North Tonawanda’s Ukrainian Community
By Gregory L. Witul
At the dawn of the 20th century, immigrants from across the Atlantic flooded into the City of North Tonawanda. Led by the Poles and Hungarians, the Italians, Romanians, Serbians and Slovaks all made the area their home. But the Ukrainians, another group of Slavs, would also leave their enduring mark on the Lumber City.
In the last quarter of the 19th century, Ukrainians living under Austrian and Russian rule were repressed, underemployed, malnourished and longing for opportunity. Hearing of the great economic opportunities in the West, they booked passage to the New World to find work in the factories and mines that powered the United States. The pioneering Ukrainians of Western New York began arriving in the very early 1890s, where they found refuge in the Polish quarters of Buffalo: the East Side and Black Rock. There they found jobs, started families, erected churches and settled into life.
The general boundaries of Ukraine from a ca. 1919 postcard are shown here superimposed on an 1881 map of Europe. Note that the territory is divided between Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Credit: Base Map Library of Congress
In 1896, the Buffalo Bolt Company established a factory on Oliver Street and East Avenue in the Ironton neighborhood of North Tonawanda. Needing employees, the company began encouraging workers from other Western New York plants and beyond to relocate to bucolic North Tonawanda. A handful of Ukrainians from the Buffalo area heard the call and began to make their way to Niagara County. Among the first families to settle into the growing Polish and Hungarian community along Oliver Street were the Woryks, Twardys, Babis and Bogdans. These families quickly formed a community and, along with others on occasion, would gather at the 17th Avenue home of the Zaharkiws to share the latest gossip or news from home in their mother tongue.
The Buffalo Bolt Company established a plant on Oliver Street at East Avenue in 1896. Many Ukrainians came from other parts of Western New York to work here, thus establishing a community in North Tonawanda.
Credit: From Greater Buffalo and Niagara Frontier, Commercial & Industrial (1914)
The American-Ukrainian Club
By the mid-1920s, this nascent community had grown by leaps and bounds. At a meeting on September 24, 1928, John Woryk, Nikola Zaharkiw and a number of other men agreed to set up and support an organization that would promote and preserve Ukrainian culture in North Tonawanda. After a small debate, they agreed to name their endeavor after Ukraine’s greatest poet, and the Ukrainian Society Taras Shevchenko, Inc. was born.
Once the Shevchenko society was registered with New York State at the end of 1928, members began collecting funds to build themselves a home. With the few hundred dollars they quickly raised, the group purchased an empty lot out on sparsely developed 18th Avenue. With a grove of their own, they held festivals, outings and picnics at the property. For parties, dances and the monthly meeting, the members gathered at Frank Kaczor's hall at 728 Oliver St.
Under the leadership of President William Nimetz, the society survived the storm of the Great Depression as membership rose to 45. Despite the financial hardship of the times, the Eastern Europeans’ dedication to their heritage was palpable. At the very height of the Depression, the group was able to pack over 150 people into Kaczor's for a special evening of Ukrainian entertainment. As the Depression dragged on, the society waived enrollment and membership fees and, instead, encouraged attendance at the 18th Avenue parties, Polonia Park picnics and Oliver Street events.
By the mid-1930s, the Ukrainian population had grown to the point where they were considered a foundational community of the Ironton area. Soon, they were being courted by local politicians. A Republican primary candidate for New York State’s 40th Congressional District, H. Morton Jones, worked the stage in front of 350 members at a special event hosted by the Taras Shevchenko society. While Jones didn’t win, it did demonstrate that the Ukrainians were a group worth pursuing.
To promote their Slavic culture in the Tonawandas and beyond, the society sponsored a number of events and programs. There was the Ukrainian Singing and Dancing Circle, tributes to Taras Shevchenko on the anniversary of his death and a special screening of We Live Again, Rouben Mamoulian's adaption of Leo Tolstoy's 1899 novel, Resurrection, at the Riviera Theater. To keep the Ukrainian language alive, they formed a school under the instruction of a Mr. Rybach. The children learned Cyrillic script, the national songs of Ukraine and traditional folk dances. The society also sponsored a Ukrainian language radio program out of Canada. Hosted by Stephen Galan, the Ukrainian Radio Hour on CHML played folk songs and shared familiar traditional tales during the Sunday afternoon program.
