When Canada was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the recently completed World Junior Hockey Championship in Sweden, there were plenty of disappointed Canadians who realized the defending champions wouldn’t even medal this year.
However, there were a few pockets here and there who were cheering loudly when the American team defeated host Sweden for the gold medal, including some, right here in the Valley.
Or should we say they were cheering on Lane Hutson, the dynamic 19-year-old defenceman from Team USA. His father, Rob Hutson, was born in Bowsman and they still have family here in the Valley, guaranteeing a strong local Hutson cheering contingent.
Hutson wasn’t just a member of Team USA, he was a key cog, playing huge and important minutes. The five-foot, 10-inch, 161-pound left-shot blueliner finished with six assists and 14 penalty minutes in the tournament (anyone who watched the tournament can attest the officiating was suspect at best). The second-round draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens was also a solid plus-eight in his plus/minus.
But most importantly, Hutson – who was born in Barrington, Ill., got to hear the American national anthem played after the final game of the tournament, and had a gold medal draped over his neck, signifying his team was the best in the world.
“It felt really good to win – to be with this team, at that moment, I couldn’t be happier,” said Hutson. “I was really part of history.”
Many observers expected a final between Sweden and the United States. These two teams, in various forms, have met each other in high-profile games over the past two years, with each claiming victories over each other – including Sweden defeating the USA in the final of the Under 18 championship two years ago.
“With our age group, the rivalry really started in the Under 18s,” said Hutson. “We were able to beat them out for the bronze last year (at the World Juniors), but beating them for the gold this year, that was the cherry on top.”
And the Americans were literally in hostile territory, as Sweden rallied around their team in a major way. The cheering was never-ending, and that was something the young Americans had to contend with.
“I don’t think I’ve ever played in an atmosphere like that before,” noted Hutson. “There was constant clapping, cheering – it was really special.”
Gold medal in hand, Hutson is now back in North America, playing with his college team Boston University. As well, Hutson has to think about his hockey future. Before the tournament, Hutson spoke with some representatives of the Canadiens, who wished him well in not just the World Championship, but the rest of his school year.
“We talked about my goals this year, and winning gold was one of them, so that’s checked off,” says Hutson.
“I also have goals with Boston University (currently ranked second in the nation behind Boston College), and that includes winning a championship with them as well,” he added. “So, they have encouraged me to keep going, as I’m going to have a lot more meaningful games coming up.”
As of early January, the soon-to-be 20-year-old Hutson has nine goals and 23 points in 16 games with Boston University – his second year with the team. The alternate captain really turned heads last year as a rookie, scoring 15 goals and adding 33 assists in 39 games. So, a Frozen Four appearance is definitely in the cards for this up-and-comer.
Hutson’s college career mirrors that of his father Rob, who after a strong junior career in the BCJHL with Bellingham, went on to star with the University of Illinois-Chicago before enjoying a long career in professional hockey.
And Lane is quite aware of his father’s roots – he spoke about spending the summer in the Valley as a youth, and has nothing but positive memories of spending time where his dad grew up.
“Dad grew up there, and when I was younger, we would go there every summer,” says Hutson. “I remember enjoying my time there – the weather was great, and my uncle had a place we would stay at with a huge garden and there was always lots to do.”
Hutson isn’t the only one following in his father’s footsteps. His older brother Quinn is a current teammate at Boston University, while his younger brother Cole is already committed to joining the team next season. Cole is also ranked to go in the first three rounds of the upcoming NHL draft as well. Finally, the youngest of the bunch, Lars, is a talented 15-year-old prospect himself.
So, with a World Junior championship in hand, a run at a national championship in the NCAA on tap this spring, and a professional hockey career on the horizon, 2024 is shaping up to be quite the year for Hutson and his family.

By Ed Stozek
For the Herald

Tuning into 630 CKRC on the transistor radio, or watching The Ed Sullivan Show on Brandon’s CKX television provided an avenue for the latest music trends by musical groups and solo artists.

While attending Grades 10 to 12 at the Elphinstone Collegiate, my classmates and I often discussed those latest trends in music. Starting a record collection became an important component in a teenager’s life.

During those high school years, the school bus dropped rural pupils off at the Oakburn Elementary School and then we boarded another school bus bound for the Elphinstone Collegiate.

