On his farm near Chipman, Alberta, the wizened little man first celebrated his 87th birthday. After that, Wasyl Elyniak packed his bag and headed east for a celebration in which all Canada would take part.
The first Ukrainian to settle in Canada, Farmer Elyniak had been picked to take part in the Citizenship Week celebrations at Ottawa. Along with 23 other representative Canadians, including Armenian-born Photographer Yousuf Karsh, he would be handed a certificate of citizenship from Chief Justice Rinfret. For the first time the certificates would carry the words "Canadian Citizen" (TIME, May 27) instead of "British Subject"—official evidence of a...
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