Code,800043
Subject,"John Krewisky, Rusin Cultural Garden [Part 2 of 800032]"
Date,
Interviewer,
Abstract,"John Krewisky, a representative of the Rusin Cultural Garden, discusses the history and culture of the Carpatho-Rusin community of Cleveland.  He discusses the establishiment of the Rusin Cultural Garden, who took care of it over the years, and how it is currently maintained.  Other topics include the Carpatho-Rusin communities in other cities, the importance of Byzantine Christianity for the community, and Carpatho-Rusin origins."
Special Notes,
minutes:,
800043 A,
0,House used to have massive furniture
1,"Father Joseph Hanulya started the Rusyn Garden, Rusyn Elite Society before, from Holy Ghost Church, was the pastor"
2,"John Krenisky, member of new cleveland chapter, 60-80 members"
3,"New organization, ten years ago started society in Pittsburgh, Carpatho-Rusyn Society, old society was elite, in process of re-doing webiste"
4,"Bust of Alexander Duchnovich stolen in 60s, Hough and race riots started in parks actually, busts were bronze and that is why they were stolen"
5,"Lithuanians, Italisn also had busts stolen, lived in Cleveland all life, by 82nd and St. Clair, people used to go to Cultural Gardens on Sundays for picnics, wouldn't do that today"
6,"Mother was Polish, from St. Cazmeres (sp?) Church (still there), by empty lots, puts a lot of hours and money into Cultural Gardens, limits himself today"
7,"Get community service people from Orianna House to help, other Rusyns don't or can't help, many too old, had some young people help once"
8,"Many don't realize they are Rusyn, are different nationalities, Slovakian, Polish, Ukriane, explaination of Rusyn ethnicity, Limpko area (?)"
9,"Used to have newspaper out of Limpko Hall, movie Deer Hunter filmed there, goes to St. Mary's Byzatine on State Rd."
10,"Have mix of people there, various ethnicities from Eastrn Europe and many from Pennslyvania, half are Byzatine, half are Orthodox, same liturgy"
11,"St. Cazmere's Church when younger, went to St. Agnus at E. 79th and Euclid for school, St. Cazmeres was Polish, neighborhoods like little country in lagnuage and food"
12,"Germans, Croations in area, 71st, 79th, Euclid was ""nice street then,"" was all white then"
13,"Freeways, used to have church on Scovil, now in Parma, St. John's Cathedral- Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, have Bishop in Cleveland, Holy Spirit, St. John's, St. Joe's, St. Mary's, Solon, Brecksville, Lakewood"
14,"Trying to come back with Cultural Gardens, only involved since 1994, neighbors keep eye out for Cultural Gardens"
15,"Mayor White used to live over there, was influence on Cultural Gardens, made sure city took care and patrolled area, changed after he moved out, people would take stuff that was expensive"
16,"Italian and Solvenian gardens got hit, story of guy who had ornament in yard tracked down by Ben Stefanski"
17,"Donations, has kitty fund, some comes out of pocket, buys helpers lunch and cigarettes"
18,"Greek Catholic Union donates sometimes, some rusyns donate"
19,"People who were involved in elite Society back then, history of Rusyn people, from Carpathian mountains, how things have changed"
20,"Had nothing over there, that's why came over here, nothing there, a lot in PA because it reminded them of Europe, big settlements also in Cleveland and Youngstown"
21,"Chicago, Scranton, upstate NY, biggest part to PA, steel mills and coal mines, father worked in coal mines, didn't like it so came to Cleveland for job opportunies"
22,"Companies would pay for people to come over, some paid own passage fair"
23,"Czechs came to Slavic Village because of steel mills, jobs many didn't want to do, Garden started in 1939"
24,"Put bust in in 1952, war made metal unavailable, played down there when was a kid, Garden was in disrepair when he took over, now sign and flag are there"
25,"Rusyn banner made by group for anniversary of Cleveland, pysanky eggs, Ukrainians do the same thing"
26,"Pysanky eggs are fragile, now made out of wood"
27,"Shows eggs and pictures, traditional colors and patterns based on villages, can get them on State Rd."
