On Friday, February, 22 2002, members and guests of the Toronto branches of the Ukrainian National Federation and Ukrainian Womens Organization bid farewell to their 52 year-old hall. With the sale of the building scheduled for February 28, UNF Toronto closes a chapter in its history and enters what recently re-elected UWO Toronto Branch president, Genya Hunchak calls a “new UNF era”. At the farewell reception, she waxed eloquently about the Hall's past and challenged everyone to participate in building the UNF's new hall. The New Pathway’s Petro Lopata was there taking pictures of the historic event.
Songs, poems and books have been written about saying goodbye and it is now time to say goodbye to “297”. Memories. We all have memories about this grand and solid old lady who we learned to love and care for.
We all have the “do you remember” stories.
Many of us recall Ukrainian School with the sisters who moved with us from the UNF Hall on Shaw St and College St, the old men smoking and playing cards in the front room and at recess from Ukrainian School, you could get chips and pop from the concession in the smoking room. It’s all there – in the little vignettes that flash through your mind.
We all remember the concerts, the banquets, the Sunday night dances, the Malankas packed to the roof. Millionaires’ night, the fashion shows, the teas, the dinners, the conferences and conventions, the days when UNF’s Kyiv Pavilion was the star of the Caravan adventure and Sam Dzugan’s world-travelled Kalyna Dancers, Pearl Harasymchuk’s Kalyna Girls’ Choir, Joe Lockwood and then Ron Cahute’s Kalyna Orchestra, and Zenko Lawryshyn’s Boyan Choir packed the hall to such a capacity that we had to worry about fire regulations. All our Caravan guests felt they were personal friends of our MCs Zenny Chwaluk and Ihor Bachynsky. The lines stretched along College to Spadina to get in. The OYK ladies commanded the kitchen and the line ups for our famous Ukrainian cuisine started at 5 and went on forever. Do you remember Jerry Kowal and his faithful German shepherd on guard duty after we closed down the Kyiv Pavilion for the night? 297 vibrated and girated – she was alive with all this activity. We all complained about being tired, but we loved every second of it and each day we came back for more.
They really were good times, but dear members and friends, the good times are coming again and we have a new lady guardian angel and friend, 145 Evans Avenue. We can bring her to life and make her live. She invites you to come and be part of this new UNF era. It will be exciting and she will be beautiful and you will love her as much as 297 – I promise you.