CARLYLE - Irene Doty is extremely proud of her Ukrainian heritage.
Doty and her husband Jack live on the century farm 10 kilometres south of Carlyle on Highway 9. They have three children and four grandchildren.
Her parents emigrated from the Ukraine to Fort Frances, Ont. Her father came to Canada in 1912 and started working for the Canadian National Railway. Her mother arrived in 1922. They eventually became farmers and it was there they raised Irene and her two sisters.
According to the 2016 federal census, there are 1.4 million residents of full or partial Ukrainian origin in Canada. Manitoba is home to 15 per cent, Saskatchewan 13 per cent, and Alberta 10 per cent. Ukrainian-Canadians are the country’s 11th largest ethnic group.
Canada has the third largest Ukrainian population in the world, behind only that of Ukraine and Russia. Irene has Ukrainian family living in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Alberta.
Doty’s parents grew up in Kitsmen, located in southwest Ukraine and only a few kilometers from the Romanian border. Her cousin Marushka lives in the city of Chernivtsi, a few kilometers east of Kitsmen. Doty and Marushka have been in regular contact for years and now with recent developments are talking virtually daily.
Marushka is extremely worried about the ongoing conflict, but Ukraine is a proud country and willing to fight for their independence. The Ukrainian people have many relatives in adjoining countries, including Russia. While they don’t really have a problem with the Russian people, they do have a problem Russia’s government, its leader and its ongoing corruption and intimidation.
Marushka remains diligent and defiant, but extremely positive that peace will eventually prevail.
Doty is extremely proud of her Ukrainian heritage. She is fluent in her native tongue and told us that English could not be spoken in their household growing up even though they spoke only English in school. And of course, Doty can cook all the Ukrainian dishes including borsht, cabbage rolls and perogies. The personalized license plate on their silver SUV reads Cheki, which is Ukrainian for please wait or please be patient.
Doty is extremely concerned with the recent unrest in her family’s homeland. The couple visited Ukraine and her relatives in 2008 and came home with many fond memories.
Said Doty, “We are watching the news 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We are very worried but hopefully the conflict will have a swift and happy ending. As my cousin told me in Ukrainian the other day, pray for us so we can live.”