When we returned to Oakburn at 4 p.m. there was just enough time to run to the post office, pick up the mail and then catch the school bus home.

One day a magazine advertising the fabulous benefits of joining a record club came in the mail. Mail-order record clubs like Columbia House and the Capitol Record Club offered amazing super-cheap albums. Both companies offered a generous sign on promotion of a given number of records for one cent providing that the applicant agreed to purchase the same amount of records in the next 12 months.

On a monthly basis each club produced a magazine roughly the size of a letter-sized sheet folded in half featuring small sized pictures of all the current album selections. Without reading the fine print, I promptly filled in the pertinent information to receive my long-playing records. Several weeks later my “free” albums came in the mail. It was too good to be true.

Ordering the required records as part of the contract agreement wasn’t cheap. Along with paying $4.98 per record there were additional shipping and handling fees. One also had to respond each month to the club selection notice or else automatically receive the recommended album of the month and be charged for it. To make a long story short, my parents were not very pleased with my record club membership obligations. The matter was eventually resolved when the “free” records were sent back to the company.

The Columbia Record Club was formed in 1955 by CBS/Columbia Records as an experiment to market music directly by mail. It spurred sales to many rural customers.

As recording formats evolved, 8-track tapes, cassette tapes and finally CDs were added. If a family didn’t initially own a record player, Columbia had an interesting marketing scheme with an opportunity for one to enjoy the newest dimension in recorded music-stereophonic sound. “If you join under the terms outlined you can receive the Columbia Stereo Phonograph, a $39.95 value for only $7.95 pus postage for shipping and handling.”(Columbia Record Club advertisement)

”To begin a membership, simply select a stereo record at $4.98. Indicate your choice on the attached postage paid card.”

Along with the $7.95 record player fee a total bill of $12.93 was charged. Upon receipt of payment the record player was automatically shipped. Thankfully I already had a record player.

The experiment used by Columbia House to gauge the public’s response to marketing music through direct mail was very successful reporting 128,000 members in its initial year of operation. Seven years later, Columbia House had delivered 7 million records to its members and accounted for 10 per cent of all sales in the recorded music industry. 1975 marked more than 3 million members. In the 1980s the company created the Canadian Music Club and the CBS Video Library expanding their selections to include VHS videos of television shows. Videos accounted for half of their sales.

By 1990 Columbia House had shipped 1 billion records to consumers. At the end of the decade there was a significant decline in sales due to competitors such as Amazon. Columbia House was unable to compete with digital streaming music and in 2010 ceased selling music, turning its focus to DVDs. In 2015 the company filed for bankruptcy protection.

As a thank-you for a recent purchase using Amazon, I received a “join today” e-mail noting that I was eligible for a 90-day free trial of Amazon Music Unlimited with access to millions of songs, always ad-free and numerous other benefits.

This time I carefully read the fine print.

By Ed Stozek
For the Herald

My sisters and I were first introduced to the three Rs in a Grade 1 to 8 country school setting.

These basic skills also inspired us to explore and appreciate a variety of reading material and art concepts.

A small room at the back part of the school housed a limited collection of library books.

My sister Adell loved to read. She noted that she read all of the books from the school library “several times over.” One year she had to miss an extended period of time from attending school due to illness. Her teacher, Mr. Kiez, stopped by for a visit at our farm house and dropped off homework and some comics. Adell really enjoyed reading the comic books.

Several years later when I attended the same one-room country school the amount of reading material at the library was still very limited.

One of my favourite books included, Scrubs on Skates, written by Scott Young. The adventures of young hockey players on a Winnipeg high school hockey team made for an interesting read. As a note of interest, author Scott Young, a Canadian journalist, sportswriter and novelist, was Neil Young’s father. I also read and reread Lost in The Barrens by another Canadian author, Farley Mowat. Following the adventures of Jamie and Awasin’s survival in the Arctic stirred a young boy’s imagination.

My sister’s collection of comic books also expanded my reading horizons. An occasional investment of a dime or a quarter netted a new comic book with an exciting story line and interesting artwork.

Along with the usual superheroes and westerns I especially enjoyed the Classics Illustrated Comic series with titles such as The War of the Worlds, Treasure Island and The Three Musketeers. Many years later my sons became avid collectors of Spiderman and Alien comics.