By the end of 1930s, the society’s membership growth had stalled. To keep their dream of establishing a permanent home for the club alive, membership was opened to all nationalities. This had an immediate effect, boosting the rolls by almost 20 percent at the end of the first month. With more members, the society was able to take over the hall at 728 Oliver when Kaczor moved out in 1936. To celebrate this important milestone, a grand opening was held on May 23, which included a broiler dinner with beer, wine and liquors. With a permanent roof over their heads, the society continued to hold their regular meetings, but now offered up more concerts, speakers and other events. Their time at 728 Oliver would be short-lived, however, as the society gave up the address to Helen Palka in early 1939. Members soon began meeting at the Oliver Hotel at 910 Oliver, where they would finalize plans for what would be their crowning achievement—the American-Ukrainian Home.
After a property swap, and digging out the foundation by hand, construction of the clubhouse began with the laying of the cornerstone at 17th Avenue and Gilmore on August 11, 1940. Member Victor Zuck acted as master of ceremonies while his father, the Rev. John Zuck of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church, blessed the cornerstone. After the stone was in place, society president John Bogdan delivered an address on the history of the club, declaring the day an achievement for the Ukrainians of North Tonawanda. A performance by the Ukrainian Dancers and a celebratory picnic followed the ceremonies.
The club building was completed just in time for the 1941 election of officers that December. Bogdan was once again elected president; in a very progressive move, Mary Namenanik was elected vice president. The sons and daughters of the society also organized themselves into the American-Ukrainian Youth Club of North Tonawanda, nicknamed “Club 17,” and began holding jam sessions, gatherings, a Halloween party, a May Day dance and a celebration of the pre-Lenten festival of Maslenitsa.
Bogdan, Zuck and the Rev. Zuck, among many others, were in attendance at the building’s first anniversary celebration. The guest of honor that evening was Alexander Slotiuk. A member of the Ukrainian National Association, Workingmen's Association Assembly 42, Ukrainian-American Sitch and president of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America’s Buffalo chapter, he also gave the keynote address. The building’s anniversary grew into a major event for the club over the years, drawing judges, ward supervisors, aldermen and even Mayor Myles W. Joyce to the annual celebrations. While there was no band playing for their first birthday party, the Ukrainians brought in only the best entertainment in the ensuing years, hiring music legend Matt Piorkowski as often as he was available.
When the United States entered World War II in December 1941, a dozen boys from the club were signed up and ready to ship out in less than seven weeks. Over the course of the war, society members formed a Red Cross sewing unit, held fundraisers to send cigarettes and newspapers to the soldiers and hosted Defense Dances with the aim of purchasing over $7,500 worth of war bonds. One of the largest wartime programs the society hosted was a March 1942 event that included entertainment from society members, the Arion Singing Society and the International Workers Order Dancing and Singing Club. A Mr. Takach was the principal speaker for the day’s event, while the Arion Singing Society presented four Polish songs, Ms. Tymash sang three Ukrainian folk songs and the IWO performed several folk dances.
In the post-war years, the Taras Shevchenko society became involved in the Western New York Ukrainian War Relief Committee. This regional branch of the United Ukrainian-American Relief Committee formed to discuss the problems arising from the displacement of Ukrainians, to raise awareness of the suffering of war victims and to address the plight of Ukrainian refugees. These efforts were funded, in part, by five slot machines in the club hall. The devices caused a small problem for Shevchenko bartender Peter Misuk, however, who was fined $25 when they were discovered by the North Tonawanda Police.
As the turbulence of the 1940s turned to the stability of the 1950s for the middle-class Ukrainians of North Tonawanda, family-focused activities came to the club. Card parties were held, bowling teams were formed and Easter dances with Paul Anton and his Orchestra were hosted. As the families grew, so did the club, with a new addition being opened in 1951. The society also opened its doors to other organizations, including the Swiftwater Council of the Improved Order of Red Men, the North Tonawanda Parent Teacher Association, Local 350 of the International Union of Electrical Workers out of the Rudolph Wurlitzer Co., the Fraternal Order Orioles and AMVETS Post 1946.
