Author: Oksana Pelekh
On January 19, 1891, Hryhoriy Skegar, a journalist, writer, public and cultural figure, and dentist, was born in the village of Pohorylivka in Bukovyna. He received his primary education in his native village. For some time, he studied at the Higher Imperial-Royal Gymnasium in Chernivtsi. In 1908, he emigrated to Canada. First, he worked as a teacher in Winnipeg, then he sought his fortune in the gold mines of British Columbia. In 1919, he moved to Chicago. There he realized the importance of obtaining higher education, so in 1923, he received a Master's degree in Psychology and a Doctor of Medicine degree from Northwestern University in Chicago. He practiced as a dentist for 14 years. Concurrently, he contributed to American newspapers "Canadian Farmer," "Svoboda," and also to Ukrainian newspapers "Dilo" (Lviv) and "Chas" (Chernivtsi).
His book "Across America," published in 1940, is preserved in the "Bukovynian Diaspora" department of ChOKM. However, today I would like to tell you about another, no less important work of his, which has an interesting history – "Ukrainian Professionals in America and Canada."
In the spring of 1933, Hryhoriy Skegar had an idea – to found the "Ukrainian Professional Society," which would include Ukrainians, professionals in their field, who have higher education. He invited representatives of various professions to his office in Chicago and presented his plan to them. Hryhoriy was so convincing that already on August 18–19 of the same year, the First Congress of the Ukrainian Professional Society took place, attended by 51 scholars and 77 guests who came to listen to the reports. At the same time, the Society's Charter was drafted, and an emblem was approved in the form of an American eagle's head against the backdrop of a Ukrainian trident in the colors of the blue and yellow flag. The stated goal of the society, namely – to encourage Ukrainian youth to pursue science and achieve the highest levels of education. Also – to motivate the establishment of Ukrainian libraries, write articles for American, Ukrainian periodicals, etc. It was interesting how the very concept of the word "professional" was defined – it meant a profession, a trade, a craft, and was referred to in Europe by the generally recognized word "intellectual." These included doctors, teachers, priests, lawyers, engineers, and people of other professions.
The second congress took place just a year later. It was there that it was decided to publish the speeches of all participants of the two previous Congresses as a separate collection. However, a small problem arose – there wasn't a single cent in the treasury for the implementation of this project. And Skegar decided it "Chernivtsi style" – through joint efforts! He sent letters to all the mentioned "professionals" requesting a contribution of 10 dollars from each for the book's printing. The first reply letter did not arrive immediately. It was from the presenter, Dr. Ivan Yatsiv, and inside were the first 10 dollars! According to Skegar himself, that letter "lifted his spirits" and encouraged him to send out more and more request letters.
The collection "Ukrainian Professionals in America and Canada" was published in 1935. It is valuable to us because it records the names of 244 Ukrainians who had obtained higher education in North America by 1934, and lists the corresponding educational institutions. In the concluding article, Hryhoriy Skegar noted that not all Ukrainians responded to his call to unite in the society, and expressed hope that they would all join the common cause over time.
