They
say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, even a thousand pictures
couldn’t tell the whole story of the Ukrainian National Federation Hall
at 297 College St. Just picture all the Toronto Metro Caravan festivities,
concerts, zabavas, plays, dances, speeches, sweat, tears and smiles.
The
history of the UNF Toronto branch officially opened on May 9, 1933 in the
Prosvita Reading Room, with a group of people electing their first branch
president, Mykola Musij. At a meeting held May 14, monthly membership dues
were set at 25 cents. The branch’s board on December 29 reported that since
its inception, membership swelled to 170, (147 men and 23 women); 28 meetings
had been held; 4 joint meetings had been held with the boards of a UNF
branch existing in east Toronto and the local Ukrainian War Veterans’ Association
to discuss cooperation; and a number of fundraising events organized, among
other achievements.
Those
were heady days, yet without a building of their own, branch members realized
they could not function to their fullest capacity. So in late 1933, UNF
Toronto began renting its first abode, a building at 334 Queen St, that
was later called home by the Ukrainian Royal Canadian Legion.
During
WWII, UNF Toronto relocated to 300 Bathurst St, which the Canadian government
confiscated from the Communists. In 1945, the branch was moved to 783 College
St. By this time, the branch boasted a library numbering 585 books (presently
over 13,000 volumes), a music school, Ridna Shkola, amateur theatrical
group, the “Bojan” mixed choir, English classes for newcomers from Europe
and a healthy dose of all manner of activities. However, with growing ranks,
the branch didn’t stay there for long. Having outgrown their home, branch
president Ivan Kavun challengedmembers
to collect funds for a new building. $5,270 in seed money was raised at
a single meeting on August 15, 1947. A committee including Teodor Danylak,
Teodor Khakhula, Severyn Vindyk, Vasyl Hultaj, Vasyl Sytnyk, Volodymyr
Hirniak and Ivan Kavun was formed to see the project to completion.
Later,
the committee was expanded to include prof Mykhajlo Rebryk, Mykhajlo Dubyckyj
and Teofil Melnychuk.
On
July 19, 1948, a special general meeting was held to address the issue
of the new building. The meeting was chaired by branch head Volodymyr Nestorovsky,
who explained that a $35,000 deposit would be needed to begin construction
at 297 College.
The
following year, the cornerstone had been blessed by Bishop Isidore Boreckyj
and installed at a ceremony on June 5. V Hirniak, head of the building
committee, asked those present to dig deep, and as a result, close to $7,500
was collected that day.
According
to a report by Hirniak published in the commemorativebooklet
of the XVI National UNF Convention (Winnipeg, 1952) the total cost of the
building amounted to $471,952.87, a staggering amount in 1950 dollars.
The
UNF Hall was opened in a series of events held July 16-18, 1950.On
Friday, July 16, after a flag-raising ceremony and procession into the
building, the hall was blessed by Bishop Isidore Boreckyj. On Sunday,in
a ceremony attended by numerous officials from all levels of Canadian government,
City of Toronto representative David Balfour cut the ribbon that signified
the Hall’s official opening.
One
of the original tenets of the founders of the building was to establish
a facility that would be able to satisfy a variety of needs for the broadest
possible demographic range, with a special focus on activities for youth,
as exemplified by one of the slogans appearing in a fundraising pamphlet
published by the UNF in 1947: “The maturity and enlightenment of a nation
is measured by its dedication to the needs of its youth.”