Interview with Andy Cylurik 1.1

Segment Synopsis: Andy was born in 1914 in Warwick near Vegreville (17 km North). Moved to Elphinstone in Manitoba in 1919, and came back to Two Hills in 1921/22.
Finished school at grade 12.
Worked as a rail-mail clerk for the federal government, travel across the country by train, first place to visit by work was Prince George.

Subjects: birthplaces; local identity; mail; occupations; presentation of self; railway mail cars; schools

Segment Synopsis: Smoking with his older brother who just started to go to school (and Andy didn't go to school yet), they found cigarettes in their father's suit-cot in his bedroom. His brother saw horses on the road from upstairs and rushed down with a cigarette in his mouth, and sneaking the cigarette on his way so his father couldn't see it. He never smoked after that.
Cold winters in the 1920s, -30/-40 C. In 1931, it was a mild winter and very little snow, and it was very difficult to use any transportation, either snow carts or sleighs, nor cars or wagons.
Crop failure in 1926: very dry summer.

Subjects: cars (automobiles); carts; childhood; childhood memories; cigarettes; crops; family stories; personal experience stories; sleighs; smoke; spanking; transportation; wagons

Segment Synopsis: Andy's parents came to Canada in 1901 from Ternopil (Western Ukraine), they were already married, and came with their parents (Andy's grandparents). Andy's parents had six children (three boys and three girls) in Canada. Andy is the youngest, and the last survivor in the family.

Subjects: family farms; family stories; farming; farms; immigration; immigration stories

Segment Synopsis: Heavy snow in the first week of June in 1930 and potato crop failure.
Typical meals: potatoes, perogies (pyrohy), sauerkraut, chicken, cottage cheese. Not much fruit: apples and oranges were bought for Christmas time.
Breakfast: leftovers.
Dinner (lunch): soup or borshch at home, and sandwiches at school.
Supper (dinner): studynets, chicken, nachynka, sauerkraut, holubtsi (cabbage rolls).
Christmas Eve meal: twelve dishes - fasting, no meat and no dairy - kutia (poppy seeds and wheat), nachynka, fish (fried), pickled herring, holubtsi, pyrohy. Christmas bread for Christmas Day.
Easter meal: about the same as Christmas Day or any other festivities, also paska (Easter bread/cake). Andy's parents were very strict about fasting, they observed Lent: four weeks before both, Christmas and Easter. Lent was over on Saturday, and on Easter everyone in the family could eat everything.
In 1932, Depression started - no income for the whole year in terms of money, it was difficult to sell animals.
Family purchasing at stores.

Keywords: Depression; borshch; cottage cheese; holubtsi; kutia; nachynka; paska; pyrohy; sauerkraut; studynets; twelve dishes

Subjects: Christmas; Easter; Lent; apples; breads; breakfasts; chicken; chickens; crops; dinners; dried fruits; fasting; fishes; flour; fruits; grocery stores; herring; lunches; meals; milling; oranges; peppers; potatoes; purchasing; ritual meals; salt (seasonings); sandwiches; soups; sugar; wheat

Segment Synopsis: Clothing, as well as groceries, was purchased at department stores or mostly ordered from Eaton’s catalogs.
Type of clothing and shoes/boots to wear for different seasons.

Keywords: Eaton's

Subjects: boots; catalogs; clothing; coveralls; department stores; felt; purchasing; shoes (footwear)

Segment Synopsis: Story about uncle Stanley and his cattle in the early 1930s.

Keywords: Depression

Subjects: cattle; family stories

Segment Synopsis: Food to purchase. No coffee at stores, they made their own coffee - from roasted wheat.

Subjects: canola oil; coffees; purchasing; sugar; teas

Segment Synopsis: Children chores were herding cows, teenager - chopping wood.

Subjects: chopping (manufacturing processes); chores; farm chores; house chores; wood

Segment Synopsis: Talk about house decorations

Keywords: obrazy

Subjects: churches; house building; interior design; religious art

Segment Synopsis: Talk about doing arts or crafts in the family: Easter eggs

Subjects: Easter eggs

Segment Synopsis: Andy's family attended Roman Catholic Church, and it conflicted their religious and ethnic identities.

Keywords: Poles; Russians; Ukrainians

Subjects: Russian Orthodox Church; Ukrainian Orthodox Church; churches; ethnic identity; ethnic stereotyping; religious identity