It was raining pretty hard when we arrived at Hotel Parque in the small town of Fram.

Transcription

1 We were at the Bus Terminal in Encarnacion, and we were waiting for a taxi that would take us to Colonia Fram (or Fram), the place where Elsa and Jeannie were born. It was raining pretty hard when we arrived at Hotel Parque in the small town of Fram. 1

2 The two sisters had to make their way through puddles and a heavy downpour as they tried to negotiate with the manager of the hotel, Olga Krawchuk, for a room. As it turned out, there was no room in the only hotel in town, and the owner Sergio negotiated with us for a steep price to put us up in a farmhouse 6 miles outside of town. 2

3 We had no choice. Sergio drove us there. Video at: Jeannie s sentiments were: I wanted my son to experience what life was like when we lived in Paraguay. It seemed like her wish was coming true. 3

4 Our first impressions were that at least we had a place to spend the night. The next night we would have a room at the hotel in Fram. Sergio made arrangements for us to stay at the farmhouse across the way from a barn where a Japanese farmer and his family lived. 4

5 The bunk beds looked suitable, but Susie discovered that the room was intolerable to sleep in. So she took her mattress and slept in the hallway. During the night the bed bugs put a few marks on her skin. We awoke the next morning to the sound of sheep and cows around us. 5

6 That morning we dressed up to go to the Ukrainian-Spanish church: Iglesia Evangelica Pentecostal in Fram. The pastor s name was Pedro Stupak, who was related by marriage to the Kowal family. He had married the niece of Elias Kowal, Onisim Kowal s brother. 6

7 Nick gave a testimony about his grandfather, Onisim Kowal, who had started the first Ukrainian church in Fram back in the 1930 s. Jeannie gave a short testimony about growing up in Fram and going to her father s church. Pastor Pedro Stupak asked me to give a short testimony, also. (Jeannie) (Nick, part 1) (part2) Susie did a great job translating Nick s English into the Spanish that most of the young people understood. 7

8 Jeannie met a childhood friend, Jeany Tsimbalyuk. Nick is pleased to meet a childhood friend of his mother s. 8

9 Elsa told Nick a few of her own stories about going to church at her father s farm. They walked barefoot, carrying their shoes. When they arrived at the church they cleaned their feet and put their nice shoes on. After church, we took a picture with Pastor Pedro Stupak and the Tsimbalyuk family. 9

10 Nick and Susie wanted to commemorate the moment with a picture at the church where the Ukrainian tradition was carried on in the same fashion as their grandfather, Onisim Kowal, had started. A large Ukrainian Orthodox church stood across the street from the Evangelical church. 10

11 [Google Map - Fram: The second phase of the quest is to find where the two sisters were born and where they lived in Colonia Fram, a small town about 50 miles northeast of Encarnacion. Kowal house area and farm in Colonia Fram (outskirts, south of town) Calle F. Video at: They lived at the crossroads of Calle F (a dirt road) and Calle 5 (now a two-lane highway connecting the northeast town of Fram and the southwest town of Carmen del Parana). The earth Google map shows the intersection of Calle F and Calle 5 (Camino de Carmen del-parana a Fram) at coordinates , , where the Kowal farm and the Woronko/Tsimbalyuk farms were located across from one another. 11

12 Pablo Tsimbalyuk shows the two sisters where the Kowal family lived. This picture shows where the church used to stand, a place where their father Onisim Kowal was the pastor. This is a view walking back up the road to the Calle F and Calle 5 intersection. 12

13 This is the road (Calle F) that they lived on. From here they walked to the church, about 200 meters up the road (on the right side, where a palm tree still stands). Pablo Tsimbalyuk tries to refresh his memory of where Onisim Kowal, a childhood friend, once lived. 13

14 Jeannie points out where she thinks their house once stood. Nick s video: The two sisters agreed that the house once stood in the clump of trees where a small shack now stands. 14

15 More than 60 years later, the two sisters stand on the land where they once lived. They found their birthplace. The house is long gone, but the land remains. Google Map: Coordinates , Across the road from the Kowal place lived the family Shust. A green house indicated where the original house once stood. 15

16 Where once cotton and wheat fields covered the land, now soy plants are the major money-making crop. The sisters remembered picking cotton on this land. Nick pretends like he s preaching at the church where his grandfather once was the pastor. There seemed to be some sort of foundation still left at the spot where Nick was standing. Nick s video: 16