With the passing of the founding generation of the Ukrainian Society Taras Shevchenko in the late 1950s and early 1960s, their children began to take on more prominent roles. By the clubhouse’s silver jubilee, early member Stephan Kastelan’s son Stanley was president, while founding members William Nimetz and Ann Ruzylo were treated as honored and respected elders.
The next generation kept the American-Ukrainian Club on solid footing, renting out the hall to organizations, wedding parties and family gatherings. Parties, dances and fundraisers were still regularly held, but they began to lose some of their parents’ Ukrainian flair. In the 1970s, Niagara County’s population began to decline, only to accelerate again a decade later. The dwindling membership, coupled with an increase in taxes and fees, forced the club to sell its building in the spring of 1987 to a Lutheran congregation. Without a home for the first time in almost a half century, the Taras Shevchenko society returned to where they began: 728 Oliver. Meeting in the back hall of the Mirror Room Lounge, longtime President Howard Roeske Sr. was able to hold the organization of 22 members together for five more years but, as the outlook and opportunities for the society dimmed, it was decided to fold the organization.
On September 24, 1992, the Ukrainian Society Taras Shevchenko of North Tonawanda was legally dissolved and passed into history.
Faced with decreasing membership and increasing taxes, the Ukrainian Society Taras Shevchenko was forced to sell their 17th Avenue clubhouse in 1987. Today, it is home to the Church of the Apostles Lutheran parish.
Credit: Western New York Heritage Photograph, 2022
Leaders
Of the leaders of the early Ukrainian-American community, few were as prominent as John Woryk and Nikola Zaharkiw. Woryk and his wife arrived in the U.S. in 1904 and, by 1910, had a house on North Tonawanda’s Seventh Avenue. Working at Buffalo Bolt, Woryk became an early driving force in the formation of the Ukrainian Society Taras Shevchenko. As a younger man, he served as the group’s treasurer and entertainment chairman; in his later days, he was a board member. When the society was raising funds to build the 17th Avenue clubhouse, he worked feverishly to see the project through. At a memorial held after Woryk’s passing, his importance to the Slavs of North Tonawanda was laid out. President Wasil Namynanik remarked, “(Woryk) was one of the leaders who founded the American-Ukrainian Society and he helped to build its hall. He was one of the few who made it possible to have a society and hall for the Ukrainian people of the Tonawandas.… (We extend our) respect to him as a charter member of our organization."
Similar to Woryk, Nikola Zaharkiw settled in the U.S. in 1905, finding work in one the Tonawandas’ paper mills before also working at Buffalo Bolt. Zaharkiw would open his home to the community and helped to form the Taras Shevchenko society. In his life, he was an assistant treasurer and board member, but after his death in 1945 his family carried on his legacy. Over the next 50 years, several family members sat on committees and served on the board, including service as secretary and president.
LEFT: Early Ukrainian-American community leader John Woryk. Credit: Woryk Family Collection
Credit: Woryk Family Collection
RIGHT: Ukrainian-American community leader Nikola Zaharkiw, whose home at 28 17th Avenue was the birthplace of the Ukrainian Society Taras Shevchenko. Credit: Howard Roeske Jr collection
Credit: Howard Roeske Jr collection
Employment
Most of the men of the Ukrainian community worked as laborers in the industries that thrived in the Twin Cities. Since its opening, Buffalo Bolt Company was a major employer of the Ukrainians but, in time, Spaulding Fibre Co. and the International Paper Company became popular employers as well.
While the majority were satisfied with the stability of having a factory job, one leader among the Ukrainians did take up the challenge of being an entrepreneur. William Nimetz, longtime president of Taras Shevchenko society, and his wife Mary, the former proprietress of a Payne Avenue grocery store, opened Nimetz Restaurant on Wheatfield Street in May 1946. Located at the very edge of Ironton, the restaurant was a modern addition to the Tonawandas’ culinary scene with mood lighting, artistic chrome, leather booths and a substantial bar. The food focused on American, Hungarian and Polish fare, but Ukrainian favorites like holubtsi (stuffed cabbage rolls) could be found on the menu as well. Nimetz Restaurant was a dining destination until the couple retired in 1953.
