History of UZO

Wasyl Liscynesky

Ukrainian Community in Cleveland

The first immigrants to settle in Cleveland arrived at about 1880. They came from the Sub-Carpatian region of Ukraine. It is only about 1901 that the arrivals from Halychyna (Galicia) and Lemkivshchyna (Lemko region) immigrants started settling in our area. They were mostly uneducated and therefore helpless in the new environment. They needed some organization to assist them with their employment and their everyday spiritual life. The Ukrainian National Association, with its branches emerging all over the USA, and its newspaper Svoboda became the glue that shaped their lives for the following 110 years.

Locally it was the branch 102 of UNA organized 1902 as the Brotherhood of Sts. Peter and Paul at the Ukrainian Catholic parish of the same name that became the moving force for establishing an organized Ukrainian community. Because of the different psychological makeup due to the various territorial backgrounds of the emigrants the community started to split up and organizing themselves into separate sub-communities eventually completely alienating from each other.

In 1910 the parish of Sts. Peter and Paul built their church around which all the activities of Ukrainian life started to flourish. With the arrival of veterans of Ukrainian armies after the WWI, who were more educated and with higher national consciousness, the community life became more diversified. Where before UNA was the prime mover, now various new organizations were created as the need arose, such as choirs, dance groups, social and political clubs, etc. The community activities came alive and with it the disarray and lack of coordination.

Because of dissatisfaction with the way the Ukrainian Catholic church was treated by the Vatican, the most vocal group defected and organized Ukrainian Orthodox church. Thus the St. Vladimir Orthodox parish was established in 1924. Clash on ideological ground caused the split among social and political clubs. Even cultural groups sided with one or the other fraction causing fracturization of community.

As a result, there developed a need for the organization which would coordinate scheduling of events, represent entire community at the international events and monitor the relationships among individual organizations. Such an organization has been set up in 1928 named United Ukrainian Organizations of Greater Cleveland.

The United Ukrainian Organizations of Greater Cleveland (UUO or better known as UZO)

The founding fathers of UZO were Yakiv Volansky, Ivan Popovich, Mykhaylo Levitsky and Matviy Prytulak. Yakiv Volansky became its first president (1928-1932). The organization has been incorporated in the state of Ohio. Its mission was defined as follows:

1. Coordinate activities of the nationally oriented Ukrainian organizations regardless of their religious or ideological persvations.
2. Organize cultural events, festivities and other undertakings promoting the cult of independence for Ukraine within her ethnographic territories.
3. Organize relief actions for the benefit of Ukraine.
4. Initialize, encourage and support the development of Ukrainian culture in the USA.

The duties of the UZO are to organize the events of general community interest specifically:

1. Day of independence of Western Ukraine, November 1.
2. Day of unification of both Ukraines, January 22.
3. Taras Shevchenko commemoration
4. Ivan Franko commemoration
5. Ukrainian Day
6. Organized reading and discussion evenings

Membership: Every Ukrainian association, club, brotherhood, sisterhood or business enterprise, which carries Ukrainian national characteristics has the right to join.

Cultural events such as drama, dance, choral performances were invigorated. Political activities reinforced. But during this period relief activities for the homeland were undertaken, such as financing Prosvita projects, support for Ukrainian schools, construction of national homes, even business undertakings such as banks and cooperatives. With the establishment of OUN (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists) in Ukraine in 1929, the supporting ODVU (Organization for Rebirth of Ukraine) was established in USA with its branch in Cleveland supplying financial support for its political activities.

On the home front, political and liaison with the American community, were not neglected. Contacts with city mayors, congressmen and senators were maintained thus having certain influence on the American policies concerned with the Ukrainian causes.

Obviously, all these activities were carried by the individual organizations as before but UZO now coordinated, especially outside activities and political contacts. Ukrainian community now was represented as a unified body almost exclusively by UZO with full support of the component organizations. Even when division took place at the top, our Cleveland community retained its unity thus setting an example for other Ukrainian communities in the USA to follow.

From the inception of UZO the organization has been headed by the following presidents:

• Yakiv Volansky 1928-1932
• Volodymyr Voycicky 1932-1933
• Omelan Malycky(Omer Miles) 1933-1943
• Volodymyr Tretiak 1943-1946
• Mykola Oleksyk 1946-1949
• Vasyl Volansky 1949-1952
• Omer Miles 1952-1961
• Dmytro Misko 1961-1963
• Taras Szmagala 1963-1966
• Stepan Wolanyk 1966-1969
• Mykhaylo Pap 1969-1971
• Wasyl Liscynesky 1971-1973
• Bohdan Futey 1973-1984
• Wasyl Liscunesky 1984-2007

The following are the most marked evens which the community accomplished during the 75 years under guidance of UZO:

• 1930: Protest against classifying Ukrainians as Polish, Hungarian or Austrian during the census in the USA
• 1930: Protests against pacification by Polish police of Ukrainian populace in Western Ukraine.
• 1933: Manifestations on behalf of Ukrainian people being starved by the Soviet government.
• 1936: Manifestation in support of Ukrainian political prisoners in in Poland in connection with assassination of Pieracki.
• 1940: Establishment of Ukrainian Cultural Garden in Cleveland.
• 1940: UZO took upon itself to represent in Cleveland the newly created Ukrainian Congress Committee of America
• 1949: Arrival of new immigrants after the WW II.
• 1952: Started annual recognition of the Captive Nations Week.
• 1954: The St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic School opened in Parma.
• 1957: The Cleveland Selfreliance Credit Union was established.
• 1959: Stepan Bandera was assassinated in Munich, Germany.
• 1962: Unveiling of the Lesia Ukrainka statue in the Cleveland Cultural gardens.
• 1964: Activities toward establishing the statue of Taras Shevchenko in Washington, D. C.
• 1973: Celebrations of the first arrival of the Patriarch Joseph Slipy to Cleveland.
• 1976: Blessing of the newly created patriarchal parish of St. Pokrova in Parma.
• 1976: Bicentennial of the USA celebrations.
• 1978: 50-th anniversary of UZO celebrations.
• 1981: Completed new building of the Cleveland Selfreliance Credit Union with computerized system and service.
• 1984: Establishment of new Ukrainian Catholic Diocese of Parma and installation of the first bishop Very Rev. Robert Moskal.
• 1988: Ecumenical celebration of the millennium of Christianity in Ukraine.
• 1990: Establishment of the Aid for Ukraine Committee.
• 1991: Enthusiastic celebration of the Proclamation of Independence of Ukraine.
• 1990s: Activities connected with the visits of numerous political, cultural, religious, scientific and artistic representatives and groups from Ukraine sponsored by UZO.
• 1994: Establishment of the Fund for construction of the first Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, D. C. and the hosting of the first Ambassador Hon. Bilorus.
• 2001: Restored the statues of Taras Shevchenko and Ivan Franko in the Cleveland Ukrainian Cultural Garden.
• 2002: Patriarch Cardinal Lubomyr Husar visits Parma.
• 2003: Commemoration of the 1932-1933 Holodomor in Ukraine at the Ukrainian Museum-Archives in Cleveland.
• 2004: 75-th anniversary of UZO celebrations.
• 2004: Ecumenical liturgy to commemorate the 1932-1933 Holodomor at the Roman-Catholic Cathedral of St. John in Cleveland.

• 2006: Restored the statues of Grand Volodymyr in the Cleveland Ukrainian Cultural Garden.