Petro Lopata, Bohdanna Rycar
The very fact that Kalyna Myhal has lived to the ripe old age of 100, that she has witnessed so many of the cataclysmic events and grand achievements of the last century may lead one to consider her automatically for hero status, but that would be selling her short. Mrs Myhal, who turned 100 on March 22, stands among heroes now, because she took part in some of those events.
She was the third of five children, born in the western Ukrainian village of Horodok. As a youngster Kalyna recalls frequently running away from home to school so that she could study with her older siblings. She remembers the outbreak of WWI, and how the family home with bullets flying through the yard was caught between two fronts: first between the Russo-Austrian front, then in the middle of the Russo-Polish conflict.
Mrs Myhal described how in 1925 she was arrested by Polish officials who forced her to lay on the ground for four hours as they interrogated her over her involvement with the Ukrainian underground resistance. She managed to escape to Ternopil, then fled to Warsaw and on to Gdansk. From the Polish port she traveled by sea to England and eventually found her way to Fort William, Canada, where she was met by her sponsors, aunt Vasylyna Nykolajchuk and future husband Ivan Hladun.
Ivan worked as a logging camp cook for the Ontario government. Kalyna laboured at his side for 15 years on the seasonal job that saw the couple moved from camp to camp as the workers cleared forests and built roads.
Almost immediately after settling in Fort William, Kalyna joined the theatrical troupe based out of the local Ukrainian church. Before the advent of television, the troupes weekly performances constituted one of the only forms of entertainment available to Ukrainians in the northern Ontario town. Kalyna was often cast in the role of the mother.
She was one of the first backers of the New Pathway Publishers the company, founded in 1931, that owns this newspaper and holds her shares to this day.
Ivan eventually grew weak and died June 25, 1954.
The following year, after meeting Konstantin Myhal through correspondence, Kalyna moved to Toronto. The couple married December 30, 1955 in St Nicholas church in Toronto. Her new husband was also a widower. His eldest son died fighting for independence with the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), while the younger son, Yevhen, fled to Poland. In 1957, Kalyna and Konstantin managed to have Yevhen, along with his wife and two children, emigrate to Canada.
Kalyna and Konstantin owned the Alton Grocery Store, a business they ran for 6 years.
After 12 years of marriage, Kalynas second husband passed away July 7, 1968. For 8 years following Konstantins death, she worked as a housekeeper.
In 1982 she moved to the St Demetrius Residence, an apartment building for seniors affiliated with the St Demetrius the Martyr Ukrainian Catholic Church in Toronto. She soon joined the parish seniors club and continues to embroider with her fellow club members to the present day. She also has a small plot of land south of the church where she plants vegetables that she shares with many of those less fortunate around her.
Always active in the community, while in Fort William, Kalyna was a volunteer with the Ukrainian National Federation (UNF). In Toronto, she joined the Ukrainian Womens Organization (UWO), the sister organization of the UNF and has been an active member ever since. For her volunteerism and community involvement, Kalyna has been recognized with countless awards from various organizations.
A hero doesnt always have to be the strapping youth who slays the dragon. Sometimes, heroism is conferred on those among us who through wisdom and humility shine as role models of a simple, yet difficult life, lived proudly and with honour.
Bohdanna Rycar is Vice President, Corporate and Recording Secretary with the Children of Chornobyl Canadian Fund and Apartment Manager at St Demetrius Residence. She acted as mistress of Ceremonies at Kalyna Myhal’s 100th birthday celebration at St Demetrius Church, May 16, 2002.