My comic book collection increased the day of my tonsillectomy.

On our way back from the Hamiota Hospital, my father and I stopped at the pharmacy at Shoal Lake to pick up a prescription. The pharmacist handed over some comics to help distract my pain.

None of the comics had covers. Back in the day comic books were sold to distributers and retailers on a returnable basis. This meant unsold comics could be returned for credit. To ease the cost of shipping back the whole comic book, retailers were allowed to strip off the covers and receive full credit as if they returned the entire book. Legally, the retailer was obligated to destroy the remaining copies. Some retailers destroyed the comic books while others sold them at a discounted price. In my case the pharmacist gave me some free reading material. Dennis the Menace, Tarzan and The Lone Ranger were thoroughly enjoyed.

Art was another popular activity at the one-room country school.

Typically participating in art projects occurred on a Friday afternoon. A former schoolmate of my older sister recently recalled an interesting story. Cornelia did not like to draw. For one art lesson Mrs. Ewashko handed out a sheet of paper for each student to draw on. Cornelia quickly passed the paper to Janet who was seated in the desk in front of her. Janet quickly drew a picture and passed it back to Cornelia without the teacher catching on to what was happening.

After I started to attend school, I thoroughly enjoyed the Friday afternoon art lessons and our attempt at creating a masterpiece. Drawing was a passion of mine and it was a great deal of fun to sketch some of my comic book heroes. We also did other art projects.

I recall bringing a potato from home, cutting it in half and drawing a shape on the surface of the potato. We cut out around the shape, dabbed the potato in paint and then stamped the potato on paper. We came up with some interesting designs.

Many years later I used that same art concept for one of the first Grade 6 classes that I taught in 1974-75.

Literature and art concepts initiated in the early childhood years sure did help to inspire, enrich, educate and entertain.

It’s still a great deal of fun to “doodle.”

By Ed Stozek
For the Herald

The thought of moving a heavy object conjures up images of the time when my friend Gerald helped move an upright Kawai piano.

If we had the right equipment it would have been a much easier task, nevertheless, “us two former farm boys” managed to move the piano to its new location.

During WWII pianos destined for American troops serving overseas were moved to new locations in a much different manner.

Steinway and Sons produced specially-built pianos for the American troops. Called the Victory Vertical or G.I. Steinways, pianos were crated and airdropped by parachute onto battlefields to provide musical relief and relaxation for the soldiers.

At this time all kinds of production involving metals such as iron, copper and brass that was non-essential to the war effort was prohibited by the American government because these metals were essential to manufacture guns, tanks and artillery. The instrument maker companies were affected by the new regulations. They had to alter their merchandise to comply with the new regulations and manufacture a product that the military could use or face bankruptcy while waiting for the war to end.

One of the “Big Four” piano makers, Steinway and Sons, had manufactured pianos for over 90 years. Instead of shutting down their factory, the company fabricated coffins and parts for troop transport gliders.

The Baldwin Piano Company constructed wooden airplane wings and the Gibson Guitar Company assembled wooden toys.

Although these ventures weren’t profitable, the projects enabled the companies to keep their operations running.

Steinway was rewarded when the US military granted a contract to make heavy duty military pianos for commissioned officers. By June 1942, the company workers also had designed a small upright piano, “no more than forty inches high and weighing 455 pounds, it was light enough to be carried by four soldiers. The pianos did not have legs like the usual upright models as they would not have withstood an airdrop. Each piano was treated with special anti-termite and anti-insect solution and sealed with water-resistant glue to withstand dampness.”

Ivory keys were coated with white celluloid to protect them from tropical climate conditions and soft iron was used instead of copper for windings on the bass strings. To comply with the government restrictions only 33 pounds, roughly one tenth of metal was used compared to a typical grand piano.

Along with tuning equipment and instructions, the finished products, identified by their military colours of olive, blue and gray, were packed into durable shipping crates and then dropped by parachute from a B-17 bomber.

Approximately 2,500 Victory Vertical pianos were dropped to American soldiers fighting the war in Asia, Africa and Europe.

For example, Victory Verticals were played by a dance band in the Philippines, a special service unit in Alaska and by accompanied performers from Bob Hope to violinist Isaac Stern as they toured on behalf of the United Service Organizations.

