The mission of the Canora Heritage Ukrainian Museum is to celebrate the region’s Ukrainian heritage, which is very meaningful to Dorothy Korol, treasurer, museum executive committee; her husband Terry, and Pat Marchinko, volunteers.
The museum has no paid employees, so there is always plenty of work for the dozen or so regular volunteers to look after, said Dorothy Korol. But whenever things get especially busy, friends and neighbours from Canora and the surrounding area usually show up to help get the job done.
The museum expected to be especially busy in the coming summer, with the much-anticipated Canada 150 celebrations, said Korol. In the past there have been visitors from as far away as South America, Australia, and of course, the Ukraine.
Not only are there visitors from far away during the summer, but local residents often come to the museum for the first time just to show it to a friend or relative from far away, said Marchinko. And more often than not, the local residents can be heard saying, “What a cool place, I can’t believe I’ve never been here before.”
The museum has been at its present main street location in Canora since 1996, said Manchinko. One of the things that drew the group to the building was that it had previously been a butcher shop known for its tasty sausage, which fits right in with the Ukrainian fondness for good food.
The museum commemorates the arrival of the first Ukrainians to the region in 1897, about six years after Ukrainians first came to Canada, said Marchinko. Every effort is made to celebrate all aspects of the day-to-day lives of those early arrivals.
Agriculture is a large part of the Ukrainian heritage, which is reflected in many of the museum displays, said Terry Korol. There are many basic farm tools on display, but also some impressive technology.
The museum houses a buckwheat mill built by Anton Cerkowniak of the Mikado district back in 1913. According to information provided by the museum, many pioneers from within about a 50-mile radius utilized the mill to prepare buckwheat for domestic use, either by just removing the outer shell or by grinding the buckwheat into flour.
A model of a typical Ukrainian house is displayed in the museum. Weather-proof thatched rooves were made of materials such as grass and straw. The walls were primarily a log construction, but gaps between the logs were filled with a variety of materials including clay, chaff, and even manure. A whitewash was then added to make sure the filler stayed in place.
Ukrainians are well known for their decorated Easter eggs, or pysanky. As a former school teacher, Marchinko said she has spent many happy hours teaching the craft to young children, as well as the significance of the various designs. Some designs have themes from nature, such as the call of spring. Others have Christian themes, such as heavenly gates. The designs can also depict animals ranging from reindeer to birds to fish.
The museum has an extensive collection of mannequins dressed in traditional Ukrainian costumes, said Marchinko.
One of her personal favourite displays is the little boy and girl dressed in the traditional dance costume representing the Poltava region of Ukraine. The children wear cotton shirts with traditional Ukrainian embroidery.
The baggy pants, or sharavy, give the boys plenty of freedom of movement for the steps involved in the dance. The girls wear a necklace of beads known as korali. Both boys and girls wear belts, known as poyas, made on a loom.
Around the museum there is literature on a wide range of topics, all of which celebrates Ukrainian heritage in the Canora region, said Marchinko.
The Canora Ukrainian Heritage Museum not only celebrates its own heritage, the group is also active in the Canora community, said Dorothy Korol. Members are looking forward to participating in the Canora 150 celebrations and Canora in Bloom on July 21 with the traditional lunch of borscht and homemade bread.
