And I Was There

A story based on the real life events of the author’s grandfather, Stepan Bemko, a Ukrainian immigrant. Born in 1885, Stepan leaves his nurturing peasant family in a tiny village in Galicia, the heart of Ukrainian nationalism, at age twelve. Stepan’s story is filled with his love for his Ukrainian heritage and his development from a peasant child to an independent, generous and loving human being. With nothing but the work of his own hands and his adventurous spirit, he finds his way to America and touches the lives of his family and all that know him. More than a story of one man’s life, this immigrant story forces the reader to contemplate what makes a life truly meaningful, not only to one’s self, but to the lives of others. The story is not unlike that of the hundreds of thousands of immigrants who journeyed to America from Eastern Europe before World War I, yet it is a unique story of a kind human being. By understanding the struggles of the immigrants who helped to shape America, we come to appreciate the tremendous value of their individual contributions to lives that benefited from them.