For the American troops, music gave peace of mind from the horrors of war and helped to alleviate them from being homesick. The pianos played a vital role in providing soldiers with countless hours of diversion, education, worship, enrichment and outreach.

One soldier wrote home to his family, “Two nights past we received welcome entertainment when a jeep pulling a small wagon came to camp.

The wagon contained a light system and a Steinway piano. We all got a kick out of it and sure had fun after meals when we gathered around the piano to sing. I kept smiling and even today am humming a few of the songs we sang.” (Steinway.com)

Much like the Victory Vertical or G.I. Steinway, the piano that Gerald helped me move also became an important fixture in our new house. My children spent countless hours practising their scales and test pieces for their music lessons from Mrs. Scinocca and Mrs. Borgfjord.

This past summer my friend Frank came from Edmonton for a visit. It was like old times from our university days. We congregated around the piano. I strummed my acoustic guitar and Frank “ickled the ivories.”

Like the soldiers during WWII we really enjoyed making music.

By Ed Stozek
For the Herald

During WWI and WWII the federal government sold Victory Bonds via Victory Loan campaigns to Canadian citizens, private corporations and various organizations in order to raise funds to help pay for the war.

The bonds were a loan to the government and could be redeemed with interest after five, 10 or 20 years. The Victory Bonds were released during five different campaigns between 1915 and 1919 and raised over $2 billion.

Each Victory Bond release was accompanied with a supporting poster campaign appealing to patriotic feelings to help sell the idea of helping to finance military campaigns. No bond issue in Canadian history had raised more than $5 million, however, Ottawa’s first drive exceeded all expectations.

The concept of Victory Bonds was actively reintroduced to the Canadian public two years after Canada became involved in WWII. In a radio broadcast a day after the first Victory Bond campaign was launched, Prime Minister Mackenzie King appealed to all Canadians’ patriotism and strong connections to Britain.

Canada’s minister of Finance noted, “In money alone, the war costs Canada $4 million a day, some three and one-quarter times the daily cost of the last year of the last war.” (May 29, 1941, The Dauphin Herald and Press)

An advertisement in the June 19, 1941 edition of The Dauphin Herald and Press revealed the eminent danger of a direct attack on Canadian soil. “To every mother, wife and sweetheart, beware of the vanishing Atlantic. Help keep the Front Line away from your doorstep. You can no longer depend upon the Atlantic Ocean for protection.”

Examples were given as to the possibility of a bomber flying from Greenland to the Maritimes, Quebec, Winnipeg or Vancouver. Another scenario included a bomb laden plane flying in less than 10 hours from German occupied France carrying destruction to Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. It was also noted that the soldiers fighting in the war needed to be supplied with the tools to fight the enemy from occupying Canadian soil. Victory Bond sales were ear marked to buy more ships, planes and tanks. “Lend your money by buying Victory Bonds now! The money will come back to you with interest Lend to preserve the things money can’t buy.”

Victory Bonds were advertised as very safe loans. For example in seven and a half years a $4 bond would be worth $5. Larger investments would be worth even more. Citizens were encouraged to give their order to canvassers or by going to any branch of any bank, trust company or sending it to the local Victory Loan headquarters.

Bonds could be bought in denominations of $50, $100, $500, $1000 or higher. One could also buy in installments with 10 per cent down and the rest of the pledge in easy terms over a six-month period.

Children were also encouraged to participate. Rather than purchasing bonds, children bought War Savings Stamps each costing 25 cents. Once $4 worth of stamps were saved children could send their form to the federal government and receive a War Savings Certificate. Stamps were also made available to adults who could not afford the one-time $4 payment but still wanted to purchase a Victory Bond.

When the third Victory Loan campaign was made available in mid-October 1942, Canadian farm families were also able to invest in Victory Bonds either with cash payments or through the new Victory Tickets plan.

The Victory Ticket itself indicated a statement by a farmer that by a certain date he would deliver to a buyer that he had designated and had instructed to pay the proceeds from the sale of products such as hogs, steers or produce directly to the National War Finance committee for investment in Victory Loan bonds or War Savings certificates. Victory Loan salesmen were scheduled to come calling at farmers’ homes within the next two weeks.

