The Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village opened a new farmstead to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Ukrainian immigration to Canada.

Politicians, including health minister Sarah Hoffman and mayor Don Iveson, were at the Ukrainian village in the Tofield area to unveil a new residence, granary, chicken coop and two barns. These are joining more than 35 other buildings at the museum.

The house – built in 1915 by Andrew and Maria Hlus – was moved from a farm near Innisfree.

 

Their daughter, 88-year-old Genia Saik, was at the village Sunday. She’s pleased because her family’s younger generations will be able to enjoy the family home in a historic place.

“I was happy because it was going to be destroyed,” Genia Saik said. “It made a home elsewhere.”

 

Saik’s niece, Carol Torpe, was emotional at the ceremony. Her father helped with the new project’s renovations, but he passed away before the development was finished.

“He would've been honoured to have the building set up,” Torpe said.“It is going to be a treasure to have the history re-written.”

Many of the Ukrainians who came to Canada early on were Galicians from the western part of the country.

The NDP government says this new farmstead will shed light on what their life was like as they moved from Ukraine to Alberta between 1915 and 1919.

“Many of the Ukrainians who came prior to the First World War were Galicians and the opening of this farmstead today allows our museum to tell that story to our audiences,” said David Makowski, the museum’s director.

The village is open every day between May long weekend and Labour Day, the province said. They estimate about 44,500 people visit the museum per year.

“Ultimately, when visitors come to our museum, we want them to feel like they’ve stepped back in time and we want to make every effort to make sure that the environment is authentic,” Makowski said.

With files from Angela Jung