to enrich it with a supply of new words, to enjoy the charm and melodiousness of the Ukrainian language, and to inspire respect and love in UCWLC members for Ukrainian religious and national spiritual fervour.

Possessing great strength of national character, from the very start of her work as editor Mrs. Buczynsky paid scrupulous attention to the aesthetic formatting of the magazine, its content, and to articles that would reflect the work of our great UCWLC family, including the platforms of our organization. She was never put off by the indifference of certain members, but rather strove to preserve the religious and national profile of the UCWLC. One could hardly do justice in a brief description to all the aspects of her dedicated work for the organization. For those members who are not familiar with the work of our exemplary member, here is her biography.

Vera Buczynsky, née Wesolowsky, was born in the town of Mykulyntsi, Terebovlia county, in Western Ukraine. She completed her secondary education in 1939 at the Gymnasium of the Ridna Shkola Ukrainian Educational Society in Ternopil. She graduated from the Pedagogical Lyceum in Berezhany with a teacher’s diploma. Already in her youth she demonstrated enormous ability and affinity for organizational work, as well as an interest in literature and art. While at the Gymnasium she became a member of the Marian Sodality, student choir, and drama troupe, where her forté was recitation and dramatic reading. With the Bolshevik invasion of our native land, the Buczynsky family was forced to abandon their homeland and suffer untold hardships and migration abroad.

In Germany after the war, Mrs. Buczynsky became a member of the Ukrainian Women’s Alliance and held positions in its executive, travelling with the organization’s delegation to Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria.

In 1949 the Buczynsky family emigrated to Canada and settled in Winnipeg. Vera Buczynsky promptly joined the drama troupes there, and performed in numerous leading roles. Gifted with a naturally beautiful voice, she sang the roles of Terpelykha in Natalka from Poltava and Odarka in Zaporozhian Cossack Beyond the Danube.

Mrs. Buczynsky became a member of the Women’s Section of the Canadian League for Ukraine’s Liberation when it was founded in 1951, and served as its secretary and head of the culture and education portfolio. In 1949 the Buczynsky family joined the Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Protection of the Blessed Virgin, and Vera enlisted in the UCWLC. In this organization she distinguished herself as an exemplary member, organizer, leader, and excellent speaker. Her greatest contribution, however, was as editor of the UCWLC organ, starting from 1974 and continuing for 25 years. Other positions she fulfilled at the UCWLC: culture and education portfolio and the branch and, subsequently, the Regional Council levels, thereafter in the Archeparchy and National Executive. In 1968 she initiated a wide-ranging campaign to assist Ukrainian children in Brazil, which spread to other UCWLC branches throughout Manitoba.

by Maria Komarnycky, excerpted from Nasha Doroha, 1999, No. 4 (Oct–Dec)