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Mikayla Martin Professor Raymond English 1103 Family Tree Project 10/17/2013 My Familys Origin: Ukraine My familys origin dates back to the mid 1800s and begins in the Ukraine; in the early 1900s we migrated to the United States. Since then we have moved our roots from the MidWest, prominently North Dakota and South Dakota, to Washington State on the West Coast. Ukraine is located in Eastern Europe; it borders the countries of Russia, Poland, Belarus, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova. It is the second largest country in Europe, and its capital and largest city is Kiev, located in the Kiev Province (Political Map). My familys history in Ukraine is quite short; they came to the United States from a small town nearby, which is now, the city of Lubny. It is located on the Sula River in the Poltava province and is recognized as one of the oldest cities in the Ukraine, dating all the way back to 1000 AD. Lubny has been the center for all sorts of political and government action since Polands claim in the sixteenth century (Glassman). It is where both sets of my maternal great-great grandparents, and their families, originated. My great-great grandparents, Elko and Ann Anheluk came to the United States around the year 1902, there first known place of residence was Belfield, North Dakota, where my great grandfather, John Anheluk, was born and raised. Belfield is a small town that originated during the expansion of the Northern Pacific Railroad. It has a very rich history and culture, and is home to many different settlers from countries such as France, Norway, Germany, Ukraine, Russia,

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Ireland, Poland, England and Holland (Gateway). Both John and his father, Elko, were workers on the railway and their family was eventually forced to move farther west to keep up with work. My great grandfather met and married his wife Olga in Washington where they settled down and had three children. John died in 1994 in Seattle Washington; his body was transported back to North Dakota and buried in the Belfield Cemetery. The rest of my extended family now resides in eastern Washington and in Rock Springs South Dakota. Both my great grandfather, John, and my grandfather, Robert Anheluk, were in the military; one in the air force and the other in the army. A couple of my great cousins were also in the military, one of them even received a Purple Heart for valor during Desert Storm. Another family tradition is for the men to work as welders. My great grandfather, grandfather, uncle, and a couple of cousins are/were all in the business of welding and were all members of the welding union. Its a family trade that all of the men join or attempt to join sometime in their lives. There is also a long list of hereditary diseases that run in my family; they include color blindness, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, diabetes, hypertension and cancer. Multiple members of my family have suffered and continue to suffer from these diseases (Anheluk). My family doesnt practice many Ukrainian traditions, but the ones we do adhere to are very important to us. For instance, every Christmas and thanksgiving my grandmother, my mom, and I make a Ukrainian dish called Petahe; traditionally it is referred to as pierogies but our family prefers to use the slang version. This dish takes a day in a half to prepare; you have to make the dough and let it sit and rise, then the filling which consists of: peeled and mashed potatoes, cheese, cream, and onions; then you make little dumpling-like pockets and put the filling in, the Petahe then has to sit in the fridge for 24 hours; the next day you take them out, boil them and top with butter, onions and sour cream. Another Ukrainian tradition we participate

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in is the telling of old folk tales. During the holidays my grandfather gathers all of the grandkids around and tells us old stories that are father and grandfather used to tell him. The most common one is called The Mitten. It is a very old folktale that has been rewritten and retold hundreds of times, and it is one of my favorite things to do during the holidays. From what I know of my family, our history hasnt been very exciting; we are not related to anyone famous nor have we ever been involved in any important historical events. But, that does not mean that learning about my family tree hasnt been a beneficial experience. So many different Ukrainian traditions and customs have been passed down from generation to generation over the years, some I wasnt even aware of until now. Learning the little information that I have about my family has made me want to dig even deeper into our background and discover even more than I already have.

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Works Cited Anheluk, Janice. Phone Interview. 7 Oct. 2013. "Gateway to the West." Belfieldnd.com. Belfield Chamber of Commerce, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2013. Glassman, Deborah G. "Lubny." Ukraine SIG: Poltava Province:. JewishGen, 2005. Web. 13 Oct. 2013. "Political Map of Ukraine." Mapsofworld.com. Maps of World, 15 Mar. 2013. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.