We had a pit for wastes, and at that time we were not that good in the chemistry of waste pits, so to avoid swarming flies, the person on duty had to cover it over with the gound every evening. We burned what could be burnt and then simply strew with the gound. But one day, it was during the daytime – a horrible explosion happened. Nobody knew what it was and where it was, even some trees were on fire. And it was the waste pit, with everything that was thrown in there… We used to throw away everything: paper, kitchen wastes. Everything was thrown in there, and we strew it, probably, with so much ground, that it was smoldering, smoldering and finally the gases must have exploded. We all were called from the camps to the main square, down in the valley, near the kitchen. Everyone asked: “What will happen?! What will happen?!” Even the firemen were not called for – it was so early in the morning that we had to restore everything by ourselves. But someone from the neighbors called the fire brigade, in the US such things are immediately told about. Our older scouts, leaders, administration coped with the fire, and then the firemen came, scolded about that pit, said that no one does it this way, that we should separate if we do it. They would have preferred that we sign a contract to have our garbage taken away, but not that we were burning in the forest. So after that we had to hire a firm that would come and pick up the garbage.
We were passing by Adirondacks, passing by the White Mountains, New Hampshire… We weren’t far away to the East, but there in the East we visited all those places – we were wandering. Everything is well signed there, but despite the good signs, we got lost. We were coming back from, it seems, Haystack – and we got lost. We had to spend the night like that, because de-facto we didn’t know where to go. Or we couldn’t coordinate the map with existing roads, I don’t know… There was such a spring, a pool – and everyone knew by that time that we have to take care of the feet. So we were washing one by one our feet in that pool; the cold water, luckily – was so cold! And we washed and someone said: “You know, my feet are warm!” Then everyone admitted their feet were warm: with that cold water feet became warm. I think we didn’t even have sleeping bags with us as it was just a one-day trip. But there were boy scouts going up to the mountain with all the equipment; they told us where we were, how far away and that yes, that road was new, it was not on the map because the trees were cut there and the road was built to transport the trees; that confused us. And they like gentlemen put their tents and left them for us. And they also asked if we had food, and we had just some leftovers. We didn’t confess, we said we had eaten already: “Thank you!”, the tents are more than enough. Immediately the acquaintances started: “Who are you? How do you do?”, then we began to sing. It turned out, some songs we were signing – for example, “Chin Chang Hu” – it was a very popular song among the boy scouts. Afterwards they taught us some quasi American Indian songs. So it was a very interesting end of such a trip.
As Knyazhynskyj [Antin] came back, because… he was caught by the Bolsheviks in Vienna, caught in the street, and sent to concentration camp. And he was an Austrian-born (citizen of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire). His wife and daughters already in those early 1950-s were doing their best to have him back with them, to unite the family; it was before the Yalta Agreement, to unite the family… And he was let free… Knyazhynskyj and uncle Romko were very close to each other – lawyers, and it seems, they lived together in Kolomyja. They were very close, so when he came to the US, one of the first places he visited – was Buffalo. And when there was no school, we would go with grandfather either on roller skates or on foot from one end of the city to uncle Romko. There and back. It was quite a distance! And when Knyazhynskyj was back, grandfather said: “We have to go to Romko’s place because Knyazhynskyj will be telling interesting stories.” So we went. And he asked us, Hrystya and me, to leave the room! I don’t know what he told to grandfather and to uncle Romko and to aunt Genya, but he said: “Girls, go and play in the kitchen.” And later he wrote a book, so it was, apparently, in the book. We were too young to know that… I think everyone who came from there at that time (there were not many of them), had a big fear. They were so afraid, it came to paranoia they don’t cause harm to anybody else. Not about themselves, but what they might say or the people might retell. Knyazhynskyj said when he came to visit us: “You know what, people? You all have loose tongues. You don’t know any more how to hold your tongues.” Because in the US everyone thought that this is it, freedom, and we had no idea how many people were working for the Bolsheviks. We had no idea!
