January–July 1916
Tuesday, January 4, 1916
Not so cold today, but lots of snow.
It was Baba’s idea to gather all of us women together today to prepare a traditional Christmas Eve dinner for all of the prisoners in the main camp. There are 80 or so of us women and older girls in the married prisoners’ camp and there are about 800 men in the main camp. That means that each of us is responsible for making food for about ten prisoners. We worked in teams. Some of us baked kolach and some of us made cabbage rolls and sauerkraut pyrohy and cabbage borshch. If there is one thing plentiful in this camp, it is cabbage!
It was wonderful to see the men’s faces when we brought down all the food. It is prepared for them so all they have to do on Svyat Vechir is warm it up in their own cookhouses and they will have a twelve-course feast. I feel sorry for them because they are so lonely and far away from their loved ones. At least in the married village we are with our families.
Wednesday, January 5, 1916
More snow. Much colder, especially last night!
We worked in the same teams and made the food for our own camp. These have been two work-filled days, but I enjoyed every minute of it.
Thursday, January 6, 1916, Svyat Vechir
Dear Diary, it has been a wonderful day. We are just back from midnight Mass. The thermometer says that it is 27 below zero, and I can believe it. I had to cover my face with a scarf, with just a small opening for my eyes, and even then my face was so cold that it ached.
It is beautiful to look outside right now because the snow sparkles like diamonds. These bunkhouses are not made for the cold. I have my socks and shoes on and my clothing and coat and all my blankets. It is hard to write with gloves on!
Just a year ago we were in our flat in Montreal and we were all together. Tato has been in this camp for nearly a year now, and it is over eight months for us.
We had our Christmas Eve dinner with everyone in our bunkhouse and it was wonderful. The food was delicious and the men were allowed to come back from the woods a little bit early today. We had a special surprise! Some Ukrainian newspapers and churches took up a collection on our behalf. We received a parcel filled with all different kinds of fruit. I think everyone who is interned has received one of the parcels. This really surprised me because I thought most of the Ukrainians in Canada were interned, but I was wrong.
It is wonderful to have this fruit. Maybe we won’t get scurvy like the people in Lviv.
Tuesday, January 11, 1916
Lots of snow last night, very cold.
I can’t believe that I am running out of pages! This was such a fat diary too. I will not write anything unless it is very important.
Sunday, February 6, 1916
(cold, clear, crisp)
The newspaper says that women in Manitoba can now vote!
Thursday, February 10, 1916
Dear Diary, it is my namesday and a bitingly cold 13 below zero.
I cannot believe that I am fourteen years old. It was two years ago that Tato gave you to me, and now your pages are running out. When I flip back and read, I am amazed at all I have seen and done.
I am glad that I am with Tato on my namesday, but I am sad that we are still prisoners here at Spirit Lake.
Mama and Baba had a big surprise for me at supper. They made me a birthday cake. It isn’t really my birthday, but my namesday, but they said that since I am now in Canada, I should start celebrating like a Canadian and that means a birthday cake. I think it was Private Palmer’s idea and he got some of the ingredients, including a bit of cocoa. Instead of having many layers like a torte, this birthday cake has two fat layers with a sweet creamy layer in the middle and spread over the top. It was a bit too sweet for my taste, but Mykola loved it.
It was also funny because both Stefan and Tato gave me almost the exact same thing. Tato carved me a stork to set on the roof of my dollhouse (he said that even though Canada has no storks, I should have one for good luck), while Stefan carved me a small eagle, its wings outspread. You can’t put it on anything because it wobbles. Stefan told me it is meant to be held.
Sunday, April 9, 1916, Ukrainian Easter
Dear Diary, our whole family is together. This is the first Easter in three years that we have all been together. How I wish we were not prisoners.
Wednesday, May 17, 1916
Some prisoners have been released! A dozen or so left a week ago, and then another twenty yesterday. I hope we get to leave soon.
Monday, May 22, 1916
Dear Diary, I got a letter from Irena, but it is several months old. A man from the government came to her homestead. Irena’s parents were scared because they thought her father was going to be arrested. They were actually looking for Yurij Feschuk, though. He escaped from the internment camp in the winter and they thought he might have come back to Hairy Hill, but Irena says no one has seen him. I wonder where he is? It must be scary to have the government chasing you.
Saturday, May 27, 1916
There have now been more than one hundred prisoners released. I have found out what is happening. They are not going home, but are being sent to mines and factories to work. Why can’t they go home?
It bothers me so much that these men have been in prison so long for something that they didn’t do. Can’t the government see that the factories and mines need workers? Why don’t they just let us go free? Then we can take these jobs. We want to work, but we also want to be free.
Later
I think I saw my Pikogan lady, but when I walked towards her, she was gone.
Friday, June 9, 1916
Oy, Dear Diary! One of the guards told me that there has been a “riot” at the Kapuskasing Internment Camp. A riot means people yelling and screaming and throwing things. This riot involved 1,200 prisoners and 300 guards. I hope Stefan’s brother is safe. That is also where that awful Private Smythe is. I wonder if he was part of the problem?
Thursday, June 15, 1916
Dear Diary! Good news!!!
Tato’s boss is asking for Tato to come back to work. He also asked for Mr. Pemlych. As long as Tato reports in with the government when he is supposed to, and as long as he carries his papers, he should be fine. I also know that my job sewing buttonholes is waiting for me. Maybe I can go to school at night. Mrs. Haggarty is waiting for Mama. We will be leaving sometime soon. I can hardly wait!!!
Later
Will people be mean to us when we get back to Montreal?
Friday, June 16, 1916
Speaking about mean, Slava’s father is not going back to the factory. Today he was sent to a mine on the east coast of Canada. About twelve men were chosen for that. Slava cried and cried. I think it is terrible that they are separated. They are the only family each other has. I do as Tato says and think of her as my little sister. She will be living with us in Montreal.