The Canadian government no longer participates in the Victory Bonds program.

In 1946 the Victory Bonds program gave way to the Canada Savings Bonds with the goal of encouraging Canadians to continue their savings habits from the WWII era.

Due to various economic factors no new Canada Savings Bonds have been issued since 2017.

Will Miner, left, accepted the Norris Aitken Memorial Award from Cam Bennet at the Dauphin Clippers football team’s awards banquet, Nov. 15.

Miner also won the Offensive Most Outstanding Player Award. Riley Lobert took home the Defensive Most Outstanding Player Award, as well as sharing the Playoff Most Outstanding Player Award with Sully Fox.

Owen Tyschinski also won two awards, taking home the Offensive Line Most Outstanding Player Award and the Wellbourne Most Dedicated Award.

Declan Waggoner won the Most Improved Player from Last Season Award, while Blake Thacker won the Most Improved Player In-Season Award.

Lars Gudbjartson was the Defensive Line Most Outstanding Player Award winner and Chayne Paziuk was this year’s Rookie of the Year.

The Best New Player in Grades 11 or 12 was Ahren Lautt. Gail Henton won the Ron Rockets Family Award.

The Coach’s Choice Award went to Alexander Tomkins and the Special Teams Most Outstanding Player Award went to Cody Zurba.

In an era of transitioning from horses to automobiles it’s interesting to note some of the stories associated with these modes of transportation.

During my formative years I had the opportunity to experience actual horse power, as well as the “horsepower” from the Chevy that my father purchased in 1952.

In 1945 my parents started their farm operation in the Oakburn district. They bought four horses for $120 and bought two more the next year.

The horses provided the power to pull the farm equipment and were also utilized for the nine-mile trip to town for supplies, going to church or for visits with the neighbours.

My sister Adell recalled travelling in a cutter (open sleigh) a distance of eight miles to my grandparent’s farm near Horod for family Christmas celebrations. She also noted trips in the cutter to the annual Christmas concerts at the one room country school that she attended. On one occasion they upset the cutter when it hit a snowbank.

In 1956 a van (caboose) was purchased from a neighbour. The comfort of winter travel improved significantly. As the team of horses pulled the van, we sat inside in its heated comfort courtesy of the small box stove.

Roads were often blocked after a winter storm and travelling by car was not possible. After one bad snow storm my father and I took a trip in the van to Oakburn to get supplies and the mail. Several days later it was a welcome sight to see the rotary snow truck blowing away the huge snow drifts and making the roads car friendly again.

For the trip to town the road took a left turn to skirt around a lake. Since there was a steep incline on the sharp curve there were several instances when someone came to our house at all hours of the night to ask my father to hitch up the horses and pull out a vehicle from the ditch.

During one particular winter of heavy snow, neighbours regularly took a short cut through our farm yard and bypassed that sharp curve by going through our field. In the mid-1960s a road was constructed right across the lake and a straighter and safer route was established.

If horse power in the late 1940s wasn’t feasible for transportation then hiring a neighbour to take his car for a trip to town typically cost $2.

My mother had medical issues that necessitated procuring the services of a neighbour and his car to drive to Winnipeg for several appointments. In June 1949, on one of the medical trips to Winnipeg, my father purchased a used 1939 Pontiac for the sum of $825. My father’s records showed that the Pontiac kept breaking down. After several years of footing numerous expensive repair bills a more reliable Chevy coupe was purchased.

Along with family trips to various destinations, my father also used the new car to drive neighbours to town for supplies or for doctor’s appointments.

On Sunday afternoons my father and I occasionally went for a drive in the Chevy to John Prosak’s country store located next to Seech Lake. At the refrigerated cooler one could buy a bottled soft drink and at the counter a variety of confectionary items and canned goods were sold.

One of the store’s regulars, an old bachelor, John Grzebinski, bought the best canned meats for his array of cats while he got by on soda crackers and peanut butter.

Our Sunday afternoons usually concluded with a visit with John. If he was at the store we would give him a ride home. He was a kind gentleman farmer who lived in a clay plastered log house and was well read and well versed in history. John and my father usually spent their visit talking in Polish about politics and the homeland. John appreciated our company and occasionally gave me a quarter for spending money.