When Siryy Lev would come – he loved parades. It was the highest honor to be chosen as an adjutant, he would ask for an adjutant from each camp. So, who will be chosen as an adjutant for Siryy Lev? You didn’t need to take part in a program, you just had to accompany Siryy Lev everywhere. Adjutants were respected by everyone ― by the women in the kitchen and by the team. It was a great honor – to be the adjutant of Siryy Lev. Siryy Lev talked before, apparently, to the camp commandants; and once he heard a child has had some problems or difficulties, he would ask to appoint this child an adjutant. Obviously, the child rose in the opinion of his or her friends… He was a pedagogue, there’s no doubt about it. In the scout suit, he walked from one camp to another and required that when he comes to a camp, the so-called “stiyka” (children on duty) gives announcement; he wanted alarm every time. Not in the scout suit, thank God, but nevertheless an alarm, so that everyone had to run and stand in the line, and if he came and it was kryiivka time, it was… I remember that, when everyone came running from all the places to the square. He greeted everyone then, how happy he was so many children were there, he’d always recall something about Ukraine, about Plast... I would, actually, think to myself as he said: Plast gives us something now, and with the time we have to give back to Plast. He liked an example, he would often use it, example, example, as a mantra, that is important... He himself wasn’t tall, but made an impression of a staid man. He always had such a moustache… That’s how it was… And everyone was used to having him with us, so he was a part of our camp life.
So there was a friend Nusya Mryts, we all loved her very much. She was, as the Germans say, "einmalig" (unique). It was a sole friend Nusya, there were no others like her. She was from the Mryts family; there’s a photo at Sokil camp, where they were building such kitchens – she is there. Plast was her life. She had been a commandant of a scout camp for girls at “Novyy Sokil” for years. And she believed, if someone was wearing a scout suit, there couldn’t be any make-up: neither lipstick nor anything else, it should have been natural. I was already a scout girl when she found lipstick in the oldest “circle” (scout group) – those were maids of about 16-17 years. At that time we all were together in the camp, because we had free time on Sunday, we could meet each other. And older girls had lipsticks. So the commandant found them somewhere, during the check she came across those lipsticks. She put those girls to the criminal report, and it ended up with the girls burying their lipsticks in front of the camp – that was the punishment. It remained in everyone’s memory! Today we recall those times: “Oh, do you remember when friend Nusya, friend Mryts made us bury our lipstick?” And we said: “We were afraid to take lipstick later, when she was there”.
Dora Salaban-Horbachevska born on August 18, 1943 in Vienna (Austria). Her father Volodymyr Salaban was a doctor. He was drafted to the German army, captured near Stalingrad and escaped in 1948. Then he moved to Austria and lived there until his death. He died in 1993.
Her mother, Bohdana Stawnychy together with her parent‘s family immigrated to Western Germany during the Soviet offensive, and later in the U.S. Theodosius Stawnychy, grandfather on mother‘s side of Dora, was gymnasium professor and director of the private school society „Ridna Shkola“ in Yavoriv.
Dora‘s parents were active in Plast (Ukrainian scout movement) in Yavoriv. Dora entered Plast at 6 years of age. She was very active as a leader of the Plast youth, initiator of leader-training camp for girls „Shkola Bulavnyh“ (School of the Leaders, 1969), Local Commissioner of girl scouts, Head of girl scouts, President of Plast Regional Board in Philadelphia.
Dora finished Nardin Academy (1960), graduated in German studies from the Syracuse (1964) and Michigan University (1966), obtained Doctor‘s Degree (1963). She also worked in a tourist agency in East Lansing, MI.
While living in Philadelphia, she did different jobs: worked in the editorial board of „Vidnova“ (Renewal) periodical, in the library, was a co-owner of a store called „Dora“, announcer of St.Sofiya radio program, teacher in „Ridna Shkola“. Dora assembled four books in Ukrainian Literature for high school, taught Ukrainian language in evening courses for English-speaking grown-ups, taught English to new emigrants from Ukraine. In 2002 Dora came back to Buffalo, worked as Graduate Student Coordinator & Staff Assistant at SUNY University, Department of Physiology & Biophysics.
Dora Horbachevska admires Ukrainian folk art; she did a three-year course in folk art and courses in weaving. She is interested in folk embroidery, textiles and needlework.
Dora is active in social life. She was leading the 49th branch of Ukrainian National Women‘s League of America in Buffalo.