Tri-City Blackhawks NBA press guide from the 1950-51 season.
Credit: Private collection.
Tri-City joined the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1949 as part of the merger between the NBL and the BAA. Kerner hired Red Auerbach to coach the Blackhawks in 1949, but the future Hall of Famer quit after 57 games over a dispute with the owner. Following the 1951 season, Kerner moved the team again, this time to Milwaukee where they became the Hawks. A move to St. Louis followed the 1955 season. The Hawks would appear in four NBA championships while in St. Louis—winning the championship in 1958, but losing three times to the Boston Celtics in 1957, 1960 and 1961. Those losses stung for Kerner, as Auerbach was the Celtics’ coach and two of his best players—Bob Cousy and Bill Russell—were draft picks that Kerner had traded away. In 1968, he sold the team to Thomas Cousins and former Georgia governor Carl Sanders, who promptly moved the team to Atlanta. The Atlanta Hawks remain part of the NBA today.
Faith
While the Ukrainians of North Tonawanda were united in language, culture and tradition, they were diverse in their faith. Some attended the Roman Catholic churches while others were Orthodox, but the majority of the Christian faithful were parishioners of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church on Germain Street in Buffalo’s Black Rock neighborhood.
Because of the strong connection to the parish, Father John Zuck, the longtime rector at St. John’s, would play a major role in the Lumber City community. He would baptize, wed and bury members from scores of North Tonawanda families. He was also involved in pivotal events of the community, from blessing the cornerstone of the American-Ukrainian Club to common occurrences such as hosting a card party in town.
Those who followed the Orthodox tradition would have a much longer ride to SS. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church in Buffalo’s Lovejoy district. Led by Rev. Ernest P. Wolkodoff, the Orthodox members were fewer in number, but still well represented in the community. Wolkodoff would often attend dinners hosted by the Taras Shevchenko society, performing the invocation or giving a speech. His flock in North Tonawanda was also a contributing factor in his efforts to establish Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in Niagara Falls.
St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church on Germain Street in Buffalo was the spiritual home for many in North Tonawanda’s Slavic community. The original 1907 church was a wood-framed structure, to which the current brick remodel was added in the 1920s under Rev. John Zuck. The structure still stands, but in the early 1980s the parish moved to Elmwood Avenue in the Town of Tonawanda.
Credit: Author’s Collection
A number of Ukrainians also attended the Roman Catholic parishes in the city. Early on, Ascension Parish was home to a group of Slavs and, as the city grew and families moved, St. Joseph became their destination church. As members married within the greater North Tonawanda community, Ukrainians would eventually be found in the pews of Lutheran and Presbyterian churches as well.
Many of North Tonawanda’s largest ethnic groups were able to establish their own churches and missions. The Polish community was successful in opening Our Lady of Czestochowa Catholic Church and Our Savior Polish National Church. The Hungarian community formed their own Reform Church and even the small Byzantine community was able to organize St. Stephen the Protomartyr parish. However, because of the large religious diversity, there was never an effort to organize a parish or church for the Ukrainians in North Tonawanda.
Today
Over the last half-century, the Ukrainian community that once thrived on the southern tip of Niagara County has slowly assimilated into the community. Those who still wish to embrace their Ukrainian heritage can visit the Dnipro Ukrainian Cultural Center on Buffalo’s East Side or the Ukrainian-American Civic Center in Black Rock.
There are still North Tonawandans who attend St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church (now on Elmwood Avenue). Varenyky are still cooked in Lumber City kitchens. A corner of the North Tonawanda History Museum is dedicated to the Ukrainians. Still, many of the clubs, dance groups and businesses of the once-thriving community are gone.
About the Author
Gregory L. Witul is a marketing and communications professional who also works on the ethnic and art history of Western New York. He has published articles for the Am-Pol Eagle and The German Citizen newspapers as well as the Polish American Journal. His previous articles for Western New York Heritage include “Aesthetic Industry: The Buffalo Stained Glass Works” (Winter 2010) and “The Architect of Polonia: Wladyslaw H. Zawadzki” (Winter 2014). The author would like to thank Howard W. Roeske Jr. for his assistance with this article.