28,"Collects them, Polish ones have flowers"
29,"Banner represents mountains, insignia has a bear, churches in it, Rusyn symbol"
30,"All gardens made banners for Cleveland centennials, parade with Mayor, colors are significant"
800043 B,
0,"Wears shirt for Easter One World Day, last time was 99, Germans did it last year, African Americans doing it this year"
1,"Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federationmeets once a month @Rockefeller Greenhouse, used to meet at Botanical Gardens, before that 3rd District"
2,"Second Tuesday of the month meetings, family moved to League Park Lexington area until 1952, then Willowick, area started ""getting bad"""
3,"Eastlake, Willoughby, ""got bad over there,"" 1950 started, downtown moving east, League Park still playing ball when moved there"
4,"People didn't have cars then, stuck in area, most lived close to where they worked, 1951-52 big move to the east"
5,"Young people moved out, old died off, neighborhood fell apart, didn't get involved with Cultural Gardens until much later, looked like a ""vacant lot"" before, didn't have Shoreway then"
6,"People don't know Cultural Gardens are there, working on bust of Alexander Duchnovich being replaced"
7,"Puts indigenous plants, flowers, trees in garden, Lindin trees, English Walnut trees, Pine, Carpathian Hair Bells"
8,"Doesn't want to put stuff that's going to be stolen, if could would move it someplace else (joke) but wouldn't be the Cultural Gardens then"
9,"Parma if it was to be moved, only place in world where this exists, first garden was Polish, Yugoslavia/Solvenia, Czech, Slovaks and Rusyns all together, Rusyns were third nationality at one point"
10,"Most Rusyn peasants, now people coming back to identify with being Rusyn because of forced Euro-nationalism"
11,"Have own schools now, never had own border or country, almost identical to Ukrainian culture"
12,"Regular family dinners on holidays but not about being Rusyn, religion is kid of like that, Easter rituals and idenity, baskets embroided with nationality"
13,"Three barred cross, take food to church to be blessed and next day you serve it, Poles do that too, similar traditions"
14,"Ukrainians, Serbians, and Orthodox still do rituals, a lot has changed today, Church more part of identity, Grandparents identified as Greek Catholic more than Rusyn"
15,"Hard to explain what a Rusyn is, reason people don't claim the identity, some grandkids help out with garden"
16,"Not confident they'll help out more, have museum at Cathedral, Rusyn Day now called Byzantine Day only time the museum open"
17,"Had Rusyn artifacts, pynsky eggs, embroidery, Holy Spirit Church stuff, books, had societies back then, costumes, flag, a lot of Hungarian stuff too, issue of nationality overriding ethnicity"
18,"John Righetti from Pittsburgh explains Rusyns well, migrated to mountains, white Croats"
19,"Grew up with grandparents from the old country, religion very central to them, foods like perogies"
20,"Made 900 dozen perogies at church, had potato and cheese, colby cheese with a a little American, sweet cabbage fried up, prune one, compares to Ukrainian ones"
21,"Comparison to Ukrainian perogies, boils partly, butter sauce, frozen will stay for long time, used to do it four times a year, now two times a year"
22,"Take orders, doesn't advertise because order would be too long, used to make 1100-1200 dozen, this was too much"
23,"Keilbasa antoher food, some shared culture in area around Limpko, Ukraine, similar"
24,"Not too much difference, grew up with grandparents, father born in PA, spoke English only when entered school, father became Americanized, grandparents lived like in old country"
25,"Had chickens, pigs, they own their old house now, small scale farmers, couple acres, Rusyn areas not too much to do"
26,"Bought house from grandparents, used to give land but got too divided up so many came over here, many had intention of making money and then going back when war broke out but didn’t"
27,"Rusyns looked at more as peasants by others in area, separate Rusyn language, slavonic langauge in Church like Romans had Latin services"
28,"Still use some slavonic liturgy, cut down because of shortage of priests"
29,"St. Charles and big churches, didn't have as many priests as Roman Catholics, in PA some had to serve two congregations which made some mad"
30,Young men not invested in being priests today
31,"Euclid kind of deserted today, St. Agnes burned down in Hough Riots"