The Chevy was permanently retired and parked in the woods in 1964. At my parent’s auction sale in 1975 it was sold for $200 and it was the last time that I set eyes on the Chevy.

The SVRSS Tigers Hockey Team started their season on home ice this past weekend in the Swan River Centennial Arena. The games were well attended but, for those that could not make it, the teamed offered a treat for at home viewers with a multi-camera production thanks to the SVRSS Visual department...

Victory Loans were appeals to Canadians by the federal government for funds to help finance the war effort during WWII.

Nine appeals were launched between June 1941 and November 1945. War revenue was roughly evenly split between corporate and individual contributions amounting to approximately $12 billion.

“Paratroopers invaded Manitoba and inaugurated the 6th Victory Loan campaign. Following a ceremony at the Legislature Building in Winnipeg, twenty-two paratroopers carrying Victory Shields by plane, parachuted to many units throughout the province.” (Apr. 27, 1944, Dauphin Herald and Press)

Local residents turned out in record numbers on the Saturday afternoon of Apr. 22, 1944, to watch 18-year old Canadian paratrooper, Private Fred “Sticky” Stokotelny, make a spectacular jump from a twin-engine Lodestar aircraft flying at 800 feet above the fairgrounds. Skilled in spot landing it took Private Stokotelny less than a minute to drop to the infield of the race track. Upon touchdown he disengaged himself from the parachute harness and did an “on the double” sprint to deliver Unit 38’s Victory Loan shield to Mayor Johnston.

On behalf of the armed forces he appealed to citizens of the Dauphin area to lend every possible dollar in order that “our fighting men may continue to have the best of equipment in sufficient quantities.”

The jump on Saturday afternoon was the eighth one for Stokotelny and the 15 mile per hour wind nearly carried him right into his parent’s backyard. After the presentation, Stokotelny and the mayor embarked on a car ride through Dauphin’s main streets.

The next evening the official inauguration of the 6th Victory loan in Dauphin was marked by an official presentation of Unit 38’s shield at a rally held at the Dauphin Theatre.

The shield was presented by Private Stokotelny to local war finance chairman W. L. Breadner. In accepting the shield Breadner pledged full support to the unit to attain Dauphin’s commitment of raising $425,000.

Stokotelny also presented similar shields to Group Captain J.C. Huggard and Wing Commander H.E. Stewart, commanding officers of the two local air training facilities.

On behalf of No. 10 S.F.T.S and No. 7 Bombing and Gunnery School both pledged campaigns of $75,000 and $80,000.

As part of the evening program, Flying Officer Donald Keith, a Nova Scotian stationed at the Elementary Flying Training School in Neepawa, gave an inspiring presentation of his enlistment as a pilot.

After 85 hours of training he was deemed combat ready. Keith was one of the first 44 Canadians to land in England and on April 5, 1940, he saw his first action. After spending a year as a Spitfire pilot, Keith was transferred to Singapore. On February 5, 1942, the boat transporting the troops was bombed for seven hours by the Japanese. Nine hundred servicemen were killed and another 400 wounded.

Keith escaped with four other airmen in a small boat and was later picked up by a battleship heading for Java. Fighting with the Dutch army the five airmen went to the front, held out for seven days and then headed for the hills. For 29 days they lived on coconut milk, bananas, berries and fruit.

They came upon a sampan and started on the 2500-mile trek to Australia. Five days later they were rescued and landed at Ceylon. Several weeks later they were sent to Australia where Keith was issued a tropical uniform consisting of a pair of shorts, a shirt, a pair of boots and a pistol.

He was wearing the same uniform when he returned to air force headquarters in Ottawa on July 24, 1943. Keith’s description of his escapes and sheer horror of modern warfare served to prove to the audience of backing “our fighting men to the full.”

The evening continued with violin and accordion solos by members of the paratroop show who had earlier entertained at No. 10 and No. 7. They were followed with some spirited community singing. Two war related films, “Target Berlin” and “War Department Report” concluded the evening’s program.

Victory Loan appeals during the course of WWII encouraged the citizens of the Dauphin area to contribute to Manitoba’s provincial quota.

