BALTIMORE -- Growing up in Baltimore's Canton neighborhood in the 1950s, Maria Kaczaniuk embraced her Ukrainian heritage, learning to embroider traditional dresses and pillows, dance in the Ukrainian style and cook Ukrainian food. When she married a fellow Ukrainian American in Baltimore, they spoke to their children in Ukrainian at home.
“It was important for my children to know where we came from, who we are and what we stand for,” Kaczaniuk said. “We still refer to it as ‘our country.’”
On Thursday, Kaczaniuk, 71, sat with members of her congregation in the basement of their church, St. Michael Ukrainian Catholic Church on Eastern Avenue, folding pierogies, small dumplings eaten in Ukraine and other parts of Eastern Europe. In the kitchen, volunteers kneaded and flattened out dough, scooped potato filling and boiled the finished product, placing them on trays to cool.
