Nestor Dmytriw was one of the so-called American Circle, a group of young seminarians who, while still in Lviv, resolved to emigrate to the United States in order to improve the religious, civic, and cultural status of the Ukrainian immigrants. Dmytriw and Cyril Genik both “shared in Joseph Oleskow’s views on the needs of the peasantry.” “In 1895, after his ordination, Dmytriw himself arrived in the United States, where he combined missionary work among the Ukrainian industrial labourers of Pennsylvania with journalism. He became associated with the first Ukrainian-language newspaper in North America, Svoboda |Svoboda , which originated in Jersey City, N.J. The paper, which featured stories about the immigrant experience in the United States and Canada, was widely read in Galicia and thus became the first major link between North America and Austrian Ukraine.”
In 1897, Dmytriw travelled from the United States to Canada at Joseph Oleskow’s request. Through the Ruthenian National Association, Dmytriw arrived in April 1897 to serve the spiritual needs of the Ukrainian Canadian settlers. Able to speak Ukrainian, German and English he became an interpreter for Canadian immigration. In Canadian history, Dmytriw's most notable contribution is in writing about the history and tribulations of early Ukrainian settlers.
St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church, the oldest surviving Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada, was built on the site where Father Dmytriw celebrated liturgy on April 12, 1897, shortly upon his arrival in Canada. The parishioners erected a large commemorative cross on the site, and at Dmytriw's suggestion, a log church was built in 1898. The church has since been moved from its original location in the Trembowla area, Rural Municipality of Dauphin. In the fall of 1897, Father Dmytriw spoke up in an article in the Winnipeg Free Press defending the Ukrainian immigrants, deflecting a scathing attack on them by another newspaper. Travelling among them as he did, he was able to describe their industriousness and their well-managed homesteads.
The Ruthenians
REV. NESTOR DMYTROW TELLS OF THE ALBERTA COLONY.
Prosperity of the Early Settlers and Poverty of the Most Recent – Destitute Ones Should not Be Sent There –
Dmytriw’s records showed 15 families, with children, 78 persons, were settled in Trembowla, the oldest Ukrainian settlement in the vicinity of Dauphin in 1897. In Winnipeg, the population was 200, some spending their winter in the Immigration Hall, waiting to leave for their homesteads in spring, while others had decided to stay in the city and were looking for employment. As the first Ukrainian priest to visit the prairies, Dmytriw began organizing the first Ukrainian religious groups in the area. While in Alberta in 1897, Dmytriw was informed by Bishop Legal that, “It would be impossible to have two Catholic churches in Canada.” Dmytriw advised the Ukrainian immigrants to be wary of the French clergy, when Legal “secured land for the Ukrainian Catholic church in Edna-Star, then tried to have it registered with his episcopal corporation without consulting the settlers.” When living in Canada, Dmytriw worked at the immigration bureau in Winnipeg. This helped him in his religious endeavors, giving him the funds to travel throughout the western provinces. The Ukrainian settlers were poor and could not help him in this respect.
