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Monument
is Stolen
A massive 11-foot-high bronze statue of Taras H. Shevchenko
was stolen from Shevchenko Park, just north of Oakville, Ontario
in December 2006. A gift to Canada from the people of Soviet Ukraine,
the statue was unveiled in 1951 in front of an international audience
of 40,000 people. In the latest update to the "Shevchenko Statue
Theft" saga, detective Timothy Conway and his partner detective
Veronica Payne have advised the Taras H. Shevchenko Museum that
the head of the stolen statue has been found. According to their
report, the head, weighing about 200 lbs., was found in a foundry
in Burlington (Ontario). The back of the head shows some damage,
but, fortunately, the face is damage-free. More
...
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The unveiling of the monument to the great Kobzar of Ukraine, on Canadian
soil, in July 1951 was a memorable occasion - the greatest in the
history of Ukrainian Canadians. It commemorated the 60th anniversary
of Ukrainian settlement in Canada and their historic contribution
to the economic, cultural, social and political life of this country.
The site since then, has become sacred to the Ukrainian community
- a Canadian Kaniv. Each year the anniversary of the unveiling of
the monument is celebrated on Canada Day. Through all seasons of
the year people come from near and far in memory of the Bard whose
great works continue to illuminate the spirit of mankind.
The idea to errect a monument to Taras Shevchenko was conceived
more than ten years before it was realized. Efforts to realize the
plan began before the Second World War. It would have been an appropriate
way to mark the 50th anniversary of Ukrainian settlement in Canada.
The Ukrainian Labour-Farmer Temple Association (UFTLA), predecessor
of the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians (AUUC), started
discussions of such a project as early as 1939. After more than
10 years of efforts, in 1950 the AUUC National Convention decided
"to celebrate in July 1951 the 60th Anniversary of the life
and creative labour of Ukrainians in Canada, firstly by a great
National Festival of Ukrainian and Canadian song, music and dance,
and secondly, by erecting a Monument in Canada to Taras Shevchenko,
which would represent the full figure of the great poet of the Ukrainian
people."
Immediately after the Convention the National Executive Committee
(NEC) AUUC proceeded to contact proper authorities in Ukraine regarding
the creation of such a monument. The great Ukrainian sculptors Makar
Vronsky and Oleksa Oliynyk in a very short time created the Monument
as a gift from the people of Ukraine to Ukrainian Canadians.
The inscription on the pedestal, carved in granite, reads: "T. H. Shevchenko,
1814 - 1861. From the peoples of Soviet Ukraine to the Ukrainian
Canadians. Kiev, 1950."The pedestal, garden stones and the
monument, twenty two feet eight inches high, weghing 51 metric tons
all together, arrived early in Canada in all 121 pieces and in due
course was assembled at the Shevchenko Memorial Park by brothers
Max and Stanley Ilomaki.
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The bronze statue of
the poet,
just under eleven feet, is hosted
into place by a
crane.
March 1951 |
The monument, over 51
metric tons in weight, is ready and covered for the unveiling
ceremonies on July 1, 1951 |
Wasyl Pilypiw cuts the
ribbon that reveals the impressive bronze figure of the great
Ukrainian Kobzar, Taras Shevchenko |
The NEC, with assistance from the Special Jubilee Committee, composed
of representatives of the AUUC, WBA (Workers Benevolent Association)
and a number other fraternal Slavic organizations, launched a campaign
for funds for the erection of the Monument, development of the Memorial
Park and the building of a Museum near the monument to house exhibits
that represent the life and rich legacy of creative works of Taras
Shevchenko. And, since we were marking the 60th Anniversary of Ukrainian
settlement in Canada,there also had to be space for exhibits depicting
their work and hard pioneering life in Canada.
Through publicity in the press and educational efforts carried
on by AUUC branches- mass meetings, lectures, conferences - many
Ukrainians for the first time learned their true history and realized
as never before their own importance in the political and socio-economic
life and their contributions to Canada.
With willing hands, the building of the Museum and preparation
of the Memorial Park went into full swing. As promised, Peter Lozowy,
the contractor, had the Museum finished by the end of June. The
grassy farm of 16.5 acres had been tranformed into parkland: 600
trees and various sizes of shrubs were planted, top soil had been
added and 500 pounds of grass seed sowed. Among the trees, just
a little to the southeast of the Monument, standing in all its glory
is a willow brought as a twig from Kaniv, Ukraine, in 1952 by Matthew
Shatulsky.
The celebration of the 60th Anniversary of Ukrainian settlement
in Canada and the National Festival of song, music and dance started
by 1500 participants' performance on June 30, took place in Maple
Leaf Gardens in Toronto. The unveiling of the Monument took place
the following day, July 1st, Canada Day 1951. It was truly a great
historic achievement. 10,000 people in Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens
and 45,000 in Taras Shevchenko Memorial Park paid homage to Shevchenko
and honoured the Ukrainian pioneers and their descendants for their
contributions to the building of Canada.
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On Canada Day 1952 the Taras Shevchenko Museum was officially opened
to the public. By then the museum had received 500 exhibits from
Ukraine, mostly from the State Shevchenko Museum in Kiev. Among
the exhibits were 23 beautiful oil paintings representing the life
and work of the great poet, ceramics, wood carvings, Easter eggs,
embroidery and much more.
The Taras H.Shevchenko Museum and Memorial Park, with the monument
to the Great Kobzar at its heart, has grown in stature both at home
and Ukrainian history and heritage in Canada. As a unique institution
of the people, it consecrates a small piece of Canadian soil in
the name and image of this titan of the Ukrainian people and the
human spirit. To this day, the Museum to Taras Shevchenko remains
the only such institution in the Americas. All through the years
thousands of visitors from Canada, the United States, Ukraine and
other countries walked the walkway to the Monument and through the
doors of the Museum.
This institution - the Park, Museum and Monument, under the name
of the Taras H. Shevchenko Museum and Memorial Park Foundation,
was incorporated in Ontario as a non-profit institution on March
16, 1954.
Then, in the early hours of September 16, 1988, disaster struck
when arson destroyed the Museum.
Museum now
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