No matter where they go in their lives, Swan River connections stay strong in the Ukrainian Dance world. Alexis Denischuk with Vohon (Edmonton), Olivia Chmelowski with Zabutnyy (Regina), Myley Brunel with Zirka (Dauphin) and McKayla Hnatiuk with Bratsva (Dauphin) were all on the big stage at Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival in Dauphin from Aug. 4-6.
McKayka Hnatiuk
McKayla has been dancing with Bratsva in Dauphin for eight years. She is the daughter of Jason Hnatiuk as well as Sylvia Hnatiuk’s grandaughter.
She received four gold medals for her solo dances at different competitions and this year her dancing group was chosen from the talent competitions to perform at the grandstand on the final night of the festival.
Myley Brunel
Myley attended her first Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival as a spectator with a family friend, the summer of 2014 and fell in love with the costumes, especially the red boots and floral Vinoks, so in that fall, her parents Robert and Erin Brunel (nee Immerkar), registered her with Zirka and she has loved Ukrainian dancing ever since. Myley is the grandaughter of Evelyn Immerkar of Swan River.
Myley started dancing in Grade 2 in 2014.
Myley competed in competitions in Brandon, Yorkton, Regina and Dauphin.
She received most outstanding effort award with Zirka in 2014-2015 dance year and the Dedication Award in 2022-23 in memory of Chris Perih.
Presently Myley and her group are preparing to perform in Disney World, both on stage at Epcot and during the Disney evening parades in 2024.
Myley loves the opportunity to meet with her dance group at practices and enjoys meeting other dancers.
She is now old enough to wear the red boots that she fell in love with all those years ago.
Sara Synk
Sara is the daughter of Niomi (nee Hrappstead) and Joe Synk (former RBC Bank manager in Swan River).
Sara started dancing at the age of three with the Dolyna Dancers in Swan River.
She continued dancing, joining Troyanda Ukrainian dance group when she moved to Brandon, where she attended high school and her first year at Brandon university.
Since then she has moved to Regina to join Zabutnyy Dance Company as she finishes her education at the University of Regina.
During the Ukrainian dance festival Sara joined Alexis Denischukdancing the hopak.
Sara’s father also taught Ukrainian dancing in Swan River.
Sara enjoyed travelling to places in Manitoba and Saskatchewan to dance and still continues to love the art of dance.
Alexis Denischuk
Alexis started dancing with the Swan River Dolyna Dancers and continued on until graduating from high school.
From there she went on to continue her education at the University of Regina and danced with the Zabutnyy Dance Company for 3.5 years. The highlight of these years was travelling to Ukraine to dance at numerous dance festivals and workshops. Dancing in the famous Opera house in Lviv, Ukraine, was an amazing experience for Alexis.
Upon graduation she moved to Edmonton where she successfully auditioned for the Vohon Ukrainian Dance Ensemble. She was honoured to dance at the 50th Vegreville Pysanka Festival. She also performed in Portugal’s International Dance Festival with the Vohon dancers where she shared the stage with multiple countries.
The National Ukrainian Festival in Dauphin was where she was reacquainted with Myley, Olivia and Sara.
It was an honour to Alexis to return to her home roots and experience dancing on stage in her home province alongside so many talented dancers. Alexis is very grateful for the lifelong friendships she has made during her Ukrainian dance career.
Olivia Chmelowski
Olivia started dancing at the age of three and never looked back as she absolutely loved it from the get-go.
Throughout her years as a Dolyna Dancer, she was privileged to have incredible and dedicated instructors: AnnaLee Fuhr-Parnetta, Joe Synk, Becca and Jen Guay and Maks Zabutnyy (the latter three drove out from Regina weekly to teach them), Kelsa Unruh, and finally Amanda Yaschyshyn were all instrumental in fostering her love of dance and in her eagerness to give back, she also helped out with the instruction of the younger students in her last few years with Dolyna.
As she made her way to Regina for university, the pandemic was still in full swing, so there was no dance to pursue. By the time it was over, Olivia had fallen into a comfortable school/work routine but missed dancing, so returned to the familiar world of Ukrainian dance when she joined Regina’s Zabutnyy Dance Company. They practice twice per week and she’s had the opportunity to perform at many events in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, most recently Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival in Dauphin. When asked what she enjoys the most about dance, Olivia says she obviously loves the actual dancing, but the best part is the friendships she’s formed along the way.