Hladkyj, Irene, 2006 March 4

Irene Hladkyj moved to New Haven in 1950, joining an already sizable and active Ukrainian community. Hladkyj describes the church as the centerpiece of the Ukrainian community, and remembers that she "always, always" lived near other Ukrainians. The peak years of Ukrainian immigration to the U.S., Hladkyj reports, were between 1947 and 1953. After this point, immigration slackened and the Ukrainian population of New Haven began to decline. Hladkyj raised children, and worked in an number of factories in the area, including the A.C. Gilbert toy factory. Hladkyj describes the founding of a Ukrainian Heritage Center in New Haven in 1984. The center was designed to preserve Ukrainian culture and to show Americans "what it's all about." Hladkyj considers the preservation of Ukrainian heritage a personal mission, and describes a number of benefits over the years designed to raise money for assorted Ukrainian causes, including a concert to benefit the children of Chernobyl.

Interviewer: Sawka, Ilyana