Ukrainian Labor Temple marks 100 years of history
For 100 years the Ukrainian Labor Temple has served as a place to keep the Ukrainian culture alive in Welland, and Canada, through social, cultural and political activities, says Clara Babiy.
The vice-president of Association of United Ukrainian said 150 people were expected at the Ontario Road hall Sunday to celebrate its 100th anniversary with a dinner and a performance by the Mandolin Orchestra of Niagara.
“The original hall was built in 1917 on Sixth Street, near the canal and railway tracks. There was so much noise there, with the shunting of trains and the blowing horns, they decided to move. We’ve been on Ontario Road since 1926.”
Babiy said in the past the hall used to hold weddings and funerals for members. Over time it has grown to host a seniors group, the orchestra and kitchen volunteers who make and sell perogies every two weeks.
“We used to have drama, choir, the orchestra where children learned to play the mandolin, a dance group and a sports group. Our children were never in trouble because they were always so busy with the choir or sports.”
Babiy learned to play the mandolin herself. She said the hall was a way to keep the Ukrainian culture alive in Welland.
Ukrainians started to arrive in the city about 1910.
But it wasn’t just the Ukrainian culture the hall and its members focused on. Babiy said any group in Welland — Hungarian, French, Slovak, it didn’t matter — could ask to use the hall free of charge. She said it was a way to keep all cultures alive and vibrant in the city.
“I believe it’s so important to keep culture alive.”
The hall also served as a place to help people during the Great Depression and at times when local workers were on strike.
History provided by Babiy showed the hall burned down in the 1930s and was rebuilt on the same spot on Ontario Road.