Volynia

Like most Canadians, I come from immigrant stock. In my work with YMCA Calgary's LINC program, I am often reminded that my father was a newcomer to Canada himself as a young man. And while my mother was born in Canada, her parents were also immigrants.

As the children of immigrants, we can quickly lose track of our roots, especially when the "homeland" has been ravaged by war.

So I am thrilled to have made a surprising and fascinating discovery tonight: I have family roots in the province of Ukraine that we will be visiting! My grandfather Daniel Frohlich, my mom's father, was born and raised in Volyn.

I was named after Happy Dan, as he was nicknamed by his farm friends in Trochu, Alberta. But he died when I was only 7 years old. I knew he was German and I had heard that he grew up in Poland. But this week, when my aunt referred to his family farmstead "in Volynia", it got me sleuthing. As I learned more about the history of this region, I realized that Volynia was a province of Poland, but is now the oblast of Volyn in Ukraine.

Tonight I spoke on the phone to a second-cousin (once removed) who knew my Grandpa Dan and grew up on a farm only a couple of miles away. Although she left that region as a girl of fourteen more than 67 years ago, she described to me the beauty as if she were looking out her window: the thick forests, lush farmland, and fragrant orchards of apple, pear, and plum. She talked about floating by boat down the Styr River all the way to the big city of Lutsk.

But she also described the horrors of war. The stories she heard of her parents being shipped to Siberia during WWI. And the horrors she experienced herself during WWII.

At the end of our conversation, she reminded me how lucky we are to live in Canada, a country that has not experienced war on our soil in many generations. And I'll add to that: a country that welcomes immigrants and refugees. I'm glad to be part of a values-based organization is committed to creating a more peaceful and just world.

And now I've got one more reason to love Ukraine!